The Four Female Salon

This is a photo taken by the photographer Winfield Scott who was known for a more upclose and personal way of taking photos without much thought of respecting the culture. The title of the photo is Three girls and a woman checking hair and was taken between 1895 to 1910 just before the beginning of World War I. The photograph it is a part of the Thomas Hudson Thatcher collection of Mexico and Texas photographs. There are three girls and a woman in this photo that all seem to be inspecting or taking care of the hair of the person in front of them. The way the women are placed order can also be seen in modern times of girls doing each other’s hair. It is not easy to tell if the females are uncomfortable or not with being photographed, but two of the girls are clearly interested and looking at the camera while the other two focus on what they are doing. They do not seem very wealthy by being in front of a door held together with sticks and on the dirt ground with very simple clothing. This photo clearly shows the close bond between the Mexican females and the children of a family with no sign of any men in the photo. The picture makes me wonder where this little home is or if there really is no man present in the lives of these females.

http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/mex/id/665/rec/3