All Your Kisses - Sepia Saturday

In a week when we have learnt that the population of England and Wales has risen by 3.7 million since 2001 (Census results 2011), an increase of 7.1%, there is only on interpretation I can put on this week's picture prompt.

More than half of that 7.1% increase has been driven by immigration, two-thirds from non EU countries.

It seems to me that the featured kiss is of someone saying farewell. That makes the lady an emigrant.

The Emigrant - Artist: Gyula Kardos - 1858

The farewell kiss before one or other boards the waiting ship.

There must have been many such kisses in Sweden before my next ship sailed.

Farewell to home -
Göteborg, 1905

These emigrants were bound for England or America on a steamer. (ex Library of Congress)

I don't have the destination of the ship from Sweden, but not all immigrants landed at Ellis Island.

Emigrant arrival at Constitution Wharf, Boston

It seems that there would have been kisses of welcome here for some. Others weren't so lucky.

"Friends" meeting an emigrant girl at dock.

 

Girls travelling alone were at risk from "friends" offering to look after them - but really they were 'recruiting officers' for the white slave trade.

Has much changed over the centuries? I guess that there would even have been a trade in slaves back in the days of these two lovers.

Erastes & Eromenos

Detail from the red tondo of a red-figure Atticup, c480BC

Artist - Briseis; Canino Collection, Louvre Museum

Photo by Jostrow (2006)

Even I can't profess to remember that far back, but I do remember this from the 1970s; I hope you will too.

If not, perhaps you should take a buss over to Sepia-Saturday-156 to see how others have performed.