Thursday, March 5, 2009

B & W



Last night I was looking for a recipe to liven up some black beans and white rice, so I Googled "moros" and discovered that in Cuba the full title of this dish is Moros y Christianos, or Moors and Christians to an anglophone like me. A little improvisation made for a delicious dinner. And that's just to segue into yet another of the mysteries of black and white.

The cabinet card shown above was taken by J. H. Peters & Co. at the New York Gallery in San Francisco, CA. The gallery was in business between 1869 and 1887.

Not given is any clue as to who these two ladies are, or why they were so innovatively attired. I welcome your speculation.

2 comments:

  1. Hmmmm...perhaps this is how the Black and White Ball started in SF. Or...perhaps the Castro was the Castro even back then. They don't look particularly friendly, do they? Bad vaudeville?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think your second suggestion may have nailed it. Maybe it's a literal manifestation of feeling half-and-half. They certainly are post-Godey's Lady's Book.

    ReplyDelete