Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Tourists


 

Probably from the late 19th century, or possibly the very early 20th century.   It looks like someplace with a tropical feel.  The Caribbean, Hawaii, the Philippines.  

Friday, July 4, 2025

The M2 Light Tank


  

I've tried to do a bit of research on this photo, and while I'm not 100% sure, I think this is a photo of an M2 Light Tank, made by the Rock Island Arsenal Company that went into production in 1937.  It was equipped with a 37mm M5 gun and machine guns.  Mostly, it was used for reconnaissance.  It was under armed for serious combat operations.

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Cut Down


 

This slim photo has been cut down from a larger photo.   There is some writing on the back, but like the picture itself, some of it has been lost to the scissors.  "Dec. 20/4."  So, from the 1940s.  And, "Taken in Ge."  Perhaps Germany and a soldier on occupation duty.  Or, then again, maybe Georgia, though there isn't that much snow in Georgia. 

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Don't Forget the Dog


  

Written on the back, "July 1952  Ruth, Clint & David, Clint's son."  A farm family?  Perhaps a house right on the edge of the new, post-war subdivision?  Was Clint a widower or divorced? 

Sunday, June 29, 2025

Crazy Looking Women


  

I'm not sure what these angry-looking women are standing beside.  An old water trough, perhaps, though with a very visible hole in the bottom.  One woman in the back looks like she's holding a book, perhaps a Bible.  A baptism delayed due to a lack of water?  Who knows.  I don't. 

Thursday, June 26, 2025

The Governor's Palace, Algeria


  

I found a bag of old photos in the mess that is my closet.  I don't think this image has been posted before, but if it has, my apologies for repeating myself. 

Written on the back, "Governors Palace Algeria."   So, there's a lot of information about this building and Algeria out there, so just the highlights.  The governor's palace was built during the Ottoman era, between 1798 and 1805.  After Algeria became a French colony, it was used as an army barracks between 1830 and 1846.  In 1865, it became the summer residence of the French governor.  After the successful Algerian revolution that won independence from the French, it was renamed the People's Palace and became the seat of government.  After a coup in 1965, the seat of government was moved to the El Mouradia Palace.  If you want to know more about Algerian history, don't be lazy.  Look it up yourself. 

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Greenwood Cemetary



 

A bit of an apology on this one.  Stereoview cards have a curve to them.  The card stock on this one is thick, and so even after putting a couple of books on top, I still couldn't get the card flat, so the focus isn't as good as it should be.  

There is a caption on the back, "The widely known cemetery is situated on Gowanus heights and covers an area of 474 acres.  The number of bodies interred up to July, 1896, was 290,000 or an average of about 5,000 per annum since it was opened."  

The Keystone View Company was founded by B.L. Singley in 1892 in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and finally went under in 1963.  Keystone originally specialized in humor and entertainment but eventually pivoted to educational imagery.