The Psychogenealogist Pic of the Week (#114) - "Je vous aime, Chuck"

Every Friday The Psychogenealogist shares a "Pic of the Week." The intent is to encourage thought and imagination about the spaces where psychology, genealogy, and history converge.

Here is another great antique store find. It shows a young woman and has a French inscription written in the lower right corner. The name of the photographer is “Campbell Studio” in Florence, Alabama.

Here is a closeup of the inscription. It seems to read, in French:

Je vous aime

Chuck

Some basic research and google translate suggests this means, roughly, “I love you”. It seems a little clumsy in that the “vous” refers either formally to an individual or a group of people. A less formal way of saying “I love you” to a sweetheart would be: “Je tu aime”.

Any French speakers out there available to educate or correct me?

This photo came from the same antique store pile as: The Psychogenealogist Pic of the Week (#39). Though different women, the two photos are in the same frame and from the same Studio. Both have affectionate inscriptions on the bottom (#39 was “With Love, Molly”).

Finally, it looks like “Chuck” to me, but it also looks like there is a dotted “i” in the name. What do you think the name on the 2nd line of the inscription is? I can’t quite tell.

Here are some other questions to consider as you think about this photo.

Questions:

• Who is this woman and what is her story?

• Who wrote the inscription and who was the photo given to?

• What year do you think the photo was taken?

• What relation, if any, do you think this photo has to the one in Pic of the Week #39?

• What do you think, feel, and wonder about as you look at this photograph?

I would love to hear your thoughts about these questions or other ideas that occur to you about the photo. Please feel to leave a comment below!

Featured Tag: Women