He Grew Up and Sold Ice Cream

I'm not very good at judging ages, but I would think that the bottom two photos were taken when this young man was in his late teens to early twenties, and the first about seven or eight years earlier, and since the bottom photo is dated 1918, say around 1910 for the top.

With the eucalyptus trees and the neatly spaced orchard in the background of the top photo, southern California at a time when most of the area was still farm land  seems like an obvious location.  But, how to prove that?  Apart from the Crescent Ice Cream sign, there's also a Bradford Baking Company bread box in the middle picture.  I did a bit of searching on the net, and found a story about the recent purchase of Metropolitan Ice Cream by The Crescent Ice Cream Company of Los Angeles, dated 1916, and another story of a law suit by Weber Bakeries against The Bradford Baking Company in Los Angeles Civil Court, dated 1919.  I couldn't find any details, or who won the suit, but when I arrived in Los Angles, in 1980, Weber Bread was still available.

Tussy Cream Deodorant

Oh that strange, disembodied face staring out from the top picture. A bit of advertising , of course, but with all the reflections, a bit weird. Tussy Cream Deodorant has been manufactured since 1925, and according to it's manufacturer's web site, Suite-K.com., it's available in dollar stores everywhere. Stamped on the back of the top picture, "APR 28, 1951" If the regular price for a jar of Tussy was $1.00 in 1951, and it's for sale in dollar stores today, that means that the price hasn't changed in 61 years. Now that's a bargain!

Central Radio

I love this picture. The photographer may have got his depth of field wrong, with the four people in front slightly soft, but it's still a very compelling image. The reflection of the building across the street, the four people, employees, owners or customers, standing there, so confident in their pose. Just great. Probably from the late forties or early to mid fifties.

The Cleveland Motor Company

Three nice little urban pictures. I have no idea what city these pictures were taken in, but the ad in the window is for a Cleveland Automobile. Frederick C. Chandler founded the Chandler Automobile Company in Cleveland, Ohio in 1913. In 1919, he founded the Cleveland Automobile Comapny to make a lower cost car. He merged them in 1926, and sold out to Huppmobile in 1928. $550 is about a third of what a Cleveland went for new.