Victorian Camping Trip

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception 


Once upon a time, before Facebook tags, a group of young friends went on a camping trip and captured some pretty great memories. More than a hundred years have passed, but time has stood still for these smiley Victorians in black & white– almost as if a friend has returned home from their weekend out of town and uploaded the photos onto instagram.

After several hours of nosing through the rabbit hole of photography that is Flickr.com, I was just about to call it a day when I stumbled this wonderful little album called Stone’s Cottage. Shared with us by Beth Scupham, the grand-daughter of the man behind the lens, she gives us a little background…

“These are part of a series from a whole album of photos that belonged to my Grandfather called “Stone’s Cottage”, [...] circa 1910, Pennsylvania. What was Stone’s Cottage? I don’t know. My grandmother, [who] traces her ancestry back to the American Revolution and the Mayflower, [...] is JLB in the photo. [...] This was a trip they took with friends before they were married. The pictures are charming snapshots of life for young professionals in the early 1900s. Friends of my Grandfather and Grandmother [then just getting acquainted] ‘camping’, most of the ladies were new schoolteachers. Most of the men were bankers and lawyers. [...] These may be friends from Syracuse College. My grandfather posed, lit , shot and developed the photographs, so he is rarely portrayed here.
It is his eye through which we see.”
Petticoats and poofy hair clearly weren’t going to stop this lot from having the summer of their lives …

Getting into the holiday spirit: Getrude and a bottle of …

Happy campers.


Dress code for fishing trip: Suit and tie (or bow tie).




Taking a rest before the evening begins…



From left, Maude Inness, Jake Hartrampf Ruth J. Meade B. Gertrude I. Rufus T. Helen F. Dr. Dann Delos Thomas
front: JLB (my grandmother) kneeling, Fred B. Edna I. Ray Anderson, Helen R. Edward I , in front.


Feeling a little under the weather this morning ladies?!



Hair of the dog!






Come on girls, hold still!

C.T. Ben’s friends. My grandmother [#4 from the left] and her college buddies. Love the hair.

Holiday is over, sad faces everyone!