Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Was the privacy of Lizzie Borden so closely guarded that no photographs were taken of her after the killings of 1892?

It would be intersting to see photos of Lizzie as an old woman. For some reason I have a hard time envisioning her with gray hair, wrinkly skin, perhaps a bit of a hunch back, and maybe a few teeth missing. Does anyone know if she gained quite a bit of weight as she got older, or did she stay the same average size?

In my mind, she is forever frozen in time as a young woman...

And those eyes...Do you think even in her old age, those eyes still pierced through your soul and sent chills down your spine?

If there were photgraphs of Lizzie during the 20th century, who would have them? And if those photographs did exist, don't you think they would have surfaced by now?

There is at least one photo, Diane, taken of an "older" Lizzie, a studio pose I believe. She looked heavier and had on granny glasses. I didn't even recognize her for several seconds even though the caption said Lizzie Borden. I think that photo is in the book, "Goodbye, Lizzie Borden." I haven't seen any others. She was not smiling. She looked like a very stern school Marm. Her eyes did appear very cold. Not as cold as Georgia Brown's but they did give me the creeps. I don't know what her age was in that posed photo but I would say middle aged, probably around 50ish.

It would have been nice if there had been moving pictures of Lizzie and of the crime scene and a recording of her voice. I would love to see a photo of Lizzie smiling from ear to ear instead of just that smirk. I guess people didn't smile too much in those days. The Mona Lisa syndrome.

I don't know who owns photos of Lizzie. Maybe some are owned by a recluse who believes they are top secret and should not be revealed to the public until the year 2087. You know how it goes . I'm sure someone know's more about it. Let's keep our eyes and ears open.

-1bigsteve (o:

In Rebello, on page 321, Nance O'Neil gave a short description of Lizzie when she was in her mid forties:

" She [Nance O'Neil] found the reserved little gentlewoman[Lizzie], with her gray eyes and graying hair and her unmistakable air of refinement and intellect, distinctly attractive..."

After seeing Lee-ann playing Lizzie this past August, I must admit that I don't think of Lizzie the same way as before. Lizzie was always a 2 dimensional being to me, and forever stuck in black and white.
Believe it or not, Lee-ann can duplicate that stare. But it's not a judgemental stare or a cold stare, it's the kind of look that is quiet and self-contained and you find yourself chattering more, because of the *look.*
I would think that's what Lizzie did, and Lee-ann may have studied this and it's very interesting, especially when she is in *period* costume.