Wordless Wednesday - Georgie Gustler

This great photograph of Georgie Gustler was probably taken by his father, who was a professional photographer in the small picturesque Arkansas River town of Oxford, Kansas.

It's certainly not your everyday photograph with all the many things that are hanging on the tree and Georgie with a pair of scissors, so I have to wonder what the symbolism is about the photograph.  Was it just a fun photo that Georgie's father set up?  Or is it some kind of advertising photograph for his photography business?  Any suggestions would be most welcome!  

 

This photograph is located in the Beals' Family Pioneer Settler File at the Sumner County History and Genealogy Center in Wellington, Kansas.

Oxford, Kansas is home of the picturesque Oxford Mill, now on the National Register, photographs here,

More photographs here where the young people of Oxford have gotten involved with the preservation and promotion of the Mill.  Recently, two new walking trails were constructed near the mill.

Ida Gustler and Son

While indexing the Pioneer Settler files, we are finding so many historic treasures: Gold Rush Migration letters, stories of Indian Raids and Massacres, and even some photographs.  

 

This photograph Ida Gustler and her son, George, located in the Beals Pioneer Settler Files, made me realize how much info can be shared just on the back of photographs.

Caption on back of photograph:

Ida Gustler & son George.  Her husband Louie was the photographer in Oxfrord.  She and Sarah Kerr were room mates in Colorado Springs while both spent time there recovering from T. B. illness.

Photographer info:
Iron Spring Pavilion
J. G. Hiestand
Manitou, Colo.

 It's wonderful to know that in the future, thanks to the generosity of one family, many descendants will be able to locate family photographs, read tidbits of their ancestor's lives, and also see photographs.

The back of this photograph, or perhaps in a detailed family history, may be the only place that descendants of Ida Gustler can learn that she spent time in Colorado recuperating from tuberculosis, and that her husband was a photographer in Oxford, Kansas.