I love this image so much, and think I would have liked its star, Stella, even more! It is pretty fun to think about the process leading up to this photograph being taken--was using a giant kelp as a dramatic prop/fashion statement the idea from the beginning, or a last minute addition with the thought the image needed a little extra drama? Whatever the case, the kelp is quite brilliantly wrapped around her, looking rather like a giant squid giving her a tight squeeze, while Stella in profile looks out into the distance rather like a proud figurehead at the bow of a ship sailing to sea! And then handwritten in pencil on the back of the postcard, as deadpan as can be" "Stella on the beach with a kelp." So good.
3 1/2" x 5 1/2". Sepia tone photograph, early 20th century. Overall good condition; slight folds/bumps to the corners, and there is a pen or pencil mark at top left-center.