A photo I owned, I suspected it might be one of the three Meng girls who were born in the 1870s, but I didn't know which one. I found the Jack Baker album a few years ago on the Internet, on one of my favourite historic photo blogs where there was a definite photo of Kate Meng - . Kate and her sister Mary were friends with Clara Harris who also lived in Ohoka. They must have swapped a lot of photos.
Kate Meng is in a window with lots of beads around her neck. She has the same look on her face as all her other photos. A very distinctive face.
Then I realised that I had a similar photo in my album but of a girl with her hair more out. It was Kate's little sister Emma Meng - I could now see the resemblance. This was very exciting as I could now name the girl in the photo. They have been dressed in the same dress with the same beads around their necks.
It is photos like these that have inspired my own photography. I love dressing up girls and boys for photos. Often people don't have their own fashionable clothing or old fashioned gown. Just like these girls, they had to borrow some clothing for the photo instead of wearing their everyday dresses for school and farm life. Check out my website for my own modern day take on classic photos.
