For Ella

 

Written on the back, "for Ella, Judy 4 1/2 years old."  Well, it's some kind of costume.  

Mother & Daughter

 

Probably, though for all I know they could be any sort of relative or no relation at all.  

Hey you...

 

Hey you, look over here.  Or where they just angry that the intrusive relative with the camera was taking another photograph?  

Sixties Chick

Dated 1969, one color restoration and one thumb in front of the lens.

Back to the Beach For the Umpteenth Time

People love taking pictures of themselves and their friends and family at the beach.  I don't think they're wearing swimsuits, but I could be wrong.

Early Spring

Dated "MAY 55" and labeled "Griffith Park-Early Spring."  Over the years I've walked all over Griffith Park, and while I can't be certain I'd say this photo was either taken near the merry-go-round or near the old L.A. Zoo. 

Nose Picking

Well maybe.  Blow up the photo and the finger is near the nose, not in it.

A Creepy Cabinet Card

Take a close look at the second girl on the left.  Her eyes seem, at least to me, to be kind of lifeless.  Too, it looks like she's being held up by the rest of her family.  The child on her left is holding on to the dress, meanwhile we can see a hand on her right that looks well placed to hold the child upright.  In the nineteenth century, a time of high childhood mortality, a rather creepy photographic service was being offered; photo portraits with the dead kids.  There's no way it can be proved, but I think second on the left was dead when this picture was taken.

There's nothing on the back of the card, and the slight impression on the card front doesn't really scan.  It's difficult to see, but I was able to make out Ottawa, Kansas.  The photographer's name, however, well, I'm not really sure.  I think it's C Wain, though maybe not.

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 19

The penultimate Bulgarian School Boy Album page!  Some of the earliest photos from this album are dated from the mid 1930's.  So, are the men in the top photo the school boys from those pictures?  If those students were in their mid to late teens in those pictures, they'd be pushing thirty after the war was over.  Is the woman in the second photo a school girl from of those pictures a mother by 1946?  Well, there's nothing written on the back of that photo, so we can't know when it was taken. 

Click on The Bulgarian School Boy Album in labels to see other album pages.

Stop Complaining

I sold your tricycle to Aunt Betty.  Mommy needs a night on the town.

It Never rains in Southern California

Actually it does.  It also snows, which it did today.  Father and daughter, I think, rather than husband and wife.

Growing Up In San Francisco

It's time for me to go on one of my favorite rants.  How dare antique dealers cut up old photo albums and sell the pictures individually.  This one looks like it was  a good one.  Perhaps an elderly woman putting all the photos of her life in one place, or a younger women collecting memories to give to her mother.  At least the person who sold me these two photos had the good sense to save the captions.  I haven't been to that particular store for a while, but if I get back there, I'll search the 50 cent  photo box and with any luck, find some more images from this album. 

I pulled up a map of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and found 7th Avenue and Irving Street.  From Lincoln on the southern side of the park, drive two blocks on 7th, past Hugo and there you are. 

Let's Ride

What can I say?  I love bicycles.

Asia or America

Perhaps American tourists is Asia, or American tourists in one of the many Japanese gardens that seem to show up in public parks all over the United States.  I picked this one up in Los Angeles.  That pushes the odds towards California, but L.A. is a sea port, so maybe not. 

Three Generations

Is the girl in front a scout?  It's cookie season, and I've found myself running the gauntlet of Girl Scouts selling cookies.  It's not that I have anything against cookies.  As a matter of fact, I like cookies.  I just can't afford them, so leave me alone!

Mother Stealing Pat's Bike

Okay, the actual caption is "Mother & Charlene Pats bike."  But let's be honest, Mother may have had light fingers and she may have been riding off to the local bicycle fence.

The Wall

As I understand things, we may be building a wall on our southern border at some time in the near future.  Stamped on the back,  "Foto Ruciger 28.IV.51 Mexico D.F."  Also dated, "IV-26-1951."

Children and Pets

Two thoughts about these two focus challenged photos.

 I'm always amazed at what pets are willing to put up with from children.  I grew up in a small, rural town, and we had a number of dogs while I was growing up, but  only one cat.  My sister had seen a movie with a Siamese cat, and she had to have one, so my father went out and brought her a purebred, papers, a fancy name, the whole lot.  That cat was the meanest thing I've ever seen in my life, and I've survived two attempts on my life.   From time to time that cat would crawl up on your lap and purr away, but if you valued your fingers, you waited for her to leave.  The dogs, on the other hand, would put up with anything, and come back for more, even when they were mistreated.  And no, that's not a confession of animal cruelty, but small kids aren't all that good at constant kindness and care.  Anyway, our cat seemed to have been an anomaly, while the dogs were pretty much like dogs everywhere.  I've seen small children pick up pet cats, squeeze them to the point of near death, and they just take it.  Not unlike this little girl and her pet tabby.

And my second thought; look at the distance between mother and child.  No wonder that little girl was clutching her pet cat.  I may be wrong, but I don't see a lot of affection between these two.

Written on the backs of both prints, "Sept. 1952."

eBay Portraits, The Damaged One

Foxing and an abrasion in the background.  A simple and straight forward mother, daughter portrait.

Two In the Country

A very battered print.  Mother and daughter from the twenties would be my best guess.