Veda & Cambell

 

There was a time when many people carried family pictures around in their wallets.  The type of photo labs that I used to work in was more about large industrial accounts, but all of them did a certain amount of over-the-counter personal work.  Anyway, we had this very old, beat-up wallet-size easel that we used so little, that sometimes it would get shoved away in some corner, and when we had to make a wallet-sized print like this shot of Veda and Campbell, we'd have to go searching for the thing.  

Page 6

 

Is she a nurse?  The uniform looks right and that big clipboard that ended up in the shot makes this look like some sort of award ceremony.  "Page 6" is written on the back, so perhaps this shot was meant for the local newspaper.  Back in the old days when there were local newspapers that covered things like this. 

Cooling Off at the Ducklake

 

Written on the back of the top photo, "Virginia Fraser, Carolyn, Bonnie, Helen Cameron, at the Ducklake, July, 37."  The bottom photo, "Bonnie Thompson, Virginia Fraser, July 1937."  I wonder how hot it was in July 1937 at the Ducklake? 

A Rather Stiff Pose

  

As I've mentioned before, I sometimes buy envelopes full of old photos.  Usually, I really want two or three images and I'm left with a number of photos, some pretty nice, but not something I'd go out of my way to buy.  Probably from the thirties or forties. 

That's A Lot of Booze

  

I don't know why these people are in a party mood, but whatever the reason, it clearly involves lots of alcohol.  There are bottles everywhere.  There's' a processor's stamp on the back, "PIXIE SNAP JUNE 1952" 

Light Stands

   

This is a strange little photo.  Not because of the woman sitting in the foreground, but because of the tripods in the background.  Lights, camera, action?  

Not A Flapper

 

Dated "AUG 62" so a costume or someone who really, really likes vintage fashion. 

Specs 3

  

Once again, and for the last time, a visit to our visually limited family.   In the first of the three posts, this little girl was seen without her glasses.  I grew up in a poorish part of the country, and for a lot of kids, if they needed glasses and their parents couldn't afford them, well too damn bad.  Click on The Specs Collection in labels to bring up all three parts. 

Another Threesome

 

Like yesterday's post, one man, two women.  I think we can tell which woman is with the man.  I hope the photographer handed off the camera and got a shot of himself with his girlfriend.  

In the Navy

 

I'd be surprised if this wasn't taken during World War 2.  But where?  Family visiting San Diego before their son or brother went to sea, or a couple of women the sailor met in Hawaii?  When there's one man and two women, the photo is almost always taken by the boyfriend of one of the ladies, so girlfriends are probably the better of two explanations. 

Clifton's

  

Clifton's was a cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles.  During the great depression, Clifton's had an open-door policy for everyone, no matter how destitute a person was.  No one was turned away hungry.  And for all those who think that people will take advantage and expect to be fed for free, no matter how much money they may have, those who could afford to pay almost always did.   Eventually, Clifton's became a chain, and eventually, that chain failed.  The downtown location is still up and going though no longer owned by the Clifton family.  I haven't been there in years, so I'm not sure if this is right, but as I understand it, it's more of a hipster bar and hangout rather than a cafeteria for everyone.

Never mailed, the caption, "Clifton's Brookdale, Within these doors, a forest calls to you-A mountain land of redwood trees and sky-Offering woodland peace and beauty to The tired heart, the city-weary eyes.

So enter friend where brooklets run, Down rocky crevices, through fern and reed, Dine here and rest; and when your meal is done, May something more than food have met your need.  -Esther Baldwin York." 

Specs 2

 

More from the family with bad eyesight.  Unlike the other photos in this collection, these photos look as if they were taken at a house rather than an apartment building.  Click on The Specs Collection in labels to bring up the other posts.  One more to come. 

Dick and I

 

I've got a lot of photos with something written on the back. This is the only one I own where the caption is typed.  "Dick and I in front of the house."  It must have been an interesting family.  

Fun in the Forest

  

I bought this photo right here in southern California, and even though this is a fairly old photo, I have to say, the location looks familiar.  Perhaps one of the picnic areas in The Angeles National Forest.  I have to admit, though, I'm probably projecting.  There is the edge of a picnic table in the lower right corner, so perhaps that's why. 

Specs 1

A family with very bad eyesight. The little girl in the second photo isn't wearing her glasses, but she is in all the other photos from this very small, six-image collection to be designated The Specs Collection in labels.   

Before & During

 

Written on the back of the top image, "July / 41 Batavia, Ill."  So, four to five months before Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into World War 2.  Written on the bottom print, "Helen & My Ma taken in the Sunken Gardens just of the hill & the Hotel. August 1944."  Not long after D-Day.