Los Angeles Indiana 14

 

It's time to finish up this collection., at least that is if I don't find another page from this album.  Have I mentioned how much I hate it when antique dealers cut up a photo album and sell pages individually?  Well, it needs to be said.  I know it's more profitable for a seller to cut up an album, but history, even anonymous family histories means something.  So, girls camping and because at least one picture on this page was processed in Lamar, Colorado, I'm assuming that these pictures were taken somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.  To see the whole collection, click on The Los Angles Indiana Collection in labels. 

Los Angeles Indiana 13

 

So, there I was, watching one of those PBS fundraisers when the host referred to The Beatles as the penultimate rock band.  Of course, as we all know, penultimate actually means the next to the last, and this is the penultimate post for the Los Angeles Indiana collection.  That is unless I find another loose album page from the same seller, which I'm beginning to accept isn't going to happen.  Anyway, we've got another diversion to Lamar, Colorado, or at least the lab stamp on the back of the third picture in the column says, "Kodak Finishing, J.H. WARD Lamar, Colo."  I promise the next thing I post will be the final three photos from this collection. No more interruptions and to see everything in order, click on The Los Angeles Indiana Collection in labels. 

Los Angeles Indiana 11

 

Let's start with a bit of info on the whole collection.  Click on The Los Angeles Indiana Collection in labels to see everything posted so far, and there's still more to come.

Anyway, sometimes album pages can be quite informative.  The person who put the album together writes captions, or when it's possible to remove a photo that's held in place with photo corners, there's something written on the back of the print.  That's not really true of this collection.  There's a printer's logo on the back of the top print, but it's so faded that it can't be read.  On the back of the middle print, there is a lab stamp, "Kodak Printing, J.H. Ward, Lamar, Colo."  I don't know whether this family was well traveled or if it's the album itself that's made it to so many places. 

Los Angeles Indiana 9

   

Well, I've been away from The New Found Photography for a while.  I was out of town, and finances are a bit tight so I haven't really been increasing the size of the photo collection, and what can I say, out of sight, out of mind. 

So, if nothing else, a return to the The Los Angles Indiana Collection, and by clicking on that, the whole lot can be brought up for viewing.  Anyway, I called it that because on the first page I purchased from this album, there were prints with a Los Angeles-themed decorative border, and I purchased them from an eBay seller in Indiana.  I had made the decision not to remove photos from album pages until it was time to scan individual photos.  Perhaps I shouldn't have waited since two of these photos have information on the back, and one includes a new location.  So, on the back of the top photo in the column, "Me & Aunt Lou."  And on the back of the middle photo, a processor's stamp, "Kodak Finishing J.H. Ward, Lamar, Colo." 

Once again, Pike's Peak or Bust

 

A companion piece to yesterday's post.  It's not the same photo, but clearly from the same angle.  This time a postcard that was never mailed.  The caption, "520-STREAMLINE COG TRAIN AT THE FAMOUS OLD SUMMIT HOUSE-SUMMIT OF PIKE'S PEAK, ALT. 14,110 FT. ABOVE THE SEA."

" The cog road, famous the world over and unique among railroads, has carried passengers to the Summit of Pike's Peak for over 40 years.  Beginning in 1938 streamline cars began replacing the unique old steam train.  Literally millions of people are able to say that they have stood on the top of this famous peak and beheld the widespread views over hundreds of miles of plains and jumbled mountains." 

I wonder if the view is still the same.  Denver's growth came with increases in pollution.  Is smog what's visible? 

Pike's Peak or Bust

   

Written on the print, "SUMMIT, PIKES PEAK STREAMLINE COG TRAIN" Yes, it's still running and if I ever get back to Colorado, I'll take the ride to the summit.  That little "7" in the lower right corner makes me think that this photo was part of a commercially produced set made for the tourist trade.  

Velda

 

Written on the back, "(Velda Hartley) June 1950 Fort Collins, Colo."  I wonder if she still plays the accordion?  I wonder if she's still alive? She'd probably be in her eighties. 

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-Joe & Dick Again

Joe and Dick in front of a different house, reinforcing my father and son hobo theory.  Click on The Here There and Everywhere Collection for more photos and information.

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-Joe & Dick

After yesterday's mansion monstrosity photograph, the more modest home of Joe and Dick in Englewood, Colorado.   Then again, perhaps Joe and Dick were father and son hobos who stopped by the home of a distant relative. 

Click on The Here There and Everywhere Collection in labels....you know the drill.

Milner Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park

Written on the back, "Milner Pass Elevation 11960 ft. Aug. 9. 1922 Rocky Mountain Ntl Park, Colorado Estes Park."  I looked it up, there's a road through Milner Pass that crosses the continental divide at 10759 feet.  Take a glance at the road in the background, and it clearly goes through a mountain pass.  It looks like the young lady in this photograph has hiked along the continental divide from the road.  I know it's possible because I've done the same thing. 

Am I the only one who wonders about the photographer?  Husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, father, mother, child?

Views of the World, Royal Gorge, Colorado

I wonder.  If I were to go to the exact spot this picture was taken, would things look the same?  Perhaps.  Royal Gorge and the Arkansas River escaped the dam building mania of the twentieth century.  The rail line is still there.  A tourist train runs through the canyon, fine dining, over priced wine, the whole upscale adventure thing.

Click on views of the world in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.

Frontier Day, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and the Bunch

I almost forgot I had this one.  It's been sitting in my files for at least six months, probably longer.  The fact is I put up lots of postcards, printed in ink and clearly not photographs, on this blog.  But, I do try and limit them to ones that I have a reasonable belief were originally photographs.  To make a long story short, I've gone  back and forth on this one.  Did this image start life as a photograph, or is it pure illustration.  In the end, the detail in the viewing stands, the clear separation of people in the crowd, an unnecessary bit of work that most commercial illustrators wouldn't have bothered with, tipped me towards photograph.

This card was mailed.  It was addressed to "Frank A. Brewer, 165 Nebraska St., Painesville, O."  The message, "3-22-13  Bro. Frank, We are having a fine trip.  Spent about 2 hrs in Cheyenne yesterday and went to the state capitol.  Saw a cowboy.  Will be in Ogden in a few minutes.  The Bunch"  The postmark is too faded to read.

Printed by The H. H. Tammen and Curio Company of Denver, Colorado.  They were in business from 1896 to 1953.

For more postcards from the well traveled Brewer family, click Brewer in the labels section.

Mt. Manitou Scenic Incline Railway

Well, I think I'm going to put up a few postcards over the next couple of days. This one goes with some other incline cards I've posted recently. (Click inclines in the labels section to bring them up.) What fascinated me about this one is that it was postmarked "COLORADO SPRINGS MAY 15, 1940 8;30 AM COLO" Take a close look at the clothes the ladies are wearing. The Mt. Manitou Scenic Railway was opened in 1907 to transport pipes for a local water system and then converted into a tourist route. This picture was clearly taken a lot closer to 1907 than 1940. Before it became a tinted linen postcard, the same image was probably sold as a straight up black & white card. With luck I'll be able to find one for the collection. Addressed to "Mr & Mrs James O. Doranth Jr., 7049 S. E. 35th Ave., Portland, Oregon" The message, "Dear Everybody, We motored today about half way to Denver, had lunch at a roadside inn, took a trip through the Garden of the Gods, visited Manitou Springs, and drank of the waters, had a good dinner, and am now reading the magazines and newspapers. We are here and happy. Love to all, Pops. 5/14/40." The caption, "This incline rises to an altitude of 10,500 feet. It's maximum grade is 68%. The views from a series of unobstructed ridges gradually widen as the car makes the ascent and, on reaching the summit, there is unfolded a magnificent panoramic view of mountain and plain." For the record, my research says that the summit of Mt. Manitou is 8,600 feet. The incline closed in 1990 after the track was blocked by a landslide.

Saturday, July 24, 1909 7:45 P.M. Newark, New Jersey

I'd love to know the history of this card. Was it a standard, mass produced card sold to the motoring crowd, or did the motorist send off a photo of himself and family in their new car for a customized job? Was it a promotional piece given to new car buyers? Perhaps it was made for early road rallies that automobile manufacturers sponsored to build up interest for the industry. After all, in 1909, cars still weren't thought of as a sure fire replacement for the horse. Newark, N.J. is written in with pen. Did this motorist save this card to mailed at his final destination, or did he have a stack of them, mailed from every small town and city along the way? Written along the top margin of the card, "I hope you had a fine time in Gunnison." On the bottom margin, "Regards from the folks," and a name, "Will" and a last name I can't make out. Addressed to "Mrs. Coner Kinford, 921 Acoma St., Denver, Colorado." In 1909, most of the roads between Denver and New Jersey would have been dirt, and every rain drop, rut, and unsigned road junction would have slowed down Will and his automobile. It might have taken him a week to get to Newark, it might have taken him a month, or maybe even longer. Today, a driver on the interstate, willing to put in long days and pushing the speed limit can make it in two days.