1890s Panoramic Photograph of the Female Brass Band, the Boston Ladies Military Band, includes many of Spanish/Mexican Decent

Original sepia-toned mounted panoramic photograph, circa 1890s, depicting the Boston Ladies Military Band, a uniformed mostly female brass band. Photograph measures 12" x 19", mounted on thick card stock with a printed decorative reverse side featuring a colorful Mexican-themed illustration with handwritten inscriptions. This striking and rare group portrait captures a formally organized female band. The young women, arranged in three rows, wear matching dark military-style uniforms with double-breasted buttons and peaked caps, reminiscent of late 19th-century marching band attire. The ensemble is led by a single male figure, likely their conductor or (truncated) bandmaster, who is seated at the rightmost edge wearing a similar uniform.

The band was founded in 1890 by conductor, D.W. Howard, who may be the bearded man with a monocle pictured in this photo. The bandmates hold a variety of brass and percussion instruments, including trombones, cornets, saxhorns, clarinets, and an assortment of drums. Notably, the young women display a serious and disciplined demeanor, suggesting a high level of professionalism and training. All-women military bands appeared with increasing frequency during the second half of the 19th century. According to an 1896 article by the Graphic, a London illustrated newspaper, The Boston Ladies’ Military Band was a “revelation” because they played brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments, which, as the name made clear, were associated with the all-male domain of the military. In 1896, the paper noted that “ladies are already beginning to play the trombone! This is really too shocking, for the woman who will play the trombone is capable of any atrocity.” Similar jokes were made in New York publications about the “inevitable distortion of the face” from blowing into the mouthpiece of a brass instrument and the “adamantine” upper lips of coronet players which made kissing such a maiden feel like being hit with “brass knuckles.”

The photographer’s mark, visible in the lower right corner, is faded but reads "S___rano, SLO, CA" possibly referring to a street or region of San Luis Obispo, California. The reverse side of the mount presents a highly contrasting visual—a colorful and lively printed illustration depicting a traditional Mexican dance scene, with flamenco-style dresses and male musician in a sombrero playing guitars. Scattered across the illustration are handwritten names, addresses, and dedications, dated 1935. Among them, one reads "July 7, 1935 Your old chum from the Boston Ladies Military Band Inez Marquez Valdivia Come and see me sooner this time" while another reads "Tina Magrini 1897-98." Evidently, the illustration on verso was signed as part of a reunion nearly 40 years after this photo was taken in the 1890s. Many of the band members who signed the verso bear Spanish/Mexican surnames, which corresponds with the illustration on verso, but would be uncommon in Boston at that time. Two of the women have Italian surnames, certainly more common in Boston at the time, but the addresses listed on the back show the girls now living in places such as Santa Barbara and Portland (OR), which suggests that this band may have recruited girls from across the country, or they may have moved after their carrier in the band. A compelling and visually rich object, this mounted photograph provides a rare glimpse into the presence of women in professionalized musical ensembles at the turn of the 20th century while also offering an intriguing secondary layer of their lives through the illustrated reverse side. Very good condition with minor edge wear, light toning, and slight paper loss and abrasions. (Inventory #: 21374)