The mornings are starting to cool down, the vegetables are ready to harvest and children are heading back into the classroom. The beginning of the school year is when school pictures are taken in the Eugene school district. With this in mind, guest Facebook curator Steve Eccles (front desk and archival volunteer) has found some of the most memorable images from the Elizabeth Romane Portrait Studio scrapbooks, 1930-1950. Elizabeth Romane enjoyed photographing her children and watching them grow over the years. Many families of Lane County were not so privileged. To allow other families to capture their children growing up Romane created the “Pretty Baby Contest.” The Pretty Baby Contest was a community wide beauty pageant for small children. Romane photographed all who wanted to participate and posted the photographs for community members to vote for their favorite. There were three categories: Tiny Tots for under-six months, Baby Boys and Baby Girls under 18 months, Little Boys and Little Girls under five years. During the Depression, Romane offered free prints to those who participated, allowing families to have photographs of their children who otherwise would not be able to afford it. Eventually, she charged for prints, but kept prices low to be within reach for most families. During WWI, Romane had to cancel one contest because film and supplies were not available due to wartime shortages.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:39:04 +0000