This one is the full 8x10, heavy, double weight, fiber paper print meant to be displayed in the silver frame on the mantle piece.
I had a couple of threads to pursue on this photograph. There is an embossed studio mark on the bottom of the print, part of which is visible. "FRANKLIN DUNCAN, HOLLYWOOD, GR 1037." I thought it would be easy to find something on Mr. Duncan, but sadly, I struck out on that front. I tried Franklin Duncan, Hollywood, California, as well as Franklin Duncan, Hollywood, Florida and couldn't find a thing. Who ever he was, he was skilled, but not necessarily talented. I've seen a very similar pose on many a print. Even when I was working as a professional photo printer, and I'm way too young to have been working in the World War 2 era, this pose showed up all the time.
The other thread, the shoulder insignia on the young man's uniform. I recognized it as the mark of the United States Army Air Force, organized in 1941, disbanded in 1947, with the founding of the separate Air Force we know today. I had hoped to find out who were the officers and who were the enlisted men. Pilots, co-pilots, and navigators were the officers, like out lieutenant, while gunners, and mechanics were the enlisted men. The one position I'm not sure of, bombardier.
Nice looking woman.
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