Brightest Star

Another postcard based on a photo by De Witt C. Wheeler.  This time, though, I think he messed up a bit.  This woman doesn't look at all dreamy and romantic.  She looks possessed.

Anyway, it wasn't mailed, but there is a long message scrawled across the back of the card,  "Dear Friend Maude, I hope you will like this it is an illustrated song.  It is hard to realize that the holidays are so near it is real warm here yet but I suppose it is cold enough up where you live.  I want you to tell me what the nearest large city is to where you live and Maude could you not send me one of your photos you told me a long time ago you had some taken if you would you would please your dear friend."

I'm thinking Quaker courtship.  There's a lot of friend this and friend that.  I hope that Maude's dear friend got his message across.  I hate to think  he went to all the effort to find the card, ask for a photo, and then didn't have the nerve to follow through.

Sweet Miss Killarney

It's time to return to another collection.  This time, the flirtation postcards, an envelope of early twentieth century cards I purchased, all with a somewhat romantic theme.

I'm always a bit torn when I put up images like this one.  I look at them, and have to make a decision.  Are they based on photographs, or are they pure illustration.  This one was an easy call.  Take a look at the right hand side of the card, and there's a copyright notice, "Photo only copyright 1907.  De Witt C. Wheeler."

There's not a lot on line about Wheeler.  All I was able to find out was that he was American, he specialized in sentimental images for the postcard and magic lantern market, most with added color.  There are a few examples of his work on the George Eastman House website, www.geh.org.  Click on photographers and have a browse.  You'll find his stuff sooner or latter, and while looking, who knows what treasures you'll find.  The main website for Eastman House, a museum endowed by George Eastman, the founder of Kodak, is www.eastmanhouse.org.  It's in Rochester, New York, for those with the time to visit.

As for the rest of it, printed on the back, "Theodor Eisman, Leipzig and New York, Illustrated Song Serie No. 1813/1 By permission of the publishers, Francis, Day & Hunter, New York."  I was able to dig up a bit of info from that.  Theodor Eisman was a card publisher in business from 1908 to 1914.  I wasn't able to confirm my supposition, but I think it's a pretty good bet that a trans-Atlantic postcard company would have been driven out of business by World War 1.  Francis, Day & Hunter, Ltd. was a British publisher of sheet music, with offices in London and New York.  In 1909, they merged with Tin Pan Alley publisher, T. B. Harms, Inc, to become T. B. Harms, Francis, Day & Hunter, Inc.  In 1929 the company was taken over by Warner Bros.  I had hoped to find the lyrics for Sweet Miss Killarney, but, believe it or not, they're not on line.   At least I couldn't find them.

And finally, the card was mailed.  Postmark, "LAKE VIEW, MAINE  JUN 19 2 PM 1908."  It was mailed to "C. W. Ingalls, #5 Cor Main & May Sts., Bangor, Maine"  And the rather short message, "I have not forgot you will write soon. C."

Click on flirtation in the labels section at the bottom of the post to bring up other cards from the collection.

S.F., Marin, the Golden Gate

I believe in being a tourist.  Yes, go to New York and hang out in the East Village.  I did when I was in college, and it was well worth it.  But, eventually, I also visited the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, the museums, but missed The Statue of Liberty, something I still regret.

My first couple of visits to San Francisco were all about City Lights Book Shop, (Jack and Neal were already dead and the prices were pretty high for a store that sold paperbacks.), The Condor Club, (I don't know how old Carol Doda was in the early eighties, but she wasn't aging well.), and I even managed to find a live sex show.  (More sad and depressing than out there.)

It took awhile, and half a dozen visits, before I did what tourists do in San Francisco.  Fisherman's Wharf, cable cars, and the Golden Gate Bridge.  I stood where the people in this picture stood, Marin County, the bridge towers partly obscured by fog.  Looking back, I wished I had started with the tourist things and worked my way around to the hipster hang-outs.  I think I would have had more appreciation for the city.  There's a reason why iconic things are iconic.

For the record, my favorite view of the bridge is from Fort Point.  My recommendation,  go when it's raining.

What Kind Of Name Is Sydon?

There's usually a certain amount of guess work in dating a photo.  Not this time, though.  Written on the back, "April 17, 1938  Sydon, Mary-Jane & John."  It's hard to get better than that.  But I still want to know, what kind of name is Sydon?  Love those shadows.

California Rooms

As a rule, I wouldn't buy photographs of unoccupied rooms, but I think these two pictures go with an ongoing collection of images that I've tagged SGV family in the labels section at the bottom of the post.  To recap, every so often I go through a tray of old snapshots at a local antique mall.  Constantly replenished, from time to time, I've found photos, all the same format, same weight paper, same era, and the outdoor ones, the same type landscape, and while I can't be sure, probably the same family.

From the first photos I found, it's been clear that there was some prosperity to this family.  Going by these two pictures, I would say that they were in a moneyed way.  Not wealthy.  But well off enough, that comfort wasn't an issue.  Nice furniture, carpets, plenty of bric-a-brac, and electric lights.  Yes, when these pictures were taken, lots of people were still lighting with oil lamps and gas jets.  Of course, there's still an oil lamp too.  After all, in the first decade of the twentieth century, electricity didn't always work.

100,000 +

I had a lousy weekend.  Everything didn't go wrong, but pretty damn close.  Anyway, sometime yesterday afternoon I went over 100,000 page views.  I don't know how impressive that is, but it was the best thing that happened to me on a bad day.  This is a re-post from the early days of The New Found Photography.  It isn't the first old photo that I bought, but it's one of the first.  I think it's pretty self explanatory.  This young lady was hired to promote clove gum.  Some costume.

Is There No End To Bad Tinting?

Let's be fair.  Maybe it's just sun faded.  From the forties or fifties would be my guess, so perhaps, there are a couple of elderly folks in blog world who will recognize their younger selves.

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.

The North Texas State Normal College Album 29, The Loose Ones

I hate scanning textured prints, and there are two in this lot.  The second, labeled "Judy Terry," and the last labeled, "Clara & Jim Roles."

Click on NTSNC in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.  More to come, but not for awhile.

The North Texas State Normal College Album 28, The Loose Ones

It's time to return to the North Texas State Normal College Album collection.  The actual album pages have all been published, so once again, it's the loose photos that were stuffed between the album pages as they came out, not placed in any order.

The top photo has a studio stamp on the back, "Koen's Studio, MAR 13, 1943 Plainview, Texas"  I'm not very good at judging a child's age, but I'm betting the little girl in the photo was probably born in '40 or '41.  The other two labeled photos are the "School Days" picture and the young soldier.  The girl is labeled "Etta" and the soldier, "PVT. Denny R. Garner June 13, 1966 Ft. Polk, La.  To Aunt Etta."  I suppose it's possible that she's that Aunt Etta, but I'm thinking she might be a cousin Etta to young Denny.  Another relative with the same name.  But it's Pvt. Garner that's a bit more interesting.  Click on NTSNC in the label's section to bring up the collection.  Take a close look at post number 27.  The last photo in that post is "Denny, age 11" Take a look at the chins.  Same person.  I went on line and looked for Dennis R Garner, and I think I found a hit.  Dennis R. Garner, born January 10, 1949, Vietnam veteran, died age 47, November 17, 1996, buried Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola, Florida.  I couldn't find an actual obituary, just the bare facts in the cemetery data base.

Standing In the Sun

This is a chummy group of people.  Take a look at the man on the left.  The woman above him has her arm over his shoulder.  The woman to his left, judging by the position of her shoulder, has her arm around his waist.  So, is the woman to the left clueless about a side relationship, or are they all just very friendly?  The dog seems pretty pleased to be at the country lodge.

I'm not big on posting the backs of photos, but I liked the very faded processor's logo.  If it can't be made out, the date is "JUL 29, 1935"

Another European Wedding (Probably)

It looks like a wedding picture, it looks like it's from a small European village, and it looks like it's from the twenties.  Go ahead, contradict me.

The Great Flood

Someone out there has to recognize this location.  The riverside buildings in the third image are pretty distinctive.  Personally, I'm leaning toward one of the old textile mills in New England.  Printed on postcard stock.

The Bronx Is Up 5

Ah, the roaring twenties.  It's hard to believe, but the U.S. was more of a producing country and less a consuming one, before the twentieth century.  And then along came the economic expansion of the 1920s when it seemed that wealth could be had by anyone.  Just invest in the stock market, skim off the money, and if there wasn't the money to invest, buy on margin.

And then it happened.  The great crash of 1929, and the bubble burst.  All the photos in this series predate the crash.  These people had nice clothes, cars, leisure time and a nice place to live.  The only question; Where they among the homeless beggars, standing on street corners asking for a handout, or were they among those who somehow survived the great depression,  unscathed?

The last three are labeled, on the back, "Vernon Ave."  And written on the front, "1926."

The Bronx Is Up 4

Another bridge picture, this time from Bronx Park.  Bronx Park opened in 1888, making this year, 2013, the 125th anniversary of the park.  The park is home to The Bronx Zoo and The New York Botanical Gardens.

The first two prints are labeled, "Bronx Park  May 1924."  The final print, on the back, "Vernon Avenue."  And as can be seen in the lower left corner of the print, "1926."

The Bronx Is Up 3

I'm telling you right now,  the kid in picture number four grew up to be a boxer.  Look at him.  He was born a pug.  

The first two photos are labelled, "Vernon Ave. Oct. 1920."  The last, "Bronx Park  May 1924."

The Bronx Is Up 2

Perhaps I should have paid some attention to the order these photos came out of the envelope.  It's clear that today's first photo goes with yesterday's final image.  Oh well, let's call it a bridge between posts.  I wonder if the guy was posing in front of the wall because the graffiti had some meaning?  And why did the owner of this album chop off the heads in image number four?  It was done with scissors, not the camera.  Only the first two images have captions.  Number one, "Bronx NY June 1924."  Number two, "Vernon Ave. 1922."

The Bronx Is Up 1

The Battery's down. The people ride in a hole in the ground.  New York, New York.  It's a wonderful town.  For all you Gene Kelley fans out there.  And Vera-Ellen fans too.

It's time to put up another collection.  This time, no interruptions.  There will be five posts of pictures, all ripped from the same family photo album.  (I hate it when dealers do that.)  I won't be trying to put these up in any particular order.  They'll be put up in the same sequence they came out of the envelope.  There aren't any names written on any of the images, but there are some dates and locations.

Written on the first photo, "Vernon Ave. & B'way 1922."   The third photo, "Bronx Park May 1924."  And the final image, "Bronx N.Y.  June 1924."