I found this sweet little sillhouette portrait the other day at one of my thrift shops. I am drawn to anything paper related and silhouettes are just so special. I especially love this young woman because she has glasses. Adorable.
Imagine that day in 1937. Surely, getting one’s silhouette done by “Greenberg” on the Ocean City boardwalk was a particularly special one.
Whenever I find an old print or artwork behind glass, I always open it up to see if I can find out any more information on the back of the paper to help me date it or to find out where it may have come from. When I opened this one up, I got a beautiful surprise.
Tucked behind the picture was this little certificate from the School District of Philadelphia awarding one Phyllis Hepfner the “6th Grade of Proficiency in Handwriting.” Signed, John G Kirk, Director of Commercial Education, June 1934.
So, I can assume that the girl in the picture is Phyllis Hepfner and boy was she proud to have received this certificate!
This just makes me smile.
To think of young Phyllis, who wore her glasses while she modeled for her portrait, proud enough to tuck this certificate safely away where it would not yellow or tear.