Oh No! It's Another Mystery Location

Well I haven't put up a mystery location photo in a very long time.  It's a unique building, so someone out there in web world may know where it was taken.

A Very Old Phototgraph

Photography is 188 years old.  In 1827, Nicephore Niepce, an amateur inventor from France, came up with a photographic process that used a bitumen coated tin sheet to create a permanently fixed, direct positive image.  It can be seen on my Fair Use blog.  My guess is that this photo is around 150 years old.  It's printed on paper, and was probably printed from a glass negative.  If I'm right about the age of this photo, when I was born, in 1955, there were still a handful of people alive when this picture was taken.  When my father was born, in 1919, there were a handful of people still alive when that first photo was made.  All things considered, a very old photograph isn't all that old.

Arden Ice Cream

I do love it when there are signs in the backgrounds of photographs.

 Take a look to the left and see an advertising sign for Arden Ice Cream.  Arden Dairies started operations in 1904, in El Monte California, now a suburb of Los Angeles.  It soon became one of the largest milk producers in the state.  In 1930, Arden merged with California Dairies, Inc., a subsidiary of Western Dairy Products of Seattle Washington.

  I couldn't find any evidence that Arden is still in business, but I was able to find a reference to Arden from 1955  (Judging by the clothes, about the time this photo was taken.)  They were being sued by Balian Dairies for lowering their ice cream prices below production costs, in Los Angeles County, so that it wouldn't be possible for other ice cream makers to survive.   Unfortunately, I couldn't find an outcome.

FEAF

Believe it or not, when I found this small collection of photos, it was the sign that I wanted.

When I look through my collection of old photos, I'm well aware that the majority of people I see are dead; and I'm never more aware of that fact then when I'm looking at pictures from the World War 2 era.  It's not just the age of the photos, although that is a large part of it.  My father was a veteran, he was born in 1919, and if he were still alive, he would be turning 96 on February 4.  Even those who joined the military at 18, in 1945, are now in their late eighties.   It's the sheer carnage of a war, that killed so many young men, women, and huge numbers of civilians that reminds me of death.  It's fair to say that every person in the United States either had a family member that didn't come back, or they new of a family that suffered a lose of some sort.  And let's be honest, we in the United States actually got off easy.

FEAF stands for Far East Air Force.  It was formed on November 16, 1941, when all Army Air Force units in the Philippines were placed under a single, unified command.   Less than a month latter, on December 8 (Dec 7 on the other side of the international date line.) the Japanese attacked.  To make a long story short, the FEAF was pretty much destroyed on the ground.  In the end, 14 B-17s and their crews, 49 out of 165 fighter pilots,  27 ground officers, and 16 wounded enlisted men were evacuated to Darwin, Australia where they were reorganized as the 5th Air Force.  Those who weren't killed in the initial fighting, and who weren't evacuated, ended up as infantry on Bataan.

I'm not sure anyone who has gone to war can be described as lucky, but the young men in these photos come close.  While the men of the FEAF were stationed in the Philippines,  they were trained in the United States.  The third picture in the column has a processors stamp on the back.  "McCOLLUM'S PHOTO SHOP, ALBANY, GA.  DEC 8 1941."   Who knows whether they survived the war, but they did miss the surprise attacks in the Pacific.

1929

I don't know which grade this young girl was in when this picture was taken, but I have no doubt that she grew up to be a beautiful woman.  It's in the eyes.  Written on the back, "John Rosa"  A picture given to John Rosa, or for John from Rosa?

Goofin' Around

I don't have a lot of color photos in the collection and fewer ones this recent.  I'm guessing somewhere from the mid 80s to mid 90s.  And they do make me think of cheerleaders.

Tulsa Train

Stamped on the back "JUN 30 '40" and " A XENIX PRINT BY ROCHESTER PHOTO SUPPLY CO. TULSA."  

In April of 1990, Knox Photography of Tulsa Oklahoma closed it's doors.  In 1930, Howard Knox's father started Rochester Photo Supply, a big gamble during the great depression, especially in Oklahoma a state that was also hit hard by ongoing droughts,  the dust bow, and the collapse of the area's agricultural base.  Howard's father sold the business in 1965.  Two years latter  Howard opened a camera business of his own, Knox Photography.  Howard sold that camera store in 1984 to George Karvis.

In my lifetime, I've seen a lot of camera stores come and go.  I hate to see them die off.

Girl's Basketball

When did girls start playing high school sports?

Written on the back "1940  L-R Leatrice Sabovrin, Betty Griffits, Carrie Curnan, Alina Paskowitz, Ora Sfeddo, Elaine Ugone, Clair Webster, Irene Rui, Nancy Whitiker, Doty Piccin, Judy Griffits, Phylis Whitiker, Coach Joe Vinick"

And yes, I did double check the spelling.  I suspect Griffits should be Griffiths, and Whitiker should be Whitaker. Which, of course, brings into question the other spellings.

See My Puppies

Who doesn't love puppies?  Best guess, those who have to clean up all the mess they make.

More Hollywood Costume Postcards

A month or so ago, I put up a couple of photographic bits of ephemera form the ongoing Hollywood Costume show at LACMA, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  Don't count on many more of these in the future.  I don't get down to the museum every week, and the show will only last so long, but when I do get there, if there are any new cards, I'll pick them up and post them for the movie fans who drop by this blog.  Anyway, Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained and James Dean in East of Eden.

Click LACMA to see the others.

The Waterbury Paper Box Co. Wedding Album 6

Looks like it's the whole wedding party on this one.  The bride and groom are pretty obvious, and then there are the bridesmaids and groomsmen.  The location doesn't look like a studio, so I'm guessing either the church, reception hall, or the bride's home.

It's time to leave this album for awhile.  I'll pick things up in another month or so.  Click on Waterbury Box Co. Album in labels to see the lot.

The Waterbury Paper Box Co. Wedding Album 5

I certainly have more control with the new scanner, but I'm still not sure how well I can make it work. There was something reassuring, but also frustrating about having to take what the machine provided.

Anyway, let's forget my frustrations for a moment.  The second photo looks more like the bridesmaid, rather than the bride.  The first photo, a studio portrait, but what kind?  Did the woman just want a nice picture of herself, or was it taken as part of the whole marriage process?

Click on Waterbury Box Co. Album in labels to bring up the lot.

The Waterbury Paper Box Co. Wedding Album 4

One of the big pains about loosing all of my files, is that I had disassembled this album and scanned the whole thing to the computer.  Now, I'm stuck with starting over again.  This photo is floating on the little used 8 1/2 x 11 paper format, printed in what we in the lab business would call a museum position, a fancy way of saying there's a lot more border under the image than above.

Click on Waterbury Box Co. Album in labels to bring up other posts from the album.

An Armfull Of Correspondence

Well it only took a week to replace my 17 year old computer and 15 year old scanner.  The color is a little off, so I'll have to work on that.  But then again, it's less off the the original unit.  This one's another postcard from the Taylor Art Company.  I don't know if Taylor intended for their customers to write in names on those white lines, but I've seen people do just that thing.

Click on flirtation in labels to see more.

Changes?

 How much do I enjoy posting old photos on this blog.  It started out as a way of organizing an ever growing collection of cabinet cards, snapshots, real photo postcards, and nothing more.   Anyway, as time passed, I came to really enjoy posting my collection.

Fact is, my circa 1998 computer just died.  I picked up a nice, refurbished computer and thought I was well on my way to more and more found photography on the net.  Sadly, while I was able to download the software for my equally old scanner, the new system won't work with that scanner's drivers. (I also wasn't able to retrieve my files.)  Sooner or latter, I'll pick up another scanner.  I've already sent emails to Craig's List sellers, and with any luck I'll pick up something soon.  If not, be patient.  The New Found Photography is down for awhile, with luck, no more than a few days.  But if it's longer than that, rest assured, some day.

In the mean time Fair Use is still up and running.  I've just posted three new photos, with more photographs, paintings, and other assorted web finds to come.

Cozy Corner

There's a nice message on the back of this one, "Do You think so.  I don't think you do.  As you did not come up.  Bertha"  It seems Bertha isn't satisfied with her lot in life.  Or at least she's not happy with her friend, Walter.  Addressed to " Mr. Walter Sedgley, Bowdoinham, Me."  Postmarked, "LEWISTON ME.  JAN 25 7-AM 1910." 

This card was published Theodor Eismann, a publisher with offices in New York City and Leipzig, Saxony, in Germany.  They were in business form 1908 to 1914.  I have no idea why they went under, but a trans Atlantic company with offices in Germany and the United States would have had a great deal of trouble functioning in World War 1. 

Click on flirtation in labels to see the lot.  At least what's been published. 

Jolly Evenings

I'm sticking with collections for the next few days, and this one goes back to May 4, 2013 for the first post from this lot.  To recap, I was offered an envelope of postcards that the seller referred to as a flirtation collection.  Each postcard has a romantic theme, some, like this one, clearly started out as photographs, some as pure illustration, and some...well, let's just say that I use my best judgement as to whether that particular card belongs here, on The New Found Photography, or if it should be posted on Fair Use, a blog I keep for non photographic bits of ephemera and images I've found on the web.

This card was published by The Taylor Art Company, from Philadelphia, PA, in business from 1907-1908.  Not a very successful business.  This one's copyrighted 1908.  I've always been puzzled by the initials M.D.T., in the lower right corner.  T, must by Taylor, but the other letters, who knows.  This card was never sent, and nothing is written on the back.

Click on flirtation in labels to go back and see what's published.  Do the same on Fair Use.

Views of the World, Horseshoe Falls, Niagara, New York

As every Canadian school child knows, Horseshoe Falls are in Ontario, not New York.

Click on Views of the World in labels to bring up the lot.

Views of the World, Hot Spring, Yellowstone National Park

I thought I'd start off the new year by revisiting some of the collections that I've started posting, but have yet to complete.   To recap, The Views of the World Collection goes back to my earliest days of collecting old photographs and postcards.  I turn 60 this month, I started buying old images when I was in high school, so these hand tinted postcards have been following me around for more than forty years.  Sadly, when I picked these up, some of the cards in the series were missing, and despite my best efforts, I've never been able to fill the gaps.

Despite the caption, I'm guessing geyser rather than hot spring.  It also looks like the steam and hot water gushing into the sky weren't suited to whatever method of tinting and printing were available when the card was made.  And while there are no publisher credits, photo credits, writing, or dates on any of them, clearly, they're from the early twentieth century.

Click on Views of the World in labels at the bottom of the post to see the rest.

All Hail The Wine Queen!

Seriously, all hail The Wine Queen, AKA "Lieselotte I, Rudesheimer Weinkonigin 69/70."

Rudesheim am Rhein is a wine making town in the Rhine Gorge in Germany.  Rudesheim, as towns go, isn't all that large.  In 2013, it had a grand total of 9,733 residents.  Despite it's small size, it's the second largest attractant of foreign tourists, in Germany, bettered only by Cologne Cathedral.   The images I saw on line were very picturesque, but I suspect it's the wine festival that packs 'em in.  Every summer, the Wine Queen and her Princesses are chosen for a one year term.  The Queen and her Court represent Rudesheim at other wine festivals.  That's a pretty big wine glass.  I hope the wine royalty don't get pulled over.  I don't think they could pass a breathalyzer test.