A Dapper Gentleman

A well dressed gentleman, a real photo postcard, probably from the 1910's. 

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-The Faceless Family Connection

There are only so many photos in this collection that have any sort of caption, and this is one of them.  Written on the back, "my cousin."

Click on The Here There and Everywhere Collection at the bottom of the post to see the rest.

Three Guys In Hats

Another real photo postcard.  Great Hats.

Plauen & Reichenbach

If nothing else, Heinrich Axtmann must have been a successful photographer since he had two studio locations.  More than likely he had employees, with a second photographer filling in for him at which ever location he wasn't at on any given day, and perhaps lab staff so he could go home at night rather then spending his evenings in the darkroom.

Once again, we're in Saxony.  But, I bought all five photos in this mini series from an EBay seller in Bellingham, Washington. Were these all photos from the same family?  If so, why did they use different photographers in different towns?  What about the Swedish cabinet card?  Perhaps someone emigrated to the United States, between the wars, and he or she brought photos of family and friends with them.  Maybe they were mailed from Germany to someone who was already in the U.S.  Of course, that's the trouble with antique dealers.  Things start passing through so many hands that any such connections become lost.  I'll keep these photos together, but after I'm dead and gone, I doubt the next owner will be so concerned with such things.  The fact is, I don't really have any heirs, so it's quite possible that all of my collections will end up on the curb or in the trash.

Ehrenfriedersdorf

As I've noted in some of my older posts, both cabinet cards and CDV's were early, successful standardized photographic formats.  Photo supply companies manufactured the cards, some with printed logos on the back, and then the photographer would mount his or her work on the front of the card.  Albums and frames were sold to the public, designed to hold those particular formats.  I've never seen these small, narrow cards before, but clearly someone was selling these things to different studios.  (The actual dimensions, 4 11/16 x 2 1/8)

I could find a fair number of other photographs by Heinrich Wagner, on line, but no information on the man himself.  I'm not going to try and translate the back of the card, but Wagner did win the bronze medal at Heidelberg in 1912, so we can know this image wasn't taken until after that.  I'm still guessing pre World War 1.  If I'm right, that's a small two year window.

Ehrensfiedersdorf is in Saxony, Germany.

Limbach

I spent way too much time researching this photograph.  I never expect to find anything about any individual photographer, but not being able to find any reference to a place was unique.  Then I got out the better magnifying glass and realized that there was an "L" right up against the edge of the studio logo and it was Limbach I was searching for, not Imbach. Once I found Limbach, I was able to add C. Grosser photographer to my search parameters and  discovered that in 1903, Herr C. Grosser had decided to sell photographic supplies at his studio.   Not much, but it's what I got.

Goteborg or Gothenburg?

I just picked up a small envelope of European studio portraits.  It looks like this one started as a cabinet card that someone trimmed down.  Maybe it was a family member who needed to fit it into a frame or album.  That's not so bad since more could have been had from Alfred Back, the photographer.

So, I'm always amazed by what I can find on the net.  I didn't know if Alfred Back was a complete name or not, but I gave it a whirl, and indeed it was the full name of a Swedish studio photographer from Goteborg, Sweden, properly spelled with the two little dots above the "O", which I can't type on my ever ageing desk top computer.  The weird thing is that Goteborg has an exonym that's kind of semiofficial in Sweden itself.   Goteborg, also known as Gothenburg is the second largest city in the country, and the headquarters of Volvo.  It was founded in 1621 as a Dutch trading colony and quickly became home to a number of Germans and Scots, Swedish allies from the Thirty Years War.  So, a Swedish city with a Swedish name as well as a German/English one.  Oh those Europeans and their crazy wars. 

Now, about Google/Microsoft, etc., and how tech changes language.  Exonym is a real word.  An exonym is the externally used word for a geographic name place.  A perfect example is Germany for Deutschland.  Despite exonym's long usage, according to Blogger the word doesn't exist.  This is something I run into from time to time, and I'm always left wondering, "Are we loosing words because someone in silicon valley couldn't be bothered to add it to a database?"

Any guesses about the uniforms?  They don't look military to me.  No badges of rank or decorations.  Maybe the Swedish railway.

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection, A Gentleman's Portrait

Wow, the stick-pin, tie and the facial hair.  If I was picking a stereotypical image of the southern gentleman, pining for his grandfather's slaves to bring him a julep, this would be the photo.  Not a good look.

Click on The Here There and Everywhere Collection in labels to get background on the lot.  Also, it saves me from typing for the next ten minutes.

Still a lot to go, but not in the near future.

This Guy Looks Familiar

I'm a huge fan of old movies, and I'm sure I've seen some long forgotten character actor that looks just like this guy.  Anyway, before these vague memories from late night television entered my mind, I was going to write that I've never seen a hand tinted photo of a man that didn't look like he was wearing makeup, in this case, a light pink lipstick and a bit of blush.  Not a good look for a man.

Slow

It says so, right on the sign.

Mr. Schulmeir

Kind of like the baby pose from the last post.  Labeled, obviously, "Mr. Schulmeir."  He must have been an important person in a minor way.  He's a Mister not a Bob, Barry, or Wolfgang.  Notice that the person in the foreground seems to be laughing at what is very likely a lame joke.

Put A Fork In It

What is that guy eating?  If it were meat, it would droop a bit.  Watermelon would probably break apart.  Then again, back then, watermelon wasn't the seedless, soft monstrosity it is today.

Herr Director

I'm a great fan of German films from a certain period, basically from the silent era until the Nazis took over a drove out many of the most talented actors, writers, and directors.  Anyway, I bought this card because the gentleman made me think of Fritz Lang, although, I'd say he looks a bit more like a young Billy Wilder.  As far as the writing on the back, I think it's German though I'm not 100% sure.  1937, of course, is unmistakable.

Urbino

Written on the back, "Urbino Rodriquez"  

The Last of the Tintypes, For Now

I'm sure, at some time in the future, I'll buy some more tintypes but for now, I've posted every one in the collection.  Despite their name, tintypes are actually printed on iron, hence the rust.

Yet More Tintypes

The guy on the bottom must have offended someone.

Tiny Pictures 3

No more tiny pictures for awhile.  Enjoy.

Tiny Pictures 1

I run across these small strips of photos, from time to time.  At first, I thought they must have come from some sort of photo booth, which didn't really make any sense.  It's true that camera manufacturers were making self developing systems in the late 19th century,  but they were very expensive, very unreliable, and very rare.  I latter found out that camera makers offered film holders with a movable slide.  Take one photo on a glass plate, move the slide and take another image, then process and contact.  And, of course, there were cameras made with multiple lenses that could make multiple exposures at the same time.  This isn't one of those.  If it was, both exposures would be the same.

The Waterbury Paper Box Co. Wedding Album 33

Well if nothing else, this guy qualifies as dapper.

Click on Waterbury Box Co. Album in labels to see the rest.

Smooth College Boy

That's one of the great stereotypes of  silent movies of the Jazz Age.  The smooth college boy who seduces the innocent girl while the stalwart hero pines for his wayward lady love.  Of course, in the end true love conquers all.