Along with the crisp air and falling leaves, Fall usually ushers in a period of festivities filled with friends and family. DIG Memphis has a plethora of photographs depicting buildings and streets, but the archive is also full of faces – young and old, smiling or pensive, large gatherings and solo portraits. Many of the images that capture people are unlabeled, and unlike our mysterious buildings, the photographs often provide very little clues as to who is being photographed.
This Fall, we’ll be diving into the collection and spending some time with the mysterious faces included in the archive. It may be a long shot, but if you recognize anyone depicted in these photographs, please let us know!
This first image comes from our Saul Brown Photograph Collection. Brown worked as a staff photographer for the Memphis Press-Scimitar for twenty years, retiring in April of 1980 as the newspaper’s chief photographer. After retirement, Brown continued taking publicity photographs for various Memphis theaters as well as images of public figures, personal friends, and Memphis and its residents.
The haunting image above is titled, “Woman with candlestick“, and it seemed like an appropriate way to kick off our series on the Monday before Halloween. It’s possible the photograph was taken as a promotional shot for a local theater production. Perhaps the woman was an actress…? If you’ve seen this image before or you recognize the woman pictured, let us know in the comment box!