Describe a Victorian Photo
I found a really great photo on Shorpy:100 Year Old Photo Blog and I decided to do a little descriptive exercise with it. I had so much fun I thought I'd post it here and see if anyone wanted to join in.
Here's the photo. Try to describe the scene and tell a story in under 400 words. There are many photos on the blog. If you find one you'd rather describe, just post the link along with your description.
Here's my blurb:
The guests picnicked on the green under Black Walnut, Hickory and Tulip Trees. Most spread their lunches on large tables and sat comfortably on wooden benches and chairs. A light spring breeze fanned the smells of fried chicken, fresh greens and snap peas, cornbread and carrot cake through the trees. Hundreds of English sparrows came to collect the crumbs.
The Cruikshanks sat apart from the others under a gnarled maple and Mrs. Cruikshank was surprised they’d been invited at all. Though they were once one of the wealthiest and most respected families in the county, their turn in fortune was well known and the subject of much gossip.
Mary and her husband John Marsh sat next to her younger brother Will. He begged them to sit beside him and describe the new house they were building- Will was looking forward to college and dreamed of being an architect. John threw his jacket aside and basked in the warm spring sunlight as he described their new bungalow. It would have a large living room, modern kitchen and dining rooms, three bedrooms and no parlor. Modern houses had living rooms, he said.
Mrs. Cruikshank, still veiled in black five years after her husband’s execution, leaned heavily on the tree. She looked old. Not long before she had been a great beauty, but now her hands were withered and her face sallow.
Mrs Cruikshank's youngest son, Bennet, stood beside her eating a banana. Not something grown locally, bananas were a treat the Cruikshanks could seldom afford. Bennet wore his favorite and well cared for suit, standing rather than risk staining it on the grass.
Mrs. Cruikshank’s unmarried daughters sat beside her in a solemn row- Elizabeth, Jane and Lydia. They nibbled on fried chicken and sandwiches. Jane glared at the newspaper photographer as he stopped to take their picture. It would be another memento of the Cruikshank family’s downward slide for the town. She wondered why they accepted the invitation to Marshall Hall. The other girls at the picnic were surrounded by young men offering flowers and other treats to buy their affection. Their were no suitors for the Cruikshank girls. Not today. Nor when the young leaves on the trees stiffened and fell dying to the earth would there be boys for them. No one would marry into such a family.
It isn't great, but I had fun writing it
I found a really great photo on Shorpy:100 Year Old Photo Blog and I decided to do a little descriptive exercise with it. I had so much fun I thought I'd post it here and see if anyone wanted to join in.
Here's the photo. Try to describe the scene and tell a story in under 400 words. There are many photos on the blog. If you find one you'd rather describe, just post the link along with your description.
Here's my blurb:
The guests picnicked on the green under Black Walnut, Hickory and Tulip Trees. Most spread their lunches on large tables and sat comfortably on wooden benches and chairs. A light spring breeze fanned the smells of fried chicken, fresh greens and snap peas, cornbread and carrot cake through the trees. Hundreds of English sparrows came to collect the crumbs.
The Cruikshanks sat apart from the others under a gnarled maple and Mrs. Cruikshank was surprised they’d been invited at all. Though they were once one of the wealthiest and most respected families in the county, their turn in fortune was well known and the subject of much gossip.
Mary and her husband John Marsh sat next to her younger brother Will. He begged them to sit beside him and describe the new house they were building- Will was looking forward to college and dreamed of being an architect. John threw his jacket aside and basked in the warm spring sunlight as he described their new bungalow. It would have a large living room, modern kitchen and dining rooms, three bedrooms and no parlor. Modern houses had living rooms, he said.
Mrs. Cruikshank, still veiled in black five years after her husband’s execution, leaned heavily on the tree. She looked old. Not long before she had been a great beauty, but now her hands were withered and her face sallow.
Mrs Cruikshank's youngest son, Bennet, stood beside her eating a banana. Not something grown locally, bananas were a treat the Cruikshanks could seldom afford. Bennet wore his favorite and well cared for suit, standing rather than risk staining it on the grass.
Mrs. Cruikshank’s unmarried daughters sat beside her in a solemn row- Elizabeth, Jane and Lydia. They nibbled on fried chicken and sandwiches. Jane glared at the newspaper photographer as he stopped to take their picture. It would be another memento of the Cruikshank family’s downward slide for the town. She wondered why they accepted the invitation to Marshall Hall. The other girls at the picnic were surrounded by young men offering flowers and other treats to buy their affection. Their were no suitors for the Cruikshank girls. Not today. Nor when the young leaves on the trees stiffened and fell dying to the earth would there be boys for them. No one would marry into such a family.
It isn't great, but I had fun writing it
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