A 'Swenglish' journey through family photos, notes and postcards
from the early 20th century.

2022-02-25

The Homecoming (1919) - Sepia Saturday 610

After the end of WWI (in November 1918), it seems Gerda (older half-sister to my grandmother Sally) remained in France for nearly another year, with the same employer, in Lyon. According to info I got years ago from a grandson of Gerda's sister Emma), a work certificate dated 28.9.1919, in Lyon, states that she has been working as Lady's Maid, and is an "excellent packer and hairdresser and a neat needlewoman, her French is good". 

I don't have the name of Gerda's "lady" in France, but the work certificate, written in English, seems to support my theory that she may have been American rather than French. And if so, maybe she decided for her own part that it was now time for her to go back to the US. For all I know, she may also have wanted Gerda to go with her. But whether Gerda had that option or not, she decided instead to go back to Sweden. (Cf. a comment Gerda wrote on a card to her brother Gustaf in Sweden already back in January 1915: "Maybe I'll come home instead of America.")  (G.073.03) 

Alas, I don't have any postcards written by Gerda in 1919. But I know that she went back to Sweden, because her next employment was in Stockholm. 

I also have this photo...

Photographer: Emil Svensson, Fristad

... taken by a photographer in Fristad, Sweden, where the family farm Storegården was situated. 

There is no date attached to the photo, though. When I first found it (years ago), I thought it might be from when Gerda returned from America. But that was in 1911, and the fashion here seems too advanced for that year. And if it was from 1911, then who was that woman on the right - holding hands with Gerda? The one on the left looked like Hildur, half-sister to my grandmother Sally, step-sister to Gerda. But in 1911, Sally was only 11 years old, so couldn't be her on the right... 

Fast forward to December 1919, though, and it all makes sense. (Even if I still have difficulties quite recognizing Sally in that hat pulled down over her eyes!) Gerda's return from France after the war would no doubt have felt worth celebrating with a visit to a photographer's studio. Perhaps they are even wearing the latest fashion "straight from Paris". I'm thinking Gerda came home for Christmas, bringing gifts. (And she's even likely to actually have visited Paris on her way home.)


If this is from December 1919, we have: 
Hildur (27), Gerda (38), and Sally (19, soon to turn 20)
(And the fashion fits rather well with 1919/20, I think.)

Link to a website with some 1919 women's fashion
https://vintagedancer.com/1900s/1919-clothing/


Linking to Sepia Saturday 610


(The latest fashion from Paris?)

SVENSKA

Efter andra världskrigets slut (november 1918), tycks Gerda ha stannat kvar i Lyon i Frankrike ännu ett år, hos samma arbetsgivare. Enligt uppgifter jag fick för ett antal år sedan från en gemensam släkting, sonson till Gerdas äldre syster Emma, så finns ett arbetsintyg på engelska daterat 28.9.1919 i Lyon, som säger att Gerda arbetat som "lady's maid" (kammarjungfru) och är skickling i att packa, som hårfrisörska och sömmerska, och talar god franska. Jag har ingen uppgift om hennes arbetsgivares namn eller nationalitet, men att intyget är skrivet på engelska kan stödja min teori att hon var amerikan snarare än fransyska. Och om hon var amerikan, så kan ju Gerdas anställning ha avslutats på grund av arbetsgivarens beslut att återvända till Amerika. Kanske hade Gerda också erbjudande om att följa med dit, men hon valde hur som helst att istället återvända till Sverige. (Jmf ett kort hon skrev till Gustaf i januari 2015, G.073.03, där hon skriver i ett PS att "kanske jag kommer hem istället för till Amerika".)  Tyvärr har jag inga vykort från Gerda skrivna under 1919, men att hon återvände till Sverige vet jag, eftersom hennes nästa anställning var i Stockholm. 

Jag har också fotografiet ovan, taget av fotograf Emil Svensson i Fristad, Västergötland, där familjens gård Storegården låg. När jag först fann detta foto trodde jag att det kanske var från Gerdas hemkomst från Amerika. Men därifrån återvände hon 1911, och klädmodet här verkar lite för avancerat för det året. Dessutom, om det var 1911 - vem är i så fall kvinnan till höger, som nästan sitter i knäet på Gerda, och håller henne i handen? Kvinnan till vänster känner jag igen som min farmor Sallys halvsyster Hildur (styvsyster till Gerda.) Men 1911 var Sally själv bara 11 år. 

Om vi istället spolar fram till december 1919 så stämmer det mycket bättre. Då var Hildur 27, Gerda 38, och Sally 19, snart 20. Gerdas hemkomst från Frankrike efter kriget kändes säkert värd att fira med ett besök hos fotogragen. Och kanske är flickorna t.o.m. klädda i senaste modet från Paris? Jag tänker mig att Gerda kom hem till Storegården till jul, och hade med sig presenter. (Det verkar också mycket troligt att hon faktiskt besökte Paris på hemvägen från Lyon till Sverige.)

Upplagd av kl.
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11 comments:

  1. La NightingailSunday, 27 February 2022 at 03:26:00 CET

    I think you've done some excellent deducing re: the photo and when it was taken. The fashions surely are close to the 1920s. Nice to see Gerda with family again. :)

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  2. smkelly8Sunday, 27 February 2022 at 04:56:00 CET

    Terrific photo, that captuers the era. What a dramatic change in faship post-WWI.

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    1. Monica T.Monday, 28 February 2022 at 16:18:00 CET

      Yes - it seems one good thing that came out of WWI was more practical clothes!

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  3. Mike BrubakerSunday, 27 February 2022 at 18:00:00 CET

    Considering the way our world is today it's easy to understand why anyone separated from their family by war would want to return home rather than travel further away. If you are right about Gerda's employer being American, then surely she likely felt the same way too, though at the same time wanting to retain a faithful servant.

    I play the photo dating puzzle all the time and women's fashions are always a better guide for deciding time period for a photo. In this case their winter coats are less helpful as I think few people changed a warm coat to suit fashion trends, so I'd go with their hats and shoes which look closer to 1920 than 1910. When I need help, I check through vintage newspapers and magazines for department store advertisements with clothing illustrations. They offer good examples of how hemlines, hat styles, and other clothing accessories evolve over time.

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    1. Monica T.Monday, 28 February 2022 at 16:34:00 CET

      Mike, I found images of 'travel' coats from 1918/19 much like the one Hildur (to the left) is wearing. The web page where I found the images I'm thinking of did not allow copying/downloading but can be seen at https://vintagedancer.com/1900s/1919-clothing/ Fur collars seem to have been popular too, as well as hats getting smaller.

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    2. Monica T.Monday, 28 February 2022 at 16:42:00 CET

      PS. Added that link now to the post itself as well.

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  4. ScotSueSunday, 27 February 2022 at 20:53:00 CET

    I agree - the fashions do look far more post war, with the shorter skirt lengths and the hat style. I have some family photographs c. 1920 in very much the same style.

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    1. Monica T.Monday, 28 February 2022 at 16:45:00 CET

      Thanks Sue. Just added a link to my post showing some fashion images that I compared the photo to.

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  5. KathyMonday, 28 February 2022 at 05:07:00 CET

    Great deductions and a lovely photograph. Since they are all dressed in warm coats, was this perhaps taken outdoors, or was this common, I wonder?

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    1. Monica T.Monday, 28 February 2022 at 17:58:00 CET

      Kathy, it's an indoors studio portrait. (I've even seen other photos from the same photographer with the same background before, online.) I think that rather supports my scenario though: Gerda left her employment in Lyon at the end of September 1919, travelled back to Sweden via Paris, and had a bit of a shopping spree there, buying Christmas gifts, before returning to Sweden to celebrate Christmas with her family. I think they're wearing their coats and hats because it's winter, the clothes are new, and the girls wanted to show them off. Living on a farm in the countryside, Hildur and Sally would not normally be as elegantly dressed up as this.

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