School Girls and Caskets 3

And so it ends.  This is the last of this mini collection.  We can see the Inter State Casket Company sign two more times as well as the untrimmed gymnastics photo that first showed up in part one.  The top photo is a bit off.  So far this collection has only had photos of school girls but those two are boys.  I like the bottom photo because it looks like a group of locals are sitting high enough, on the other side of the school yard fence, to see the girls in formation.  The comfort bedding advertisement lists two cities, Chicago and Kansas City, so maybe these pictures were taken in one of those cities.  Although KC, Mo versus KC,K is anyones guess.

Needless to say click on School Girls and Caskets in labels to see all three posts.

School Girls and Caskets 2

 

I suppose it's something we have to wonder about now a days, but no, the gap in these postings has nothing to do with illness.  I just didn't feel like it.  So, when I see photos taken before a major war, I always wonder how many of the people in the picture survived.  When I see something taken right after a war, and the photos in this small collection are from 1921, I wonder how many of those that they knew didn't make it.  And from a photo from 1921, I wonder how many people did they know who died from the Spanish Flu. 

In the background of the top picture you can see a sign for the Inter State Casket Company.  Considering the year, they must have been very successful.  So it's not really necessary, but click on School Girls and Caskets to see more.

School Girls and Caskets 1

I'm starting another mini collection.  There will only be three posts and I'm putting them without interruption.  Even though it's probably not necessary I am assigning it a tag, obviously, School Girls and Caskets.   And, you'll have to wait for the next post to understand the title.

So, the two class photos are each dated, "Jan. 1921."  I'm assuming the guy in front of the top picture is a teacher.  The third picture is cut out from a bigger image.  The full frame version will be in part three.  It is a good opportunity to really make out the uniform badge.  It looks like either GTV or GTU. 

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 20

Done.  The Bulgarian school boys (and girls) have come to an end.   As I noted in an earlier post, I bought this album from an eBay seller in Bulgaria who told me that these photos showed school uniforms.  With the passage of time, some of those school uniforms got traded in for military uniforms, but there was a war going on and more than likely the young men in this collection didn't have much choice in the matter.  Making out the dates on the backs of these images was pretty easy but I didn't do as well with the writing.  When I was growing up I was a paperboy.  Does that job even exist anymore?  Anyway, some of my customers were elderly Russians who had come to the United States, after the revolution, and worked in the local coal mines.  I picked up a bit of the language from them.  I can't remember much anymore, but I can still make out the Cyrillic alphabet.  I thought about spelling the words out phonetically and running them through Google translate, but when I realized that I had trouble deciphering the actual handwriting, I gave up, so if there are any native Bulgarian speakers who would like to help me out, I'd appreciate it.  Anyway,  Stara Zagora was easy, and I'm fairly certain that the girl on this page is named Ivanka, but that's as far as I'll go on this page.  I hope they all survived the war and the post war dictatorships. 

As usual, click on The Bulgarian School Boy Album in the labels section at the bottom of the post.  It's now possible to see the whole album, from front to back.

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 15

The bottom picture is a shot of school boys and a few school girls, but the top photo is clearly an adult in an army uniform.  Why the suitcases?  Going to the front or fleeing the Germans, or Russians?  Click on The Bulgarian School Boy Album to see more.   I'll b e going back to regular programming in the next post, and will finish up things in a month or so. 

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 13

Bulgarian girlfriends more like it.  At least we know that the top picture was from Stara Zagora.  My basic knowledge of Cyrillic script allowed me to do that one phonetically even if I can't translate anything else.    As always, click on The Bulgarian School Boy Album in labels to see more from this collection.

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 12

It looks like the Bulgarian school boys are all lined up for inspection.  I'd love to know if this album is from a military school or are we dealing with ordinary kids who had to wear uniforms in school. 

There is some writing on the back of the top photo, but it's so faded that I didn't think it was worth scanning, but I could make out the date, "1941."  The bottom photo shows both boys and girls, all in some sort of uniform.  Both scans are from the back of that print, just separated  into two parts for easier viewing.  The logo is from Leonar Werke, a German photographic supply company that was founded in 1893, in Hamburg.  It started manufacturing printing papers for home use in 1907 and quickly became one of the major suppliers in Europe.  In 1943, their factories and offices were destroyed when Hamburg became a target of allied bombing.  After the war, Lenar rebuilt.   In 1964, they merged with Agfa and the brand name was retired. 

Click on The Bulgarian School Boy Album in labels to see more.

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 11

Well, I haven't posted anything for awhile.  I haven't given up, I just haven't felt like it, and since my life is a bit on hold right now with the ever darkening cloud of federal jury duty hanging over my head, I decided to return to the Bulgarian school boys.

There's nothing written on the back of the top print, but a lot of info that I can't read on the bottom print.  Someone wrote a date, 1938, over the original writing, and then someone came along and put some sort of mark over the eight.  There is a fairly large range of dates on the prints in this album and 1938 is one of the earlier ones.  Take a look at the boys and they look really young.

Just a reminder, click on The Bulgarian School Boy Album in labels to see parts one through ten.

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 10

I only have the word of the seller that these are school uniforms, though these two photos seem to confirm that.  The younger people, both the male and female are all wearing very similar clothing, but there are a few older men who have very different looks.  There is one who is wearing a grey uniform and has been seen before, three older man who look to be wearing suits, and one who looks like he's wearing work clothes.   So, students, faculty, and the janitor?  In any case, we've moved back a bit in time.  A few posts back  had dates of 1941 and 1944.  This one, 1938.

Click on The Bulgarian School Boys Album in labels at the bottom of the post to see more.  I finally got around to actually counting the pages, and I think two more runs will do it, for a grand total of twenty posts, so I'll be moving on to other things for awhile.

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 9

Nothing written on the backs of these photos but I did notice that the young woman on the bottom right of the top photo has the same arm badge as the single woman in the last post.  Click on The Bulgarian School Boys Album in labels at the bottom of the post to see more.

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 6

It's time to return to The Bulgarian School Boy Album.  The earlier posts can be seen by clicking on, you guessed it, The Bulgarian School Boy Album in labels at the bottom of the post.  And yes, I do realize we've got some Bulgarian school girls as well.

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 4

Bulgarian school boys hanging out with a professor, Bulgarian school boys goofing off in science class?  The second print has an actual confirm-able date.  Translated from the Bulgarian, "28 September 1942."  As mentioned in earlier posts, Bulgaria remained neutral until late 1941.  With the failing Italian invasion of Greece, Hitler decided to bail his allies out, and more or less forced a decision on the Bulgarian government.  The German army was going to march overland to Greece whether Bulgaria liked it or not, so capitulating to an ultimatum, Bulgaria joined the Axis powers.  There had been an unofficial fascist movement in the country, led by retired general Hristo Lukov and Tsar Boris III was  not unfriendly to the Nazi movement.  On the other hand, Bulgaria had one of the more active and widely supported resistance movements in Europe.  The Union of Bulgarian National Legions, the fascists,  and the anti-fascists were both popular with the young, so it's at least somewhat possible that the young students in these photos would choose opposite sides and end up fighting and killing each other in the war.  While Bulgaria did not join the German invasions of their neighbors, they did occupy parts of Yugoslavia and Greece, and when borders were adjusted after World War 2, Bulgaria ended up as the only Axis power to add territory.

Click on The Bulgarian School Boy Album n labels to see more.

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 3

If this album had been all studio photographs it would be interesting, but not all that interesting.  There are a few more studio shots left,  but we're starting to get into candid and unposed photos which are far more compelling, at lest to me.  It's clear from the top shot that the uniforms are most likely school uniforms.  Obviously children rather than adults, though it possible that the uniforms could be from a military school.  On the studio shot, I'd love to know if the older gentleman is a teacher or a parent.  The most likely explanation is teacher, but Bulgaria, if not already in the war, would have been preparing for war, so a lot of people were probably in uniform.  There is some writing on the studio photo.  "1520/41  941"  And a phonetic translation from the Cyrillic to English, "St Zagora," clearly a reference to the city of Stara Zagora.  I've come to the conclusion that the numbers that have been showing up on the back of the studio shots are negative reference numbers so the customer could call up and order more prints. I do, however, think that the numbers after the slash could indicate the year.  In 1941 the Bulgarians ended their neutrality and entered in to an alliance with Nazi Germany. 

Click on The Bulgarian School Boy Album in labels to see more.