This amazing World War I- themed photo contains seven Tonnesen models, as well as the distinctive-looking collie often seen in Tonnesen's work. During WWI (1914-18), scenes of families welcoming their loved ones home or seeing them off to war were extremely popular.

In most cases, the cast involved the soldier and his wife and child, or the soldier and his mother. But this one shows us the whole extended family and, in doing so, it provides a group shot of key Tonnesen models circa 1916-18.

Moving left to right, the following can be noted in this gem of a photo:

The older woman at left is also shown, wearing the same dress, in a photo from the Tonnesen Archive of the Oshkosh Public Museum. Her husband (who may be a younger man in disguise) sits in a rocking chair which can be seen in the shot of Tonnesen's studio shown elsewhere on this website.

The younger woman in yellow was reportedly named Jean Blackwell, but I have no further information about her. The man portraying the soldier appears in other photos in the museum archive. The little girl is Virginia Waller (1913-2006) and she is holding a doll found often in Tonnesen prints.

I have only one other confirmed Tonnesen photo containing the image of the beautiful older girl who is holding the soldier's arm. But portraits of her can be found frequently on art postcards of the era. She appears to have been older than William Redmond (1908-1992), who is kneeling at right, playing with the “Tonnesen” collie.

Virginia Waller did not begin modeling until 1916. WWI ended in 1918, so I would date the photo between those years.

All Content Copyright 2008 Lois Emerson

Two of the prints that appear in our slideshow are signed “Tonneson”, as opposed to the usual “Tonnesen.” These are “Miss Coquette” (Image 3, Album 1) and “Roses” (Image 13, Album 2). Both prints feature the same curly-haired little girl. Both are machine-signed.

Because the style of these prints is similar to the style used by R. Atkinson Fox in his portraits of children, and because Fox shared Tonnesen's studio during the 1920's when these prints were produced, collectors have speculated that Fox may have painted these prints from photos made by Tonnesen. The Tonnesen archive of the Oshkosh Public Museum contains the original black and white photo of “Miss Coquette,” as well as several other photos of the same little girl.

Regardless of Fox's suspected involvement, I've always leaned toward the theory that the publisher simply misspelled Tonnesen's name on these two prints. But now, I'm not so sure. I recently found a hand-signed Tonneson signature on yet another print of the same little girl (See above; closeup below). I can't see Tonnesen misspelling her own name! Even more intriguing is the fact that this particular Tonneson signature bears a striking resemblance to Fox's own signature! (Look especially at the letters “son” in each of the signatures below.) Now, I'm wondering if the “Tonneson with two O's” signature is a sort of code, denoting Fox's collaboration through his illustration of a Tonnesen photograph.

And why does this odd spelling of Tonnesen's name always appear on prints featuring this same little girl? I'm wondering if the little girl was Fox's daughter. He had two daughters who would have been the right age. Hazel, born in 1920, and Flo, born in 1919. Photos of the daughters as adults appear in R. Atkinson Fox His Life & Work, by Rita C. Mortenson on pages 14 and 17. Call me crazy, but… Flo's curly hair – curled down onto her forehead – her twinkling eyes and smile, and her defined cheekbones all look like Miss Coquette to me! If you have the book, it might be fun to check it out.

(The image of Fox's signature shown here is taken from page 97 of Collector's Value Guide to Early Twentieth Century American Prints by Michael Ivankovich. Collector Books, Paducah, Kentucky: 1998. Used with permission.)

All Content Copyright 2008 Lois Emerson

Around 1896, Beatrice Tonnesen opened her photographic art studio in Chicago. She quickly established herself as a favorite portrait photographer among the city’s high society. She also introduced the use of live models in advertising, becoming, by 1900, the country’s leading supplier of photographic advertising art.

Portraits and advertising aside, her circa 1900 art work became wildly popular as home decor. It seems to have consisted largely of elaborate and beautifully produced Victorian-themed parlor prints, as well as black and white prints sold to newspapers across the country for use as gifts to readers of Sunday supplements.

In 1903, Tonnesen promoted “The Famous Tonnesen Models” in an ad shown elsewhere on this site. (See “Beatrice Tonnesen Introduced New Trend in 1890 Advertising” by Sumner under “Tonnesen Business.”) Also, in 1900, the Chicago Daily Tribune ran a pictorial indentifying the “Commercial Models of Chicago.” This pictorial appears as Image #1 in Slideshow Album #11. The images that follow it show examples of Tonnesen’s Victorian parlor scenes, featuring several models who can be seen in the 1903 Tonnesen Model ad and/or the Chicago Tribune pictorial, which also gives the models’ names.

These models can also be found in the black and white Sunday supplement prints scattered throughout Slideshow Albums 2, 5, 6 and 10.

All Content Copyright 2008 Lois Emerson