What’s odd to me about these drawings is that the women look like they are in their 50s or 60s. Most of them would have been in their 20s or 30s. The overwhelming majority. Yes, labor made people look older then but not by that much.Report
I’ve always had this impression that people physically aged a lot faster back in that time.Report
Women in their twenties and thirties didn’t look like matrons in their fifties and sixties even if they lived a tough life or had a few kids. It’s not like we don’t have pictures to refer to even for lower middle class and working class families. To the extent that people did look older, it was because the hair and clothing styles were to make people seem older. To the extent that physical stress played a roll, I think it was more like a steep decline once you hit your 50s rather than anything else.Report
I think modern dentistry contributes to people looking younger now, too. I remember how “old” both my grandmothers looked in the 70s and 80s compared to how my mom looks now.Report
That right there, on the left, is my Grandmother.Report
A tie at dinner.Report
What’s odd to me about these drawings is that the women look like they are in their 50s or 60s. Most of them would have been in their 20s or 30s. The overwhelming majority. Yes, labor made people look older then but not by that much.Report
I’ve always had this impression that people physically aged a lot faster back in that time.Report
Women in their twenties and thirties didn’t look like matrons in their fifties and sixties even if they lived a tough life or had a few kids. It’s not like we don’t have pictures to refer to even for lower middle class and working class families. To the extent that people did look older, it was because the hair and clothing styles were to make people seem older. To the extent that physical stress played a roll, I think it was more like a steep decline once you hit your 50s rather than anything else.Report
Perhaps it’s just Briggs’ style.Report
I think modern dentistry contributes to people looking younger now, too. I remember how “old” both my grandmothers looked in the 70s and 80s compared to how my mom looks now.Report