The Tragedy of Belle Adams

Her only known photo is fascinating in itself. She’s young, fair skinned, somewhat plainish bordering on attractive, without makeup and neatly coiffed. She isn’t looking into the camera but slightly upward to her right, as if at something across the room.

Her high-collared dress has a pattern of conflicting stripes and swirls, with puffed-up shoulders.

But it’s her God-awful hat that pulls the eye. It’s a cornucopia of flowers, lace and ribbons. It most resembles a bowl of wax fruit dumped upside down.

It’s black and white, of course, because her photo was taken in 1898, and it’s high-res as it was shot with a large format camera by the pioneer Victoria photographer, Hanna Maynard.

But Belle’s isn’t your ordinary photographic portrait, she isn’t Hannah’s client and she isn’t posing by choice.

No, Hannah’s client for this photographic assignment was the Victoria Police Department and the photo in question is one of the VPD’s earliest mug shots.

Belle, you see, was in trouble, deep trouble with the law—the result of what was described as “unbridled passion and mad jealousy”.

I’ll tell you the sad tale of Belle Adams in next week’s Chronicles.

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PHOTO: Pioneer Victoria photographer Hannah Maynard. —Wikipedia