Rare Photos Reveal the Vibrant Culture of Cowboy Saloons in the 19th Century

Is it just the little dress shoes that have changed?

“The dream of the 1890s is alive in Portland”

It’s interesting how time have changed but we can still do the same things (not hunt whales legally, however). From the article it seems like certain establishments wanted a cleaner image and would ban prostitution - so it was still a gray area morally back then.

People still hunt.

Selection bias of the pictures they decided to show, I guess.

By the way, there is another one with them ridding horses.

> Interestingly, women who were not parlor girls or dancers were typically not allowed entry into these establishments.

From the article

It is not even slightly weird. Consumption of alcohol by women has always been frowned upon, especially in public houses, not least by women, and survives today in the shaming of pregnant women who drink even the smallest drop of alcohol at any stage of pregnancy. Women were prominent campaigners against consumption of alcohol, especially in the USA, e.g. Woman's Christian Temperance Union, leading to temperance laws in several US states and ultimately the Eighteenth Amendment of the US national constitution which launched the notorious Prohibition Era.

Also, even past the middle of the twentieth century, in the UK and Australia at least, it was normal for there to be a separate "public" bar" in pubs for men only and a "ladies bar" or "saloon bar" where women were permitted entry.

They do that to make it more entertaining to watch, but no, there were very few women. Those that were there would stay at home/farms or seen at church.

In the 90s, video cassette (VHS) rentals were very popular, and a friend's uncle had a parlor for renting. My friends and I spent our days growing up on Rambo, Bloodsports, Shaolin Temples, and the whole range of Westerns. Spaghetti Westerns and Cowboys stayed with me, and when in doubt about what movie to re-watch, I chose Westerns.

I remember in the early 2000s, when Macromedia asked me what are my hobbies or favorite leisure time, when they tried to highlight my profile was, “I like Western/Cowboy Movies.”

Well, I don't know what you've missed, but Godless and Hell on Wheels were both decent. For a modern western, Longmire is pretty good.

Tombstone is a classic. Great movie that I've watched dozens of times and it never gets old.

Although he's a controversial man for some of his opinions and beliefs, most of John Wayne's movies are also really good if you don't mind older movies.

That's because picture taking was a rare event in people's lives in the 19th century. It was relatively expensive, there were few photographers, and you had to stay perfectly still for quite a while to get a proper photo. That's why these are all posed pictures as the technology of the time made it nearly impossible to take "action shots" due to exposure times.

Due to all of these factors, people tended to dress up in their Sunday best. If you notice the ladies on the horses in that picture are quite well dressed too.