Antique Boarding House Group Photograph | The Crescent "Rooms & Board" Signs | c. 1905-1912 | Original Print on Black Card, Framed 12.4" x 10.4"

Twenty-some boarders on the front steps, and two ladies in the upstairs window who clearly said "we can see fine from here."

This is an original antique group photograph of guests gathered on the porch and front steps of The Crescent, a wooden boarding house with its name painted on a sign above the door (crescent moon and all) and a "Rooms & Board" sign out front by the steps. The print is mounted on black card stock and is shown in a later wood frame.

About two dozen people posed for this one: men in bowler hats, three-piece suits and watch chains, women in high collars and enormous feathered hats, a little boy on the steps, a man holding a newspaper, and a few gentlemen perched on the lattice porch rail. Up above, two women lean out of a second-floor window to watch it all happen. The building is full of period detail too: clapboard siding, carved gingerbread brackets on the porch posts, a lattice railing and leaded glass panels beside the front door, with bare trees around the yard.

Boarding houses were where traveling salesmen, railroad men, teachers and new arrivals to town lived and ate in the early 1900s, so a photo like this is a little slice of everyday small-town life. Photos that show a building's name and signs are especially loved by collectors of hotel, town and advertising history.

• Material: original photographic print mounted on black card stock; later wood frame with a gold-tone inner lip, glass front and fiberboard back
• Era: c. 1905 to 1912, based on the hats, high collars and clothing
• Subject: about 25 people on the porch of The Crescent boarding house; location and sitters unidentified
• Size: frame 12 3/8" x 10 3/8"; photograph 8 1/4" x 6"
• Hanging: sawtooth hangers on the back, ready to hang

Pair it with our large mounted Victorian farmhouse photograph or the Edwardian card party snapshot for an antique photo gallery wall. Curious how we dated it? Read our guide on how to date antique photographs.

Condition

The photograph shows its age with scattered small spots, light fading and toning, and a few faint marks, mostly in the sky and the building. The image is still clear: the signs, faces and architecture are easy to see. The frame is a later replacement and has light scuffs, small nicks and finish wear along the edges, and the gold-tone lip has a few rubbed spots. Honest wear for a photograph over 100 years old. As with everything in the shop, it's a used piece and shows normal signs of age.

Only one available. Once The Crescent's guests check out, they're gone.

Styling props shown in photos are not included.