Anatomy of a Cover Photo

With the book dropping this week I’d like to draw attention to the cover image and why we chose it to set the tone for the book. The image is a group photo of all family and guests in attendance at when Juliette “Daisy” Gordon married William “Willie” Low in 1886. I have been fascinated by this image ever since I first encountered it at the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace Museum in Savannah. Besides the photograph commemorating a crucial moment in Juliette Low’s life and including most of the people in her generation who are discussed in the book, what captivated my attention was the presence of the servant on the balcony above the guests. The servant is identified as “nurse” Valentine Breton, presumably the caretaker of some of the youngest children in the family. The juxtaposition of the servant and family infers so much about Gilded Age society as well as the status and evolution of the Gordon clan at that time. They were the Georgia version of the Astors and Vanderbilts. I encourage readers to examine the image and think about what questions it might raise about the lives of those it depicts.