The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-Life In Suburbia

In the first post from this collection, I mentioned that I had a few doubts that all the photos might not be what I was told; images from a single source.  This one, like some others that have been posted, are clearly not form the same era as the majority of photos.  So, for what it's worth.

As usual, click on The Here There and Everywhere Collection in labels to see a far more detailed explanation of my doubts about  this collection.  I'm trying to get out of town for a week to ten days, I'll finish posting the collection when I return.

More Training Wheels

Well, it really looks like 1950s suburban America.  Too, the color restoration setting worked exceptionally well with these two prints. 

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-Murray Hill

So, the war's over, the men are back, and the women have left their wartime work and wait at home, in the suburbs, for their husbands to come home.  Just like a John Cheever story.

Murray Hill is a town in New Jersey, and it's connected to New York City by train.  No doubt this lady's husband got on the morning train to Hoboken, got the ferry to Manhattan and worked in an office.  Then, at the end of the day it was back to Murray Hill, a martini and the perfect children.  At least that's the stereotype.

This post is the back side of yesterday's entry. Click on The Here There and Everywhere Collection in labels to see other images.

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-Suburban Life

So, I bought an envelope full of photos that the dealer told me came from an estate sale, and are all related.  As I've noted from the first post, I have my doubts.  For more details, click on the Here There and Everywhere Collection in labels for more details, and to see other parts of the collection.

Say suburbia, and most people think of the fifties and the post war housing boom.  I don't have a date on this album page, but forties or fifties is a definite possibility.  Note the Popular Science magazine in the rack next to the couch in the first photo.  The magazine wasn't aimed at scientists, but it's readership was mostly people with a bit better education than the general public.

The Come Hither Look

Do people still use that term?  From the twenties I would think.

The Amazing All America Mid Century Modern Suburban Dream/Nightmare

We are a perverse people.  For thousands of years, people wanted a life of material comfort.  And then, here in the United States, we got that life.  From the early fifties through the late sixties it was suburban homes, cars with tail fins, televisions, refrigerators, good schools, a university education for the kids.  And we were discontent.  At least it gave John Cheever something to write about.  Dated "SEPT 60"

Relaxing In Suburbia

It was a golden time after all.  The war was over, the United States had one of the few strong economies in the world, unions were strong, and wages were high.  There was even money to buy the kids a piano.  Too bad rock & roll got 'em.

Stamped on the back,  "ROLLMAN'S CAMERA SHOP APR 6  1954  SHILLINGTON, PA."   What a great name for a camera shop.  I'll bet there motto was buy a roll from Rollman's.  And, as of January 2012, Rollman's was still in business.  Of course my source for that info stated that Rollman's had been in business for 55 years.  Do the math, and that means that the store opened in 1957, so clearly my source has some problems.

Shillington is a small town, a borough actually, adjacent to Reading, Pennsylvania.  In the 1950s, Reading had a population of over 100,000, today it's under 90,000.  There was a community named Shillington as early as 1860, but it didn't incorporate until 1908.  And the first elected official, Burgess Adam Rollman.  It's probable that some descendant of Adam was the camera store Rollman.  The most famous Shillingtonian (?) was author John Updike.  Updike was the valedictorian of the Shillington High class of 1950,  so it's pretty probable that the young lady in this photo either knew him, or knew of him, before he was famous.

Suburban Parties

I really need to add more color to the collection.  I've got a feeling that I wouldn't have liked living in the fifties.  But, I could be wrong.  These people look like they're having a wonderful time.

The German American Collection, It All Ends in Smithtown

Written on the back, "1956 Mr & Mrs B.C. Oakside Rd. Smithtown." Is this a bit of a let down for the last image of the collection? Yes and no. To recap, a dealer had purchased a large collection of photos at an estate sale, sold some of the best images separately, and then bundled the reminder into groups, put them up on EBay, and this was the only lot that I won. The huge gaps make it impossible to build a true narrative. Still, we can know that this collection had plenty of images from both the United States and Germany. What we can't know is how the two came together. Did a German branch of a family send photos to their American cousins? Was there a move from Germany between the wars or after World War 2, followed by marriage into an American family? In any case, somehow or another, some branch of this family ended up in a post war suburb on Long Island. The good life dreamed of by so many, recorded with this one, very faded color photograph. Click on German American in the labels section to bring the whole lot up. Good, bad, and indifferent images, but worth it.