Summertime Santa

  

Another example of true found photography.  I walked over the hill to Hollywood yesterday, and there this was, just lying on the street.  It's a little weird to post a photo that is probably less than six months old, but then I tell myself that the 100-year-old snapshots that get posted were once less than six months old. 

Christmas Is Coming

 

I haven't lost interest in this blog, nor have I stopped collecting old photos, but I have been very short of money for a while, hence the big gaps in posts.  Anyway, there's a Christmas tree in the background, and we are about three weeks out, so I thought I put this picture up. 

Merry Christmas From Rosalie and Kenneth Lee

 

 Odd choice for a Christmas card?  Anyway, I did a quick search for Kenneth Lee in Battle Creek, Michigan, and found a lot of people named Kenneth, middle name Lee, then a lot of different last names.  My guess is that this Kenneth Lee is one of those Kenneth Lees. 

Eddie

 

Written on the back, "Daddy, Ruth & Eddie, Joyce & Ruthann with Xmas gifts."  Well, we are getting close to Christmas so it's time to put this one up.  I've been holding on to it for a while and with any luck, I'll be out of town on the big day. 

Music To My Ears 10

It's time to return to this musical family collection.  Ii still don't know the real name versus the stage name of this lady and her husband and partner.   Anyway, from now to the end, no more stage shots, no more studio portraits no more pictures of our singer belting out a tune.  There is however a daughter.  Written on the back, "Xmas 1964."  And it's a Polaroid.  Click on Music To My Ears in labels at the bottom of the post to see more.

Duke & Diane

As a rule, I don't show the decorative borders found on many old photographs.  Most are pretty much the same and unless a particular border is unique, I kind of figure, if you've seen one, you've seen them all. 

So, information on the back of the print.  "Dec. 27, 1935.  Duke & Diane Andrews. Taken at 1228 S. Wisconsin Ave. Berwyn, Ill.  9-7 years."  Let's start with the obvious, the helmet Duke is wearing is probably a Christmas present.  Football, would be my best guess, though in an era that was mad about aviation, it could also be a flyer's helmet.  The leather jacket was also the type of clothing worn by early, open cockpit aviators, so perhaps Duke wanted to be like his hero Charles Lindbergh.  There is a dark blob against the wall that I think could be a dog.  I tried looking up the names on line but pretty much struck out.  Diane Andrews is too common of a name.  Also, if she got married, any mention would have probably been by her married name.  Duke is probably a nickname which doesn't really help, though there is a Duke Andrews basketball league in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.  A connection?  Perhaps, but impossible to tell.  And finally, Berwyn is a suburb of Chicago. 

Bold choice for an amateur photographer, taking a picture next to light patterns from the window, which is very difficult to print. 

Leg Show

This one is labeled "Christmas 1940"  It's nice to know that the holidays had enough room for a chorus line.  If nothing goes wrong, I'll be camping and hiking in the desert on Christmas day, so this one is getting posted a few days early. 

The Littlest Christmas Tree

Alright, I think it's actually a candle, and it's so small that I missed it the first time I looked at the print, but there it is, right there at the edge of the table, the littlest Christmas tree.  There's a processor's date stamp on the back, "JANUARY 1959."  So, maybe not Christmas day, but right around December 25, 1958. 

Drunken Carousing at Christmas

That's a hell of a tree in the background.

A Schwinn at Christmas

As a cycling enthusiast, I can assure you that the head badge on that bike is from a Schwinn.  At the very bottom of the oval, you'd read, "Chicago."  Ah, for the good old days when the United States was one of the world's leading bicycle manufactures.  When I was a kid, I longed for a genuine Schwinn bike.  I ended up with a Huffy.  After it was stolen, I got a used Raleigh three speed.  One of the best bikes I've ever owned. 

Airplanes at Christmas

This one has a processor's date, "JAN-58."  Clearly, it was taken Christmas morning, 1957. 

Drinking at Christmas

So how do I know it's Christmas?  Take a look at the cards hanging on the back wall.  My mother used to string up Christmas cards like that, and I always thought it an odd thing to do.  Anyway, written on the back, "Fran, Tim, Betty, Bill, Mary, Bonnie & Joe." 

The Party, The Fun Table

On September 22nd, I posted a company  party picture that showed a number of black employees sitting separately from the white employees.  I couldn't help but wonder if some party planner had put all the blacks at the same table,  or if the workers, more or less,  decided to separate themselves by race, by themselves.  Well, I was back at the same antique store and found this photo from the same party.  It looks like the fun people didn't care about race.

Click on  miller company in labels to see the first pix.

The Party

Written on the back, "Dec-1961 Miller Co."  To put it mildly, there are a lot of Miller Companies in the United States.  At first I thought it was a company with an all black work force, albeit with a white boss.  (See the guy on the far left.)  But, after I blew things up, I noticed that there were a number of white people in the background.  I'd love to know if the employees self segregated, or if the party organizer purposely seated all the black workers at the same table.

Christmas 1969

I've got to admit, I don't really look for Christmas photographs.  These two came in a big envelope of miscellaneous color snapshots.  Still, it is Christmas.

The top one is labeled "Traci & Janie Christmas 1969, 6 1/2 mo."  The second, "Christmas 1969  Traci 6 1/2 mo."

Bad Dog!

Get that damn dog out of the picture! How am I going to get a good shot of the fireplace if you can't control that animal?  Bad dog, bad!

My mother had one of these fake fireplaces.  It didn't survive storage for more than one Christmas.

Both dated, "1961."  The top photo is labeled "ONKY."  The dog's name, I assume.

If you can't sleep at night-it isn't the coffee, it's the bunk.

Any Preston Sturges fans out there?  Remember Christmas In July?  Anyway, Christmas In July, written and directed by Preston Sturges is about this poor sap who is always entering contests, hoping to win enough money so he can marry his girl.  After he enters a slogan contest for a coffee company, his fellow employees, who think he's kind of a dolt, send him a telegram telling him he's won the grand prize.  The poor guy proposes, get's a promotion at work, and then goes out and buys presents for everyone, including those who sent the phony telegram.   Eventually, the truth comes out and he has to live with the consequences of his generosity, some good, some bad.

This photo is dated, "Jun 72."

P.S., is that Dick Van Patten sneaking in on the left?

Merry Christmas Faded and Restored

Christmas 1959

Dated "December 25, 1959."

The Same Christmas Grannies + 1

I screwed up.  These were supposed to go up with yesterday's post, but I wasn't thinking.  I'd blame it on too much holiday cheer, but I'm kind of a teetotaler.   Speaking of Happy Holidays, I just read a story about a Texas politician who has threatened to slap anyone who wishes him Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas.   It's that whole war on Xmas thing.