Walton Studio-Oakland

This one came in a plain, creme colored folder, with a very tiny label, "Walton Studio-Oakland."  I assume that's Oakland, California, but who knows.  They look very young, so perhaps it's a prom photo, a college cotillion, (Do they still have those?), or a fraternity mixer.  I have to admit, I'm a bit of a slob in a very casual age, so this world of fancy parties is one Iv'e never known.

Old California 2

Part two of the old California estate collection, and while a baby picture, labeled "9 mos." managed to sneak in, this one is mostly about travels in California. And oh how things have changed. I've been to Tustin, and I would love to know exactly which "Highway near Tustin" is depicted in the third picture of this group. There is a huge open space with old hangers for pre- World War 2 dirigibles near the railroad station, but other than that, Tustin is tract houses, office buildings, and shopping centers. Tree lined lanes, not anymore. Laguna Beach is now an enclave of the wealthy with large, private homes on the highlands above the ocean. In this collection, those same bluffs are brush covered fields. Joaquin Miller was the poet of the High Sierra, even though he lived in Oakland, California, and his home is now a city park. The Miller house photo was printed on postcard stock and actually mailed to someone, post marked "OAKLAND, CAL JUN 9 12-M 1911," addressed to Mrs. N. Sherman, 241 East 31st Los Angeles, California." And the note, "Dear Aunt, Remember me to Aunt Hat and Nell. Just to say I am well as usual and trust you all are the same. What's the matter with spending your vacation in Oakland this year, There is lots of nice places to go here. Love and all, Sam." The building on the Mt. Tamalpais photo is a resteraunt and tavern, and was built in 1896. It burned down in 1923 and a smaller building was put up in it's place. It was removed in 1950.

Old California 1

I picked up this small collection of California snapshots from an on-line estate sale. There are 33 images in the group, which I will be posting as three setts of 11. The photographer's life seems to have been centered around the bay area, both San Francisco and Oakland, and the Los Angeles area, for the first ten years or so of the twentieth century. The photo of the tower is easily recognizable as the ferry building in downtown San Francisco. It's still there and still in use. The Lyric Theater sign isn't much use in identifying a location. Lyric Theater was just too common a name for early music halls and Vaudeville theaters. The mansion on the hill photo is labeled, "Home on hill above Ocean at Santa Monica." For those who don't know California, Santa Monica is right next to Los Angeles. The house looks familiar to me, and the next time I'm in Santa Monica, I'll see if I can find it. Pacific palisades, I would think. The football statue from the Berkley Campus is printed on postcard stock, and while it could be a commercially produced card, the lack of patent and copyright info on the back makes me think it might have been printed in a home darkroom. The baby carriage photo is labeled, "Betty at 241 E-31 ST, Los Angeles." The ostrich pictures could have been shot at any of the farms in California that raised exotics for meat, and hides, but it looks like the sight of the commercial ostrich farm in South Pasadena. There is an apartment building on the sight now. The two children photo has a difficult to make out embossing, but under a magnifying glass it looks like, "Mushet Los Angeles." The two Asian gentlemen image has Chinese letters down the left margin, and in English, "Heap Good." And my favorite from this group; the Shriner's photo. California has always been a state that puts a value on boosterism. It's our real estate based economy, I think.