This one was a cliffhanger. The dueling wits were a sight to behold, and in the end I had to try them out on my wife to see which caption had that extra something to send it over the top. When she nearly blew her coffee across the table, I knew we had our winner.
Congratulations to Janice Brown for her winning entry, and we proudly award her with a Walking the Berkshires handcrafted, digitally-enhanced .gif quality testimonial suitable for right click and download and pasting on the cubicle wall.
The gentleman seated at right is my great great grandfather William Nisbet Olmsted, who was "in the China Trade" during the 1860s after a very brief month of service with the 7th NYSM in defense of the Capitol (while stealing the stationery). This picture was taken in Canton, China in 1863. There is another one much like it with numbers above the heads of all the individuals, but alas, nothing in our family archive reveals how to decode it.
In due course we'll roll out Family Archive Contest #9. The bar is now exceedingly high thanks to all of your grand submissions.
Oh, too bad, Tour Marm. I will miss your blog and hope you get your home computer or its replacement back in action soon. What allow to loose so much data.
Posted by: GreenmanTim | September 05, 2007 at 02:26 PM
Excellent choice!
By-the-way: The numbers above the heads might be the names of the sons: #1 son, #2 son etc.
Can't wait for the next one!
Also my blog is on permanent hold. My home computer has crashed (with all aboard) and I am unable to work on it at the office.
Posted by: Tour Marm | September 05, 2007 at 01:58 PM
Another satisfied contestant! This "dubious distinction" thing is apparently a strong motivator.
And you are most welcome!
Posted by: GreenmanTim | September 05, 2007 at 09:35 AM
Tim,
I'm truly delighted to receive this dubious honor. I'll always treasure this award's high quality gif. :D
Janice
Posted by: Janice Brown | September 05, 2007 at 08:40 AM