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Gold Bead Choker

Albany, Oregon was a brand new town when this young African-American woman lived there circa 1880. It would be fascinating to know more about her, as this region was sparsely populated at that time and the inhabitants were mainly pioneering farm families and laborers. Most were white, with the notable exception of the Chinese laborers who built the town's railroad connection during the 1850s. And yet this woman was prosperous enough to have her picture taken by the Crawford Saxton studio wearing a lovely, if simple, dress and this gorgeous Colonial Revival gold bead choker. According to "Jewelry in America 1600-1900" by Fales, this style became fashionable around 1876, about 200 years after the first round of popularity of hollow gold bead necklaces in colonial New England. The revival style necklaces used much larger beads than those worn during colonial days, in keeping with the greater general prosperity and ostentation of the Victorian era. This young woman has a strong, determined set to her jaw, and a direct gaze, though she appears relaxed and comfortable in this formal setting.