The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-03-26
SMALL PICTURE FAD.
TOPEKA'S SIXTEEN FOR A QUARTER
PHOTOGRAPH EPIDEMIC.

Young and Old Indulge In the Rage-six.
teen Poses Are Taken For 25 Cents-Over
q Thousand Pictures Taken by One Pho.
tographer In q Day.
Sixteen pictures for 90 cents" Is the
alluring sign that greets passersby in
front of nearly every photograph gallery
in Topeka The fad for small photo
graphs of oneself in l6 different posi-
tions has become rage 1t is sweeping
over the city as did the grip few years
ago. 1t does not leave as bad an effect on
the nervous system as does grip, unless
1t is the nervous system of the pho.
tographer, but it leaves faces wrinkled
and furrowed from distortions.
The small picture epidemic reached
Topeka few weeks ago, and in 46
hours from the time it started it had
spread over the entireSown. 1t spreads
faster than the endless chain scheme for
raising money, and it will hardly stop
until everybody has tried it and it has
run itself out.
One photographer and his three as
sistants were kept busy the other day
from sunup until shutdown, and they
took 1866 different pictures The rooms
were crowded. The cashier sat in the
reception room and received the money
and gave the ones who wished sittings
receipt for the amount they had paid.
In one corner of the receipt was num-
her, and when that number was called
by the man in the operating room" the
bearer took his or her turn. 1t was like
barber shop where numbers are called
or a country dance where the floor is
crowded and the dancers dance by mum.
bers. The four worked steadily all day.
The cashier did nothing but take the
money and write out receipts, the "op-
orator" manipulated the camera, the
third developed the plates and the
fourth printed.
The rage is not confined to the old or
the young. They both indulge. When a
man meets a friend on the street, in.
stead of asking him to leone in and have
something" he says, "Come in and have
your picture taken" Among the society
buds it has become rage to have their
pictures taken in their different dresses.
They commence on their best ball dress
and have all sides, all turns and all
poses they can think of taken. Then
the different hats come in for their
share-all sides of the hat and the bot
tom and top of the rim. Saturdays the
schoolgirls devote to having their pic
lures taken, and all the next week they
are busy trading them with their mates.
Nearly every one who takes his place
in front Of the camera asks the time.
worn question. lis there any danger of
my breaking the camera?" and the OPP
orator answers YEARLY. 81 guess not"
Then the subject commences. He looks
natural for the first picture and looks
straight at the camera. The next pic
ture is the right side Of the face, and
the next will probably be the left side,
and then the back of the head is photo
graphed then with the hat on and then
of. Then comes the tug Of war. The
subject tries to think of some new pose
and generally finishes by winding his
face into smile or q grin. He becomes
frantic to think of new pose, but the
machine moves faster than his thought.
He looks and acts as IL he had the collie.
One young man goes through the mo-
tions OF maniac. He tears his hair and
stares with horror at the camera. Then
he laughs wicked laugh, he chuckles,
he tries to laugh merrily. II the victim
is q young lady, she wishes to ''look
heavenly" and rolls her. eyes upward.
Then she looks submissive and rolls
them downward, then smiles pretty
smile and then looks sad, places her
hands behind her head and finally gives
up in despair and says, 81 just don't |
know how to look now"
The 10 pictures taken on one sheet at |
one sitting are about an inch square,
but others can be had two inches square.