thumbtack

Born Jessie Gregg in 1865, she married composer Edgar Stillman Kelley (note spelling) on 1891, in San Francisco. Jessie was also musical: she was involved in various organizations for music teachers, and headed the piano department at Western College for Women in Ohio. She was widowed in 1944.
staff.lib.muohio.edu/westernarchives/kelley/wife-bio2.php

Thanks so much pennylrichardsca for providing the link to her archives. This is great portrait of her, and we will correct the spelling of her married name the next time we update the record.

This seems quite likely to be the former Alice Cornelia Thaw. From profilesintime.blogspot.com/2007/02/benjamin-thaw.html "Alice Thaw (January 2, 1880 - ? March 1969) - Baptized 11 DEC 1881 at 3rd Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania Alice Cornelia (Thaw) Seymour Whitney; in a much talked of international match, she became the Countess of Yarmouth. She married George Francis Alexander Seymour (20 October 1871, d. 16 February 1940), the son of Hugh de Grey Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford and Hon. Mary Hood, on 27 April 1903 in Pittsburgh. It is said that the earl extorted money from her at her wedding and promptly deserted her. Her marriage to George Francis Alexander Seymour was annulled in 1908. He was styled Lord Hertford; he died in 1940, aged 68 and childless, and his titles passed to his nephew. Later (before 1914), Alice Thaw became Mrs. Geoffrey G. Whitney (Geoffrey Gordon Whitney was born July 21, 1882 in Boston). Their estate was at Woods Hole. " The engagement announcement on December 19, 1912 query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D03E4DA1E3AE633A... has a different middle initial for her future husband, but her May 1955 obituary at select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0A14F8345B167B... (subscripton required), gives his name as Geoffrey G. Whitney. query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A07E5DA173FE633A... dates the wedding as April 22, 1913. So the photo may be from around the time of the wedding. She was the sister of Harry K. Thaw, husband of Evelyn Nesbit. See www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2929579164/

I started a biography of her in Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Cornelia_Thaw LOC: Please correct her death year to 1955.

Thanks for pointing out the correct death date. We'll adjust the description when we next update.

I like the accidental collage-style composition here, including the tuft of cotton (?) and the folded edge and the thumbtack and a creased handwritten scrap... and the flasks in the background seem to indicate this was taken sideways?

Photo was probably taken at Donaldson studio, 927 F St. NW Washington, DC. Note the embossed label.