More Life Aboard Ship

 

A month or so ago, I bought a picture of a couple of ship's officers that had been cut out of a larger photograph.  Anyway, I was at the same antique store where I found two more pictures of maritime officers.  The first photo I found had them in dress white uniforms, so I was thinking an ocean liner.  Of course, they could have been from a cargo ship, or for that matter, a coastal steamer.  It looks like the same hat badge from that earlier photo, but different people.  I'm still thinking ocean liner, so click on that in labels or just scroll back.    

A Big Family

 

Some people have legible handwriting, some don't.  Two people have written on the back of this print; one had good, readable handwriting, the other, not so much.  So, the not-so-readable first.  "Breyding House-Durand, Mich.-Vera born here."  I have no idea if I've deciphered what I assume is a family name, but Breyding is my best guess.  I really couldn't make out the town name, but I was sure of the first and last letter, so I scrolled through Michigan town names online, and the only one I found that made sense was Durand, a township with a 2020 population of 3,507.  There's no date on the picture, but late 19th century is about right, so how much did the population change in 130 years?  

The readable part, "Mother, Vera, Father Roy, Emma, Grandmother, Otto, George, Grandfather."  

The Cut Down Cabinet Card

 

I hate it when people do this.  Someone at some time cut up a cabinet card.  Maybe it was so it would fit in a frame, or a wallet.  In any case, a bit of history has been vandalized.  An unimportant bit of history, perhaps, but a piece of the past, nevertheless.  Not all, but many cabinet cards will have a photographer's studio logo on the back.  There's just a bit of one left on this picture, but not enough to be worth scanning. 

Academics or Businessmen

 

Who are these guys?  Academics, maybe.  They have that studious look, and college academics to boot.  Women have been teaching in elementary and high schools since the 19th century, but all-male faculties? Considering this photo looks like it's from the thirties or forties, an all-male faculty screams university.  But then again, maybe these are businessmen of some kind.  The writing on the blackboard is difficult to make out, but the word "plant" can be read, and a few dollar signs as well.  

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas (On skates)

 

Written on the back, "Jan 15, 71.  St Therese, Quebec.  Darlene & friend of Darlene, Jo-anne & Daddy."  Well, I guess a white January rather than a white Christmas.  Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, is a suburb of Montreal, population 26,533 as of the 2021 census.  It's also the snowblower capital of the world.  Manufacturing, not ownership.  Are they skating on the local hockey rink?  

Playboys

 

I know nothing about this photo.  For all I know, it's a picture of three people at a church conference.  Still, it, at least to me, has a 1970s cocaine fueled party feel to it.  The sort of past people hide from their children.  Why, when I was your age, I stayed home and read the Bible.  I didn't drink or use drugs. 

Raadskelde(r)

 

More often than not, there really isn't much research that can be done on the old photos in my collection.  But every once in a while, there are things I can look into.  With the gothic style lettering on the building and the style of architecture, I was sure this photo must have been taken in Germany, but then I went to Google Translate and typed in Raadskelde and it came up as Dutch, and the meaning, council cellar.  Then, after scanning the picture, and blowing it up a bit, it looked like there might be an extra letter at the end.  So, I started typing different possibilities, and Raadskelder was the only word that worked.  Again, it translated as council cellar, but this time in Afrikaans.  I suppose that makes sense.  After all, Afrikaans is a Dutch dialect.  So, was this picture taken in the Netherlands, or South Africa?