This marvelous image was taken in 1908 in Washington State in the US.
(click for bigness)
Judging by the spinner's age, I would guess that she would have been an early pioneer of the state. Note all the pioneer-era objects in the photo. I love that she is clearly spinning and not merely posing with the wheel for the photographer.
And here is that image hand tinted and made into a postcard of the same vintage.
Hi - I just wanted to let you know that I gave the sheep M&M's (that you posted on a little while ago)to my knitters, and they were very impressed! They thought they were gourmet or something...thanks for the wonderful idea! I hope you are enjoying spring!
Posted by: danana | April 10, 2009 at 04:42 PM
I like the black and white photo best.
Posted by: Laurie | March 27, 2009 at 04:21 PM
i love that cat.
Posted by: maryse | March 27, 2009 at 06:43 AM
Oh yeah, the black-and-white is certainly the better shot - and there are those of us who think ANY picture (especially a sheep-y, yarn-y, spinning-y or knitterly one) is much enhanced by a resident cat! This is wonderful!
Posted by: dale-harriet in WI | March 23, 2009 at 06:00 PM
And a rather under-fed Pit Mix. Maybe that's why the cat is up so high.
Posted by: Kim | March 23, 2009 at 12:56 PM
That looks like my place in Montana before I added on to the cabin. She has better fields, though my logs are way fatter.
And yes, you'd spin outside to get light. Even when you do have windows in a little cabin like that, the walls are thick enough that not much light comes in.
Ah, black powder. Bet I could hit a varmint a very very long distance away with those.
DD's cat used to sit up on the corner of the cabin just like that and howl at night...
Posted by: Sylvia | March 23, 2009 at 12:29 PM
That is just like a cat to steal the show!
Is the 4 armed skeiner mounted on the wheel?
I like that she keeps her shotguns handy ;-)
Posted by: cyndy | March 23, 2009 at 08:44 AM
I like the dog, and that he obviously moved his head to watch whatever was swinging on the corner of the cabin, so they're both a bit blurred.
Posted by: Freyalyn | March 23, 2009 at 04:23 AM
What a cool image.
Posted by: Emilee | March 22, 2009 at 10:17 PM
I really enjoy the pictures you find. That is such a great picture.
I love the black and white version best.
Posted by: Shell | March 22, 2009 at 09:49 PM
I really like this image, but it takes away some of the romance from the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Everything looks so rough and wild.
Do you think she's spinning outside because there's better light, or because the log cabin is too fusty?
Posted by: LaurieM | March 22, 2009 at 09:38 PM
That's a big cat. Great period photo!
Posted by: Sandra D | March 22, 2009 at 07:55 PM
Poor cat. Definitely belongs in the image - really makes the composition, and the expression on his face is every bit as priceless as the expression on the spinner's. I can see why he'd have to be cropped out for the post card format, but... feh. The first image has better aspect ratio, better grain depth, better... hell, it's just BETTER. Loves me some good black & white with some good balance.
Oh yeah - cool spinning image, too.
Posted by: Tsarina of Tsocks | March 22, 2009 at 07:36 PM
I was sad not to see the cat in the tinted version!
Posted by: Divine Bird Jenny | March 22, 2009 at 05:10 PM
Aw, I can't believe they took the cat out of the tinted photo! I feel her presence is a nice touch.
Posted by: danana | March 22, 2009 at 04:21 PM
Dog on the ground, cat on the rafter. (Is it a rafter if it sticks out like that?)
Posted by: Janice in GA | March 22, 2009 at 03:32 PM