It's a Dog!

 

This is a fairly small print, and when I just looked at it, I wondered what the woman on the left was holding.  Then I scanned it and blew it up and got a good look.  It's the family dog.  

August Vacation

 

Written on the back, "Commenc Aout 34."  French for begins in August.  Or at least, that's what Google Translate says.  From what I understand, the French take off almost all of August for a national vacation.  Did they do that in 1934?  I know a few French people who live here in California, and they love dogs.  Were the French dog crazy in 1934?  

Krystal Gloss Prints 6

 

Time to finish up with a couple of dogs trying to climb a ladder. I suspect it leads to a rickety wooden bridge crossing the river.  It looks like the bottom dog needs some help.  Click on The Crystal Gloss Collection in labels to see the now completed collection. 

Party Hats

Bored looking people, smoking, drinking, funny hats and the family dog who wishes everybody would go home. 

Los Angeles via Hurricane, Utah 7

This is the last from this collection and it's a fitting end.  As I noted in the first post from this lot  these pictures from 1930s Los Angeles were found in Hurricane, Utah.  Now, photographs travel and I have no idea how this particular album page got from L.A. to Utah, a long way in the pre I-15 era.  However, this last row of images clearly are not from southern California.  The cold weather clothing is a dead giveaway.  A good guess, a family from Utah sent some photos to their family members who were trying their luck in Los Angeles. 

Click on LA Hurricane in labels at the bottom of the post to see both sides of the page.

Harvey Girls

In 1883, Fred Harvey decided that he wanted an all female waitstaff at his restaurants, so he placed ads in eastern and mid-western newspapers advertising for young women between the ages of 18 and 30, single, attractive, intelligent and of good character.  He offered one year contracts, with a partial forfeiture of wages if they didn't make the whole year.  Also free housing, board, and uniforms.  Also a mandatory curfew of 10 P.M.  Pay $18 a week, throw in the free room, board, and uniforms, that was actually a fairly high wage, not just for women, but for anyone.  Too, I imagine it offered quite an adventure for young women in the 1880's.

Written on the back, "Harvey House girls Mom w/ little girl."  Obviously this photo was taken well after 1883, and is suspect those aren't the original;Fred Harvey uniform, but I'd bet they're  close.

In 1942, muck-raking journalist Samuel Hopkins Adams,  known for his exposes of corruption in government and business wrote a novel,"The Harvey Girls,"which portrayed the Harvey girls as the civilizers of the west.  I have no idea if that's true or not, but it is an interesting idea.  The movie with Judy Garland came out a few years latter, albeit as a musical.

Kids and Their Bikes (And a Dog, Too.)

No date on these, but I'd bet somewhere between the mid 50s and early 60s. 

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-Standing on the Dock of the Lake

Thank you Otis Redding.

Click on The Here There and Everywhere Collection in labels, go back to the very first post in this collection and you'll find a reference to Lake Placid, in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York.  Dotted with lakes, both large and small, the Adirondacks have long been a go to spot for second homes for the rich and near rich of the northeast.  I'll bet these people had money, and lived in New York City.

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection,-Dearborn

As can be seen on the full album page, this one is dated "Jan.- 1944."  I've actually written about this before, but here it goes again.  During World War 2, millions of young American men were in the service.  There were women in the military, of course, but their numbers were far fewer.  In other words, there were millions of American women, on the home front, with no male companionship.  When I find pictures from the war years, especially mid 43 through late 45, I'm never surprised when there aren't any young men in the photos.

There are no pictures on the back of this page, but it's labeled "Dearborn-Sept-'43."  I've known about Dearborn, Michigan for years, but I have to admit, I've always assumed it was Deerborn.  I figured some early pioneer had founded the city where he had seen a doe and her fawn.  Well actually, I never thought about it all, but I did think it was Deerborn.  It turns out the city was named after  Revolutionary War General Henry Dearborn.  Who knew?

Click on The Here There and Everywhere Collection in labels to see more photos and for information on the lot.

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-The Maid, The Cat, and the Dog

Well, the best thing to do is click on The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection in labels to get an explanation, and see more from the lot.  But in a nutshell, the person who sold me this collection said it was all from an estate, but then again, take that with a grain of salt.

So, the first two photos reveal the why of the title.  There she is, the maid, in one image she's holding the cat, and in the other, the dog.  I guess, the real question is this; Are these the photographic memories of the maid, and her career, working for different families, or did mi'lord and mi'lady just need someone to show off their pets?  My next post will be the other side of this album page, and may provide a clue.

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.

Dog Racing

I bet there's nothing people won't bet on.

Fine Outside Dinning With Puppies

Yes there are puppies in this photo.

1968

Awhile back, I bought an envelope of color snapshots.  Some were clearly related, some maybes, and others...who knows.  These are all dated "Christmas 1968."  The third one is also labeled, "Mary Maloney, Joey 7 yrs."  I'm not sure why there would be two names on a picture of little Joey.  Perhaps Mary was the other child, or maybe the mother and photographer.

I can remember when artificial trees came along.   The early ones were really, really ugly.

Culver City Trash, Family Dinner

Things do change.  Just a few weeks ago, I was complaining about how few examples of true found photography, pictures literally found on the street, I have in the collection.  And then, I had an early morning work day in Culver City, I was walking to my job, passed a dumpster in front of a thrift shop, filled with stuff that was so worthless it was being tossed, and there they were, old photos.  Some were so far down in the bin I wasn't willing to go diving, some were damaged beyond use, and some were covered in slime so vile even I wasn't willing to clean them off, and I have a pretty strong stomach.   Anyway, this one is the first of the lot.  I'll be putting them up, without interruption, so it's probably not necessary, but they'll all be tagged Culver City Trash Collection in labels.  

Woman With Dog

This is the second of my two new, ash tray smelling, framed photographs, and now that they're both scanned and uploaded I can put them in a box and smother the odor.  There's nothing written on the frame or photo, but the chin looks similar, so maybe it might be an older version (As in a picture taken years latter.) of Bess Gilbert.  It makes sense since the photos are from the same source and both have that distinctive tobacco smell.  

Torturing the Dog

What' that thing on the dog's head?  At first I thought the dog was just moving it's head and all the camera caught was a blur.  But after a bit of thought, I realized that the rest of the body would have been moving as well.

It's Snooky!

I don't have a lot of color photos in the collection, so when I had a chance to buy an envelope with 80 color snapshots for $3, I jumped at the chance.  Of course,at that price, they were sight unseen, and the quality was a bit uneven.  Some of the photos look like they come from a common source, some not, so as I dole them out, I won't add a tag for the collection.

Written on the back, "Snooky 12/19/68"  My mother would have said, "Get that damn dog of the couch!"

Small Towns in the Desert

Where is this town?  The picture is clearly pre-World War 1.  The cars look like 1910 or so.  The dirt road is sandy and it sure has a desert feel.  But why would these well dressed people and their lap dog be out in the desert?  When this picture was taken, Palm Springs wasn't a resort destination, and no one was headed north to Las Vegas, at the time,  little more than a few buildings and a railroad watering stop.  Perhaps they were off on an adventure.  Suites, stylish dress, and one little dog may not spell adventure in our day, but back then a 100 mile road trip was something.  And there was no reason not to dress well.

Standing In the Sun

This is a chummy group of people.  Take a look at the man on the left.  The woman above him has her arm over his shoulder.  The woman to his left, judging by the position of her shoulder, has her arm around his waist.  So, is the woman to the left clueless about a side relationship, or are they all just very friendly?  The dog seems pretty pleased to be at the country lodge.

I'm not big on posting the backs of photos, but I liked the very faded processor's logo.  If it can't be made out, the date is "JUL 29, 1935"