The Post War European Trip Collection-Back In the U.S.A.

I started this collection with two postcards from Missouri and I'm ending with  three people sitting in a car with Missouri license plates from 1948.  I can't know if those cards were purchased before this trip or if the photo was taken after but I did think they made nice bookends for Gloria Lee's European trip.   In my last post I noted that one of the photos might have a link for this finale of the collection.  A way off to the side, barely visible, stood a young lady who was probably Gloria Lee.  From that distant semi-profile, is it possible to figure out which of the two young ladies seen here is Gloria Lee Bigewet?  If nothing else there is a chance for some speculation.  My guess, the woman on the right in this picture.

And while we're dealing with guess work, how about the pronunciation of her last name.  I'm guessing it has a French origin and it might begin like bijou and end like Chevrolet.  Bishaway, phonetically?

Click on The Post War European Trip Collection in labels to finally see the whole thing. 

The Post War European Trip Collection-Gloria Lee In Venice

Unlike in the previous post, this card was mailed.  The Message, "July 10, 1948.  Dear Mom & Dad,  Venice is simply heavenly.  There's no other place like it in the world!  It's exactly  like all the pictures you've seen painted-gondolas on the canals-all the beautiful, colorful surroundings and the people so well dressed here & go about with a prosperous air.  Took a trip over to the beach resort LIDO yesterday afternoon and this afternoon and laid in the sand & was just plain lazy-ahhh! It was wonderful-made me feel so darn healthy! and just eager to start out on another 60 mile hike-YEAH!!!  Some day I intend to return to this abode as it's just everything you could want in a city-Love, Gloria Lee."  Needless to say, Gloria Lee had very, very small hand writing.

The card was mailed to "Mr. & Mrs. Frank H. Bigewet, 5118 Vernon Ave., St. Louis 13, Mo. U.S.A." Now, I thought that I was misreading the last name, so I did a quick Google search for Frank Bigewet and was surprised to find his 1940 census information.  Frank was 37 years old in 1940.  Not too old to miss war service, but old enough that he wouldn't have been subject to the draft.  His daughter Gloria Lee was all of 10, born in 1930.  So, depending on which month she was born,  Gloria Lee was either 18 or 19 years old when she sent this card.   Too young to have a boyfriend or husband in the military, at least during World War 2.

As usual, click on The Post War European Trip Collection in labels, etc., etc.

The Post War European Trip Collection-Missouri

It's time to start another collection.  As a rule if I buy an envelope full of material related by theme, and if it's a mixture of photographs, postcards, and non photo ephemera, I'll post anything that started life in a camera here, and the non photos on my Fair Use blog.  This collection is related not just by theme, but it all originates from the same source, so it will all end up on The New Found Photography.  I've got postcards, some photographic, some pure illustration; I've got guide books, a passport pamphlet, a letter, and even a sketch.  So, why is the record of a European trip starting off in Missouri?  Well, our traveler had to start form somewhere.

Lake Tanycomo, short for Lake Tanny County, Missouri, is actually a reservoir on the White River in the Ozark Mountains.  It's near Branson, the country music and kitsch capitol of south central Missouri.  St. Louis, of course, needs no explanation.

Because there is a lot of material in this collection, it will get posted with more than a few interruptions, so, when things progress, The Post War European Trip Collection in labels will be helpful.

The Severe Family

Did this family ever laugh?  If they were asked to smile for the camera, they failed.  There is a very faded stamp on the back.  I can't make out all of it, but I've got "ROLLINS STUDIO" and "SEDALIA."  Presumably Sedalia, Missouri.  I suspect Mr. Rollins did the processing and printing rather than taking the picture.

Back To Missouri

Back to Sedalia as well.  The last post had an envelope with an address for W. F. Rages.  Today, the husband of Anna Rages, Mr. Henry Kingen.  I did a search and found  a few Henry Kingens, including one on Facebook.  The oldest Henry Kingen I could find was born July 7, 1857 in Glassen, Erftkreis, Nordhein-Westfalen, Germany.  Of course, Germany didn't exist in 1857, but on his 1880 census form he listed his birthplace as Prussia.  In 1880 he was living in Pierz, Minnesota, a bit of a trek from Sedalia, Missouri, but not that far away.  He died on February 11, 1932, location unknown.  Father, mother, siblings, spouse and children unknown.  So, the same Henry Kingen?  Kingen is such a rare last name, that it's possible, though I have my doubts.  The real mystery is why someone went to all the trouble of starting a webpage for such a cipher.

Missouri

What to do?  As can be seen, the second photo is pasted onto part of an old envelope.  I had two choices, breaking out the alcohol and matte knives and try and separate the two, possibly harming an already damaged  print, or leave things as is and save the photo.  In the end, despite the fact that there is info on both the print and envelope, I left things as they were.  On the print, I can make out part of a word, "loy," and the bottom half of a studio mark, "DAY AND NIGHT STUDIOS."   And on the envelope, a bit of postmark, '8-PM, 1947, MO."  Also, a typed address, "Mr. W. F. Rages, Smithton, Missouri."  I think, based on it's position, that it's a return address.

The top print has a studio mark, complete, and easy to read.  "Kodak Prints, 3 cents Each, Young's Studio, Sedalia, Mo."  Sedalia and Smithton are both in Pettis County, south of the Missouri River, just west of the center of the state.  Both towns were founded by George Rapeen Smith, a railroad promoter.  As of the 2010 census, Sedalia had a population of 21,476 and Smithton, 570.  Mr. Smith chose the wrong town to name after himself.  Surprisingly, Sedalia is the home of The Daum Museum of Contemporary Art.  I visited their website, but for some reason, I couldn't bring up images from the permanent collection.  I will try again latter.

I did a web search for William, Wilma, Willard, and half a dozen other names starting with a W, but couldn't find anything about W. F. Rages, but did find a Mildred and a Charles.  Too, I suspect that the envelope was a much latter addition to the print.  I've seen too many dated photos from the 1920s where the little girls had those bobbed haircuts.  1947, I think not.

Polarine From Standard Oil

Even though this postcard is of a Detroit city bus, it was mailed from and to Kansas City. The postmarks, for sending and receiving are both "KANSAS CITY NOV 5 1911" The times are "7-PM" and "8-PM" Mailed and sent to the same post office. It's addressed to "Mr Raymon Walker, MC book" No street address or city name, so it might have gone to a box in the building, or it was for counter pick up, or the mail man knew everyone on his route. And the message, "Mr. Walker, Dear friend thank you verry much for your remembrance towards me. Will leave KC November the 6th for Va by the way of Atlanta, Georgia. Your G. McWilliams" Mr Walker, Dear friend, a strange mixture of the formal and familiar. And he misspelled dear friend's first name. Very strange.

Dinner at The Mark Twain Hotel

This image was a throw in on some loose pictures I bought. At first I didn't give it much thought, but after awhile it kind of grew on me. I liked the mountain of spaghetti in front of the older woman. It reminded me of the cheap Italian restaurants that could be found in the coal mining towns around where I grew up. A night out, cheap food, for people who didn't make a lot of money. Too, while it is often possible to really research an image, more often than not, the fun of old photos lies in speculation. Was this a family get together? Friends? An anniversary? Did the bald guy on the right score a younger wife, or is it his daughter? Perhaps it's a great grandmother, son and daughter-in-law, grandson and great grand daughter. Written on the back, "J. Henry Grimm, Mark Twain Hotel, Hannibal, Missouri." I looked it up, and there is a Mark Twain Hotel, still in business, located at 204 Earl St., Hannibal, MO 63401. On the Yahoo site, the user's review notes that it is comfortable and a good value, though there is no place to eat after 10 P.M.