First off I am jealous of this young woman to have an owl, that most magical of creatures, perched on her hands. Gentle and calm, she looks like just the right person for it though--and what a wonderful dress, too:)  On the reverse is written what looks like Dr. L. Lealaug (quite an accomplished young woman as well, it would seem) + lost owl, May 21, 1893.  And then Rockford College, Illinois.

Rockford was founded in 1847 as the Rockford Female Seminary, a rigorous, pioneering institution in the education of women. (Jane Addams, the renowned social reformer and first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, received the first bachelor’s degree awarded by the institution in 1882, and just a year before this photo was taken, in 1892, it had been officially renamed Rockford College. It would have been quite a place to be for a smart, curious, ambitious young woman to be  in 1893, which this photograph feels as though capturing in one special moment.

 5 5/16" x 4 5/16". Good condition, detail photos shot with magnification.