At first glance this photo looks like three lovely ladies posing at the beach during the early 1900s. After a closer look I realized that the “surf” in the background is actually a stage set. This photo was probably taken at Barnard College between 1908 and 1911. Cornelia “Nina” Dakin is sitting on the right looking straight into the camera. I don’t know the identities of the other two young ladies, but most likely they were also members of the class of 1912. Their costumes are all made of the same dark cloth although each dress has its own unique features. The headdresses are particularly interesting. I couldn’t imagine anyone wearing this kind of swimwear, but a search online shows this is exactly the type of swimwear proper young ladies would have worn in 1909.

If anyone has a yearbook or student scrapbook from Barnard College for the years 1908-1912 perhaps they can identify Nina’s two fellow actors and let us know what play they were in?

Friday’s Faces from the Past is a way to highlight photos, of known ancestors or complete unknowns suggested by Smadar Belkin Gerson of Past-Present-Future. © 2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee.