The Army Hospital Album 33

It looks like our military man has entered civilian life.  The top photo, "Vieva Kost, Marie Edwards."  The second, "Vieva Kost Age 17."  Vieva is such a unique name.  I'd love to know if it's some sort of archaic name that has disappeared from use or if her parents just made it up.  And the final picture, "Ruby April 12, 36."  Yes, I know.  The other photos in this sequence are dated from 1956.  Just based on the clothes and hair, 36 has to be a mistake.

I'll be leaving the army hospital collection (click in labels, etc.) for the next three to five weeks.  When I return to the album, I'll finish it off.  Hey, something to look froward to.

The Army Hospital Album 32

This one isn't the last post from this album, but the final picture in the column is the last photo from the hospital itself.  I've always assumed that all of the photos in this collection are form California.  If that's true, then the river pictures have to be from the Sacramento River valley.

Click on army hospital collection in labels to see everything.

The Army Hospital Album 31

Well, we've moved from the ocean to the desert.  I'm going out on a limb here.  I think the last two photos were taken in the Red Rock State Park area, just north of Mojave, which is north of L.A.

Click on army hospital collection in labels and all that.

The Army Hospital Album 30

Is our patient dreaming of the Pacific Ocean?  The order of the prints sure makes it look that way.  All prints dated,  "APR 56."

As usual click on army hospital collection, etc., etc.

The Army Hospital Album 29

And the (almost) never ending saga of the army hospital album continues.  The top two photos are labeled.  "Lnt. Carson"  I assume that Lnt. stands for Lieutenant.  The second, "Capt. Dr. Hill."  Perhaps someone out there can answer this question.  Are military hospitals segregated by rank.  Since a lieutenant is a patient, does that mean our photographer has to be an officer?

As usual, click on army hospital collection in labels to bring up the lot.

Donald's Party

Written on the back, "Donalds 3 yr old Party 3573 so Van Ness Ave. 10-11-54"  I know where that's at. More or less.  It would be interesting to head down there some day and compare the picture with what I find.  I think Donald must be the kid, just visible, next to mom.  Who knows, I might even find Donald.

The Co-Ed

In an age where the majority of college students are women, is the term co-ed even used?  Anyway, I have no idea if this young lady is a college student.  There's  nothing written on the back of the print, but she looks the right age and that's some sort of institutional type architecture in the background.  I'm having a hard time guessing when this photo might have been taken.  The hair and the clothes, I think, could have been found as early as the late twenties to the very early fifties, though my feeling is the thirties.

Three From the Photo Booth

A few months ago, I purchased an envelope of hand colored photos, none of which, as far as I know, are in any way related.  Now here's the question.  Photo booth pictures came out of the machine in glorious black & white.  There was no photo studio or photographer involved.  Who did the tint job on these three images?  Did someone actually go to a studio and pay good money to have color added?  Or did they buy the inks and do it themselves?

Biker Chick

Biker chick threatens frightened family.  Bad biker chick, bad!  Written on the back, "Christy Koteh, March 4, 1973."

Relaxing In The Sun

The thing about living in a city that's always sunny, it's hard to appreciate how good it feels to just relax in the sunlight, knowing that winter snows are just around the corner.

Elizabeth From Louisville

Elizabeth Ratherin Phillips, at least that's what's written on the back of the card.  This photo is mounted on a card with a very faint, as in not readable when scanned, studio mark...."HEATH'S STUDIO 1411 W. MARKET ST. LOUISVILLE, KY"  I wasn't able to find much about Heath's Studio.  Just that Heath was Bruce C. Heath and he was in business at the Market Street address from 1896-1907.  Before that and after, haven't a clue.

Nudists

Well, that's what I thought when I first saw this photograph at the flea market.  Then I picked it up, pulled out the loupe, and took a closer look.  So disappointing.  Still, one has to wonder why all the adults are looking away from the sunbathers, while the kid, dead center in the print, seems so fascinated.

Fast Times

What a pair.  The old guy, so proud of his beer, and dark beer at that.  And the little girl, no doubt a grand daughter, poised to pedal away once the proud parent, and somewhat embarrassed child, can work that damn camera.  Please don't let our precious little girl grow up to be a drunkard like dear old dad.

Written on the back, "At Dax Garage."

Bait

For those of us of a certain age, there is a tendency to wonder why modern parents name their kids things like Dakota, Topanga, Madison, and a whole host of other semi-unique names.  I mean, what's wrong with Johnny, Cathy, or Bobby?  And then, I see an old postcard, and I realize  there is nothing new under the sun.  This card was mailed to "Mr. Bowdoin Horn, Stillwater, Maine."  Bowdoin Horn is such a great name.  It belongs in a Sherlock Holmes story.  Mr. Bowdoin Horn, caught robbing the Bank of England, blackmailing the Queen, stealing the crown jewels.

Postmarked, "MILO ME., OCT 18, 1909, 12 AM"  And the message, "Milo, Me., Oct. the 17, 1909, This is what we've got up in Milo but don't let it make you leave home from your friends.  Fred Ree, Milo, Me."

Click on flirtation and all that.

Flirtatious Children

This one was in the flirtation collection, and while I appreciate an extra postcard, I'm not sure that children holding hands qualifies as a romantic image.  No publisher was listed, but it was made in Bohemia, now the western half of the Czech Republic, when this card was printed, either part of Austria-Hungary or Czechoslovakia.  I've written that most of the cards in this lot are clearly hand-colored photos, some pure illustration, and some in between...A nice way of saying, I'm not 100% sure.  This is one of those images.  I'm fairly certain this one is a colored photo, but if anyone want's to disagree with me, I won't be offended.  Too, I like all the foreign languages on the back of the card.  Yes, it's kind of interesting, but it also tells me that this card wasn't just being sold in the U.S.

Click on flirtation in labels, etc., etc.

May I Hope

I might as well stick with the flirtation postcards for a bit, as well as posting another image from De Witt C. Wheeler.  As I noted in an earlier Wheeler post, there's not a lotof info about the man floating around out there.  About all I've been able to dig up is that he produced these sentimental type images for the postcard and magic lantern  trade.  This card was addressed to "Miss Nellie Stilson, Guilford, Me., R.F.D. #1"  It's got a faded postmark from 1908, and that's all I can make out.  What's a bit weird is that, even though this card has a divided back for personal messages, there isn't any.  Miss Stilson's suitor must have been somewhat inarticulate.  Or maybe, just maybe, he thought this card spoke for him.

Click on flirtation to bring up the collection, or if you want to edit things a bit, De Witt C. Wheeler.

Dear Mother, Don't Worry

I've got too many collections floating around my place.  This one's from an envelope of romantic postcards the seller called his flirtation lot.  Most are clearly photographs that have had color added, some are pure illustration, and some are kind of a guess.  Anyway, I've been putting up examples, off and on, for awhile, and there are still many more to go.

This one appeals to the lazy among us.  A nice explanation for not returning home is conveniently printed on the front, with an open line for the recipient's name.  Well, kind of....Mother did well enough.  It's postmarked, "BROOKLYN, N.Y. STA. SEP 16 8-AM 1910"  It's addressed to "Mrs. Wm. Sperling, Florence Park, Rockville Centre, L.I."  and the message, "Dear Mother, Addie and I met Uncle Rob as we got off the cars.  Don't do any more work than you have to.  Love Cora."  I assume L.I. is Long Island, the cars are street cars.  There's no publisher's name on the card, but it was printed in Germany.

And like most of my collections, other images in the lot can be seen by clicking the magic word in labels at the bottom of the post.  Flirtation.  Have fun.

And finally, anyone in the Los Angeles area between now and March 23 should head on over to LACMA, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and see the Marjorie and Leonard Vernon Collection.  The Vernons were avid photograph collectors, and after their deaths, LACMA bought the 3600 print collection from the estate.  Needless to say, only a very small portion is on display, and with the museum's limited gallery space, the rest of the images may never be seen.  So, it's now or never.  I just made my fifth visit, and it was well worth it.

The Last One, The Travelers Collection

I didn't save this one for the end because it was my least favorite from the collection.  Just the opposite, I love this snapshot.  It's always a stretch to read things into photos, but at the same time, it's also something that is hard not to do.  There are a lot of possibilities.  Maybe this was a loading the camera shot, something that the digital age has made obsolete.  For those too young to understand what I mean, the film goes in the camera, it has to be advanced to the first frame, so you hit the shutter while winding the film, and maybe, just maybe something good will happen.  I favor a different explanation.  I think the photographer was out with his wife, she started digging through her bags, and it was a there she goes again moment.  One of those little things that can a great irritant or very endearing.  Who knows which it was.  But, the photos in this collection cover quite a few years, so let's think the best.

Click on travelers collection in labels, and this time you really can bring up the whole lot.

Key West, The Travelers Collection

This one's labeled "Key West, 1940."  My first visit to the Keys was forty years latter in late February of 1980.  At first, I thought it was heaven.  A month earlier I had been in a snow storm in western Pennsylvania.  But in Key West, the temperature was nice and warm and the Gulf waters were perfect for swimming.  I visited Ernest Hemingway's house, and met a woman who owned a book store who had been a friend of Jack Kerouac.  But then reality hit.  It only took a few days for me to realize that Key West life was pretty much hanging out and that was about it.  Most of the residents worked in the tourist trade, gift shops, motels, restaurants, and bars.  At night they went home or became bar patrons.  There was a lot of low level drunks and stoners.  Not exactly a tropical paradise.

Click on travelers collection in labels to bring up the lot.

Honolulu, The Travelers Collection

I've been in 45 of the 50 states.  Hawaii is one of the five I've yet to see, and in many ways it's the one I'd least like to visit.  I've read so much about the Islands, and the Hawaii that most intrigues me is the one that doesn't exist anymore.  Yes, I'd love to hike in the national parks and swim in the ocean, but the cruise ship culture, steel and glass high rise hotels don't appeal to me at all.  This one is dated "Honolulu 1933" and it looks like a good time to have visited.

Click on travelers collection in labels to see everything.

Ethnic Dress, The Travelers Collection

I need some help on this one.  This has to be some sort of national dress.  Too, that's a fairly masculine jaw line, so is it a traditional male costume, or are we dealing with an ethnic cross dresser?  Click on travelers collection to bring up the whole collection.

Three That Don't Fit, The Travelers Collection

Alright, I get it.  It's that old obsession with posting EVERYTHING from a collection.  These three are from a group of photos that I purchased, from the same family, that had more than a few travel themed photos.  I've been putting them up for awhile, and it's time to end up the collection.  This is the first of the last, all of which will be published in a row.  These first three images don't seem to fit all that well with the others.  The top one of the tennis players could have been taken anywhere.  The middle one sure looks like classic beach front changing room architecture.  And those bluffs, I've seen ones like that from Long Beach California to Santa Monica.  The out the window shot, well it's a bit out of focus, but so what....it's kind of homey.

Click on travelers collection in labels to bring up the lot.

The Army Hospital Album 28

After spending time in the army and then a hospital it must have been liberating to see the Pacific Ocean.  And, in "APR 56" there were still California beaches that were deserted.  I don't know the exact location of the first photo in the column, but it sure does look like what can be seen between the coast and the northern San Joaquin Valley.

Click on army hospital collection in labels to bring up all the posts. Time to leave this series for another three or four weeks.  More to follow.