I don't speak French. I took German in high school. I was forced to take Spanish in junior high. I don't speak either language. I'm not sure it's the education system that is at fault or the way my brain is wired. I can pretend to speak different languages, I can mimic the sounds, but when it comes down to learning the actual languages it becomes too similar to trying to do math. I am not wired for math. I am not wired for anything where a specific answer is required. I like options.
My option for this week's Sepia Saturday is way off topic. I don't collect photos of hotels (this week's theme), but I do have a lot of posts on my ephemera site dedicated to old hotels and motels. A couple of examples of old San Francisco hotels are here and here.
Instead I'm going to do a bit of crowdsourcing because I know Sepians are a very diverse group and there is certainly at least one who can speak French.
This image was purchased many years ago in Eureka, California. I will always wonder the route this portrait took to get there.
Click on image to see it larger.
It's a fascinating shot of children far too close in age. The mother was just popping these little infants out one after another. Was her name Boulangerie?
So, getting down to the requested facts…what does it say on the back?
Click on image to see it larger.
Though what I have is very old, it is not the original print. The reason I know this is because of the boy in the upper right corner. If you take a look you'll notice that someone did a bit of photo shop-erie with another print, a knife, and some glue. That little boy was in the original shot, but for some reason a replacement of him was put on top. So somewhere there was an original with the cut and paste job and what I have is a shot of the shot.
So let us ponder why this little boy was such a problem. Perhaps he shut his eyes just as the shutter closed and the photographer, not wishing to bring the wrath of Boulangerie down on his head, said, "Madame, I will fix it immédiatement! No charge…of course."
What other options could have caused this photography disaster? Imagine how the photographer of today would say, "Don't worry your little head. I will have this fixed in a peu de moments" then run off to his laptop.
I am hoping someone will fill in the pieces provided on the back of this photograph from 1884.
And in advance I say merci.
UPDATE: Thank you Linda for the translation:
...the message says: loving remembrance (or amicable memory) to the friends (if it says "ses"), or "his" friends (if it says "les").UPDATE: From Brett:
Affectionate memories to his friends
Germain Deseudi
Mezin le 9 8th 1884
Mezin is a small village in south-western France (Aquitaine). The photograph looks to me as though it could have come from there._________________
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