Beatrice Tonnesen’s favorite photographic subjects were beautiful women and scenes from family life. The latest additions to my collection feature a number of images from both categories. I’ll be posting some great “new” family-themed prints, as well as several newly found images of the toddler in Tonnesen’s “Sunny Jim” series this fall.

But, first, I’m presenting five calendar prints of beautiful women that originated as photos taken between about 1914 and 1928. In order of their appearance in the accompanying slideshow, they are:

1. Unnamed lady wearing a dress that was one of Tonnesen’s early favorites on an unmarked 1921 calendar.
2. “Anne,” appearing on a 1922 calendar marked only “Nr. 322 Hand-Colored.”Anne sits on Tonnesen’s swing, wearing Tonnesen’s dress.
3. “Sweet Alice,” a model who appeared often in advertising during the late teens and early ’20s, as well as in a number of Tonnesen’s images, and who wears one of Tonnesen’s dresses on a 1923 calendar, published by R.C. Co. NY. A purported biography of Alice appears on the calendar backing underneath the print. However, it must be fictional, as it describes her as a socialite who was not a professional model.
4. “Dimples,” on an unmarked calendar back. It is a companion piece to an image in the collection of the Winneconne Historical Society. The model is believed to be Eva Grady (1899-1934).
5. Untitled, on an unmarked 1932 calendar. This is part of a series of photos taken by Tonnesen at the end of her career in Chicago. Others in the series appear in Album 9 of the Image Catalogue that can be accessed at the top of our home page. I believe R.A. Fox’s print “Meditation” originated from a photo in this same series.

Copyright 2014. Lois Emerson