Grandmother Smith with Ting and Ling

There’s a short, short story wrapped around the side of this snapshot—“Grandmother Smith with May’s two Pekes Ting and Ling.” Although the Pekinese aren’t hers, Grandmother Smith really looks like a dog lover, don’t you think?  Maybe she’s the one who inspired May to take on this exotic breed. 

There’s no date on the photo, but I associate that square neckline with the end of World War One—the so called “Armistice Blouse” produced by Folkwear Patterns.  And indeed I found a similar looking bodice in the 1918 Sears catalog.

These days the year 1918 brings on different connotations because it marked the start of the first global pandemic.  One of the first things that came to mind when I saw the photo was that perhaps these were pandemic pets getting a little extra love from Grandma in a time of crisis.  There’s no way that the present doesn’t color our view of the past.

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5 Responses to Grandmother Smith with Ting and Ling

  1. Rhoda K says:

    Just to let you know I enjoy your posts, though I don’t comment often. Keep up the good work.

    • JS says:

      Yes. I’ve commented more in the past, but haven’t had much to say recently. I didn’t want Lynn to think her efforts were going unappreciated.

  2. Bob Moeller says:

    I wondered about Ling and Ting and discovered a contemporary children’s book author, Grace Lin, who has written an ‘early reader’ series about twins, Ting and Ling.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8PkhlAtXN0
    Grandmother Smith wouldn’t have known the reference, but Ling and Ting live on!
    Also, I’m wondering if you don’t need a ‘dog lovers’ tag for the blog. Canines have appeared more than once!

  3. JS says:

    I’ve bookmarked the Armistice Blouse in the past. It’s a good-looking piece, although the long-sleeved version on the model looks like it has too much fabric above the cuff.

  4. JS says:

    I recently watched the new version of the TV series All Creatures Great and Small. A Pekinese had star billing, one Tricki Woo. It was the pet of the character played by Diana Rigg, in what I believe was her last performance.

    https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/all-creatures-great-and-small-tricki-woo/#:~:text=Want%20to%20discover%20a%20whole,of%20James%20Herriot's%20classic%20books.

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