consumption in 1890's

In the late 1890’s consumption steadily went up and people started to live a leisure life. People started to get more money and work less hours. This period of time the upper class was very very wealthy and the middle class was still really wealthy. People showed their money by the size of their house, then by how many maids they had and lastly of their accessories like clothing and horses. I found this picture of a house in Winter Park which shows the leisure life style these people are living.
In this picture the house is very big which automatically shows that the family is wealthy. The house is not blocked in by buildings like it would be in the city. The house is surrounded by a lot of open land and fields, this shows that it is not worth as much as a house of this size in the city but is still owned by someone that is well off. A house in the country is not as valuable as one in the city but this house is probably a summer home because the majority of the houses in Winter Park back then were for wealthy people up north who did not want to live in the cold in the winter time so they would spend their winters in Florida. Having a house not in the city for a second home was preferred so they could get away and relax.
In this picture you can also notice three young ladies in the front of the house, dressed in white. In the 1890’s the color white symbolized wealth. It is hard to notice but if you look closely to the picture the women look very well kept and their hair is done up nicely which shows their cleanliness. If they were not wealthy they would be dirtier and not well kept. The big house, acreage of land and leisureness of the women out front show that consumption at that time was not scarce.