Fiddles, a Phonograph and a Possum. Rural Musicians Down Home RPPC

Click to Enlarge  Collection Jim Linderman

One does not often find a group of early musicians sitting in front of a calendar, especially one in which it is so easy to see the date, and this is May 1913.  But then, one does not often see a baby possum in a photo either.  Could be a ferret, I guess.  Mammal on the right...and it looks like a phonograph horn in the center.  A real musical group!

The opossum in the United States is usually the Virginia opossum, but since their habitat is more than a third of the lower 48 states, I can't locate this photo.  Unless someone out there recognizes the players.  I can hope.  

It was common for photographers who operated a studio to use musical instruments as props.  No props here.  These are the real deal and I would have loved to hear them go down.   

Good deal of cultural information for one little real photo postcard.

Real Photo Postcard 1913 (Azo Back) Collection Jim Linderman
(also posted on the DULL TOOL DIM BULB site)

Browse and Order Jim Linderman books and ebooks ($5.99) at Blurb HERE.