The Linda Brockett collection is a series of photographic negatives taken around the Great Lakes region between 1910-1915. The images follow an unknown family whose son graduated from Northwestern University in 1915. They had a vacation home in Paw Paw Lake, Michigan and traveled often between Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. The collection names friends of the family including Helen Lett, Will Knight, and Ruth Moorehead. They often traveled by steamboat or by train, owned a Ford Model T, and saw biplanes at a 1912 Chicago air show. The collection also includes photographs of several pets and farm animals.
A group of adults sitting in front of a lacy curtain next to a piano. There are four women in the back, all formally dressed with their hair pinned up. In front of them are two men in suits. One is slouching in his seat and the other has his arm around him.
An older woman sitting in a chair with her hands folded in her lap. She is wearing a long patterned skirt, longsleeve shirt, and black gloves and has her hair up in a bun. The negative has been cut into multiple pieces and taped back together.
A young girl in a lacy white dress with a large white bow in her hair. The negative has been cut into two small pieces, splitting her legs and torso, and is cut unevenly on the sides.
A woman in a grey dress sitting in a wicker rocking chair in a yard with her arms crossed. A younger man is sitting in the matching chair next to her wearing a white patterned shirt and black tie. He has one leg draped over the arm of the chair with the other resting on the ground. The negative has been cut out unevenly on all four sides.
A young man in baggy pants, a collared shirt, a tie, and a large-brimmed hat standing with his hands on his hips in a yard. There is a large shed to his left with an empty pallet leaning against the wall. The negative has been cut on a slant at the top and bottom, and is cut unevenly along one side.
Three people standing in a yard outside of a residential house. There is an older man in a suit and tie holding a hat, a woman in a long black coat wearing a flowery hat and eyeglasses and holding a handkerchief, and a young man in a suit and tie.
A horse standing next to a man in a flat cap and a large sweater with two white stripes across the chest and both arms. The man is holding the horse's reins and the horse is wearing a saddle. They are behind a wooden fence next to a small shed and a large wooden tower.
A rowboat out on the water with a man in a white shirt and tie rowing. In front of him is a woman in a large black jacket and black skirt. She is turned around in her seat looking back at him as he rows. On the shore behind them is a smokestack billowing smoke and a small lighthouse.
A young woman sitting on the front steps of a residential house with a short-haired cat on her lap. She is wearing a white dress, tall black boots, and a large bow on her head. She is looking down at the cat as the cat looks to the left of the camera.
A man and a woman sitting in a rowboat out on the water. The man is pulling the oars, and there is a piece of rope attaching that boat to another empty rowboat.
Two women sitting in a rowboat out on the water. The picture appears to have been taken from another boat. One woman is in a white dress, sitting with her hands in her lap next to a set of oars, and the other is in a black jacket holding another set of oars.
Two women in front of a fireplace. They are both wearing grey skirts and white longsleeve shirts. One is sitting in a chair on a rug, wearing tall black boots and looking to the right of the camera. The other is standing behind her looking to the left with a tulle bow pinned to her collar. There are several framed pictures and a small lamp on the mantle.
Three people in a yard with wicker chairs set up. A woman in a long dress is sitting with her hand on a dog sitting on the ground next to her. On either side of her are two men in suits standing and holding hats. The older man to her right has his hand on the back of her chair, and the younger man to her left is standing next to an empty chair with one hand behind his back.
A young girl in a plaid dress with white tights standing in a yard. There are two women in dresses behind her with their faces cut off from the shot. All three are standing with their hands behind their backs.
A young girl sitting next to a bucket surrounded by chickens. She is wearing a plaid dress and white tights and has her hands behind her head. The chickens vary in size and color but all look adult. There is a large tear in the negative on the top left, over the distant treeline.
Two women holding up a baby on a tree stump against a fence. Both women have their hair up, one is wearing a checkered dress and the other is wearing a grey dress. The baby is smiling and wearing a plaid dress with white tights. There are some marks on the negative over the woman's face on the right.
A blurry photo of a woman and two children. The woman is wearing a polka dot dress and holding a baby who is looking away from the camera over her shoulder. Next to them is a small child sitting on a fence holding onto the fencepost. They are standing outside a residential house.
A woman holding a baby. The baby is wearing a long white dress and smiling, and the woman is wearing a checkered dress and eyeglasses. The negative has some stains over the woman's face.
A group of people in tall grass. There are three children, two young men, a young woman, and an older man and woman. One of the children is waving an American flag.
A man squatting in a barn holding out an ear of corn. There is a calf biting the corn, and in the lower left of the photo is the blur of the photographer's finger getting in front of the lens.
A woman playing a piano in the corner of a living room. There is a large piece of sheet music on the stand in front of her. A man is standing behind her playing the violin.
A woman sitting on the ground in front of a lacy curtain wearing a white shirt and patterned skirt. She is looking down at a somewhat blurry cat in her lap.
Five people sitting in a horse-drawn cart on a grassy field. Two men in suits are standing on either side of the cart, and it is hooked up to a single horse. There is also a dog sitting on the front of the cart.
Two people standing on either side of a large tree. On the left is a small wooden doghouse, and on the right is a wooden fence. Sitting at the trunk of the tree is a dog.
A large group of people sitting in an empty barn. Seven are sitting cross-legged in the front row, seven more are sitting behind them, and twelve people are standing at the back. They are all formally dressed in dresses and suits and ties.
Five people sitting on a rowboat out in the water. On either end are women with their legs dangling into the water, with three men in the middle. Two of them are sitting inside the boat, while one is leaning forward and dangling his legs in. The men are wearing shorts and tank tops, and the women are in dresses and leggings.
A boy sitting in a rowboat holding both oars. He is wearing a collared shirt and thin black tie and there is a bag next to him in the bottom of the boat.
A woman with in a long formal dress sitting at the end of a rowboat. The handle of an oar is visible in front of her and she is holding something in her lap. She is wearing eyeglasses and smiling.
A young woman looking at the camera with a quizzical expression. She is wearing eyeglasses, a pendant necklace, and a dress with a wide belt. There is a small hole in the negative on her forehead.
A man in durable clothes and a straw hat standing in the middle of a ploughed field next to a small sapling. There is a house in the distance and he is holding some kind of tool with a long wooden handle.
A group of people in suits and coats. On one side a man and woman are sitting next to each other talking, on the other end a woman in a hat is tickling the chin of the man next to her. Behind them are three women standing with their arms around each others' shoulders.
A group people standing in front of a lacy curtain. Two women in top hats are leaning into each other with their eyes closed. Next to them is a man smiling and listening to a woman on the other end with her arm raised, and between them is a woman smiling at the camera. In front of them three people are sitting. One man is wearing a head scarf and caressing the face of the man in front of him, and next to him a woman with a top hat is laughing with her hands folded in her lap.
Two rowboats side by side in the water. The one in front has a young man in a white shirt rowing, while a woman in a grey dress and hat sits in the front and a woman in a black skirt and grey cardigan lounges in the back. The second boat has one figure obscured, a woman in a gray dress rowing in the middle, and a woman in a formal black dress and large flowery hat sitting in the back.
Two people in a rowboat on the water, both formally dressed. One has a white shirt and tie and the other has a long dress and formal jacket. The photo is very blurry.
Two horses hooked up to a cart walking through a farm. There is a man and a woman sitting on the far horse, a woman sitting at an angle on the near horse, and a man standing on the boards between the horses adjusting the saddle.
A young girl with a patterned dress and flowery headpiece sitting in a stroller behind a baby in a long white dress. The stroller is sitting on the grass in a field.
A couple standing in a field wearing work clothes. The man is wearing tall boots, a plain white shirt, and a straw hat and has his arm linked with a woman with her hair up in a plain grey dress. They are leaning in and smiling at each other.
A child standing behind a stroller in a checkered dress and a flowery headpiece holding a cat in her arms and looking down. Sitting in the stroller is a baby in a long white dress, laughing with one hand raised.
Two women posing with their arms linked and one arm on their hips. They both have their hair up and one has a long black skirt while the other has a white dress with a belt. They are standing in front of a brick house covered in ivy.
A girl holding a horse with a white spot on its head. Behind them is a cornfield and a large house. She is wearing a white dress with a large bow in her hair.
A woman leading a horse with a white spot on its head through a cornfield in front of a large house. She is wearing a long white skirt and white shirt.
Two men in loose shirts and straw hats sitting on a horse-drawn cart piled with hay. Between them is a dog with his tongue out, and attached to the cart is a horse pulling them across a field.
Two young children standing in a field. One is wearing a coat and grey skirt with black tights underneath, and the other is wearing tan pants and a long plaid shirt and holding a bunch of flowers.
A woman in a long dress sitting in a chair looking down at a very small square of paper. There are two girls sitting on each arm of the chair. The older one is wearing a high-neck shirt with a tulle bow and a black skirt and is looking down at the paper. The younger one has a white dress and large white bow. A man with a suit and tie wearing glasses is leaning against the back of the chair.
A man standing in front of a lacy curtain wearing a suit. He is holding the arm of a woman in front of him in a white shirt, and in front of her is a man with a baggy suit and glasses on one knee.
A young girl sitting on the grass holding two baby chickens while others peck at the grass around her. She is wearing a gingham coat and a large bow in her hair.
A group of people linking arms and standing in a row behind three large suitcases. Most of them are wearing casual clothing and five of them are in straw hats, with two of the men in hats also wearing suits and ties.
Three young women standing in front of a large bush. One on the left has her arms crossed and is wearing a white dress, the one in the middle is wearing a skirt and long cardigan, and the one on the right is in a skirt and large jacket.
