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ashetlandponyThis is a portrait of my maternal great-grandparents: Susan Sloan McCluskey, and her husband Richard McCluskey, of Cumberland, England.
Way back when I was in high school, I found this portrait hidden in my grandmother's closet. (I was a terrible snoop as a youngster.) When I asked about the people in it, Nana told me they were her parents. She had told me their names before, many times, but I never knew there was a picture of them until then.
In 1999, I decided to give the portrait to Joan Rekoutis, as she was descended from Richard and Susan McCluskey, as well. Up until 1999, however, Joan did not even know her grandparents' names, never mind what they looked like.
Before I gave the portrait to Joan, I did take photos of it so that I could still be able to see the old image myself, but I have a much higher-resolution digital camera now, so I was anxious to take better pictures of it on this trip.
I did not have pictures of the back of the frame, though. I remembered the original price was imprinted on it, but I didn't recall exactly what that price was. Have a look!
It's a bit of a challenge to date the frame. The McCluskeys were married in the 1880s, but I think this portrait's frame dates instead from the early 1900s.
I'm basing that estimated date on the fact that there are no periods in the verbiage describing the sales price in the bottom photo. (The convention of placing periods even after single words ceased in the first decade of the 20th century.)
So, let's say the frame was from 1901. Using this inflation calculator, $10.90 then would roughly equal $268 today.
This was no cheap frame by any means! Even if it were, though, the portrait it holds within is a priceless treasure to our family.
Way back when I was in high school, I found this portrait hidden in my grandmother's closet. (I was a terrible snoop as a youngster.) When I asked about the people in it, Nana told me they were her parents. She had told me their names before, many times, but I never knew there was a picture of them until then.
In 1999, I decided to give the portrait to Joan Rekoutis, as she was descended from Richard and Susan McCluskey, as well. Up until 1999, however, Joan did not even know her grandparents' names, never mind what they looked like.
Before I gave the portrait to Joan, I did take photos of it so that I could still be able to see the old image myself, but I have a much higher-resolution digital camera now, so I was anxious to take better pictures of it on this trip.
I did not have pictures of the back of the frame, though. I remembered the original price was imprinted on it, but I didn't recall exactly what that price was. Have a look!
It's a bit of a challenge to date the frame. The McCluskeys were married in the 1880s, but I think this portrait's frame dates instead from the early 1900s.
I'm basing that estimated date on the fact that there are no periods in the verbiage describing the sales price in the bottom photo. (The convention of placing periods even after single words ceased in the first decade of the 20th century.)
So, let's say the frame was from 1901. Using this inflation calculator, $10.90 then would roughly equal $268 today.
This was no cheap frame by any means! Even if it were, though, the portrait it holds within is a priceless treasure to our family.
