Her dress, with its soft silhouette and wide fabric belt, emphasizes her generous bust. The bodice of the dress is covered with lace or embroidery. Based on the dress, which is all I have to go on, I’d guess the photo of this fashionable, attractive woman was taken around 1910. It’s possible the photo was cropped from a larger image and that’s why it’s a little blurry.
Or perhaps it was taken with a hidden camera, such as the tiny “Ticka” — a camera designed to look like a pocket watch. The Ticka could be carried by a gentleman (why would a woman need a hidden camera? Women detectives were as rare as hen’s teeth in those days) in a vest or waistcoat pocket. He could pull his watch out and appear to be telling the time while actually focusing his subject in the small viewfinder and taking the shot. Very clever!
It looks like the woman might have been reading in a library when, unbeknownst to her, the photo was snapped. The low angle of the image supports the theory of it having been taken by a hidden camera.
Flip the image over and you’ll see why this photo might have been taken in secret by a detective. Although it does not like one, the photo is a mugshot.
The back of the photo provides some information about the woman. Her name was Sarah Johnston, and, despite her demure appearance, she was a forger and pickpocket. Her husband, “Dutch” Johnston, was apparently also known to the police.
Unfortunately I’ve not been able to verify any of the information on the back of this unusual mugshot. If you have some information about Sarah or Dutch, please reach out to me.
Captured and Exposed 
I’d never heard of a “Ticka” camera. As you say, very clever! Somehow, the photo looks posed to me.
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I hadn’t heard of them either! I wonder what most of those cameras were used for!
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Spy stuff? Tabloid news stuff? Divorce case stuff? Blackmail?
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Probably all those and more! Photography outside the studio was becoming more common. It would be interesting to know how people viewed its potential applications and uses.
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It would be interesting to know how people viewed the potential applications of photography at that time, but I’m staying away from that rabbit hole. I have to stay focused on my current project!
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Good luck with your project!
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Thank you! So far, so good! (Although I am going to have to backtrack during the revision stage for research.
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More research is good!
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Always!
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I’d never heard of a Ticka, either! I also think the photo looks posed. My guess would be that this was a copy of an existing photo. The original might have been mounted on cardboard already, or maybe it was the wrong size for a mugshot.
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The vantage point of the camera is odd for a posed photo, don’t you think?
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Yes, it’s certainly unconventional.
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Her left arm looks very odd to me. Maybe it’s just the camera angle and shadows.
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I see what you mean—like it has an extra bend in it. Possibly due to lens distortion and the weird camera angle.
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That’s a fine figure of a woman! I bet she and Dutch were happy together. What city was this in? Do you know?
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I don’t know.
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During the early 1900’s many photos were taken at a lower vantage point (breast height) because the photographers had to look down into the lens. If you look up
Photos from this time period, you’ll notice the camera angle is quite low compared to todays straight on photos.
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