Mistaken Identity

[Manuell Alvarez]

Hello Everyone,

I took three years of Spanish in high school and one year I took the attached photo to class thinking that it was a photograph of one of my Asturian family members. Unfortunately, I told everyone that we were related. I just naturally assumed that since Dad had this photograph that it had to be a relative in their regional Asturian costume, and possibly a Matador.

Years later, my father explained that it was a good friend of his who was Italian. It was taken in Clarksburg, West Virginia, sometime in the 1920's. Hopefully, I will in the future be able to identify the man in the picture.

Manny, (a.k.a. Manolito)

[Art]

I suppose the similarity of costumes across ethnicities resulted from the fact that the European royalty and rich dressed similarly and the fact that the middle class and poor tried to emulate these styles. Well, everyone rich or poor, today or in the past, wants to look fashionable!

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Supongo que la similitud de los trajes llevado por diversos grupos étnicos estaba el resultado del hecho de que la realeza europea y los ricos vestían de manera similar y el hecho de que la clase media y los pobres trataran de emular a estos estilos. ¡Pues, todo el mundo rico o pobre, hoy o en el pasado, quiere parecer a la moda!

[Manuell Alvarez]

Art, thanks for responding.

Today it is blue jeans, shorts, tee shirts, and flip flops. I like the old world culture best and certainly this costume was for special occasions. His photo was printed on a post card ,which, I suspect was sent home to his family in Italy.

He must have thought highly of Dad to give him a copy. I would like to know who he was and how he and Dad knew each other in Clarksburg.

Manny

[Art]

Actually, in the early 20th century, a lot of photos were printed on paper with a postcard back. It may have been a standard photo paper used by professional photographers.

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En realidad, en el siglo 20, un montón de fotos se imprimen en papel con una tarjeta postal al reverso. Tal vez haya sido un papel fotográfico estándar utilizado por los fotógrafos profesionales.

[Manuell Alvarez]

Art,

Thanks for the clarification. I did not know that and it explains why it was on post card stock. Interestingly, it has very small incised letters for the studio name.

Manny