Ponies in Context

For me, context is the key - from that comes the understanding of everything." - Kenneth Noland

So, on the completely opposite side of the family tree (aka my mother’s family) I’ve had some success with my research as well.  My mom had already done a good bit of research – not to mention collecting stories and photos from her parents, both now deceased, so that was a huge help.

Starting off with more information lets me do more in terms of research and bringing stories together with general history to create a much more meaningful and relevant family history. 

For example, while going through old photos, I found three photos of my relatives as small children sitting on ponies outside their houses.  Some Google-aided research later, and I’ve discovered:

“In a fascinating historical parallel, the progress of modern photography coincided with a momentous cultural shift within the United States.  Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, American families were on the move across a young nation in search of greater prosperity.  The Industrial Revolution was pulling first, second, and third-generation Americans from the farms they had grown up on to the crowded urban centers that promised high-paying factory jobs. 

As the twentieth century dawned, many of these new city and suburb dwelling Americans found themselves fondly recalling the pastoral life they had left behind; a time when they lived in close proximity to their animals; a time when they relied on – and loved – their horses.  For some, it would be the first time they felt a sense of nostalgia for the past.  Perhaps because of this collective memory, parents sought out more romantic settings for portraits of their children – a way to capture a remembrance of things past, if you will.  And what better way to coax a smile from a reluctant subject than a gentle nudge from the velvety muzzle of an equine friend?

Until the 1890s, portrait photography was still a relatively cumbersome and expensive proposition.  The large-view cameras that produced daguerreotypes, tintypes, and ambrotypes were not easily transportable.  Having a portrait made involved going to a professional studio and standing or sitting alone or in a stiffly posed group.  But the new film cameras were smaller and lighter, which enabled a photographer to take his services directly to his customers.  The itinerant photographer became, like the traveling salesman, a fixture across the country.

In addition to his camera and tripod, a photographer was often accompanied by a small pony decked out in a fancy saddle and bridle.  A straw suitcase full of cowboy costumes, including Stetson-style hats, wooly chaps, and toy guns, completed the tools of his trade.” – Victoria Randall, A Pony in the Picture: Vintage Portraits of Children and Ponies

So, not only does my family fit into this little bit of photography history, but it even ties into the larger cultural trend mentioned.  For example, my grandfather (the baby on the painted pony) Gil’s father (N.L. Huey) did, in fact, leave his family farm to find a job in one of Detroit’s many factories.

Everything's just a little cooler in context, don't 'ya think?