A Vacation in Hamburg 12

 

Well, I haven't been posting anything for a while, and my only excuse is sheer laziness.  I just haven't felt like it.  So, now that I'm back, I thought it was time to put up the final five photographs from the Hamburg Vacation Collection.  (Go to labels and click on that to see the lot.  There's no rhyme or reason to the order, so start anywhere.)  To recap, if I were to give an honest name to this blog, it would be The Newly Purchased Photography.  Almost all of the photos I put up have been bought in antique stores, thrift stores, or online.  Once in a while, however, I actually do find old photos, and this collection is an example of that.  I was walking along the street, and there it was.  Color snapshots taken in Hamburg, Germany blowing around, and envelopes of old negatives.  I thought about digging out the light box and matching up the prints to the negs, but I was worried that, on my limited income, I'd end up spending money on having prints made from any negatives that I couldn't match to a photo, so I didn't.      

A Vacation in Hamburg 10

 

I sometimes wonder about my fascination with other people's photographs.  I kind of get the really old stuff, but these street snaps from Hamburg, Germany are from 1989.  Hardly antique scenes.  Anyway, more true found photography.  From a street in Los Angeles.  Click on Hamburg Vacation Collection in labels to see the rest of the photos from this lot and get some more info on them.  The photographer seems to be interested in the Beer Dorf, or Beer Village, in English.  Right next to a Chinese restaurant. 

A Vacation In Hamburg 7

 

More German street scenes, and another of those weird German living room shots.  The living room photo has a date written on the back, "9 July 1989."  Click on Hamburg Vacation Collection in labels to see more. 

A Vacation In Hamburg 5

 

I've got a lot of these, some of the few true-found photographs in my collection.  I was, walking down the street, and there they were, just lying in the middle of the sidewalk.  Click on Hamburg Vacation Collection in labels to see more.  

Hold Still, Ladies

 

It looks like some photographer is chasing a couple of women down the street.  Of course, more than likely, the cameraman knows his female subjects.  I always search the background of photos for clues as to where and when the picture was taken, but no such luck here.  I suppose I could try to match hairstyles and clothes to an era, but I don't feel like doing the research.  Let's take a guess of the 1930s to 1940s.  Is that the photographer's thumb in the bottom photo? 

A Vacation in Hamburg 2

 

A quick turnaround for part 2, but after this one., there will be a bit of a break before I post more from this collection.  The top photo looks like it's probably a private home, perhaps a German relative's house of the vacationers.  Written on the back, and the only photo with any notation, "6 JULY 1989."  I know that a large portion of Hamburg was destroyed during World War 2, which makes me wonder if the modern buildings of Hamburg were painted to give a medieval feel to a rebuilt city. Click on the Hamburg Vacation Collection in labels to see the rest of the lot.  At least once I get around to putting them all up on the site. 

The Bulgarian School Boy Album 17

The top photo had exactly one thing on the back, "VII", too vague to scan.   It's the second photo that's more interesting to me.  1943, Bulgaria is in the war and ruled by a Fascist, right wing government allied with the Germans.  Still, people walk the streets and seem pretty happy.  At the beginning of the war, Bulgaria embraced neutrality, but they found themselves on an invasion route to Yugoslavian and Greece.  There was some fighting in Bulgaria, some of it involving a native resistance movement.  Sadly for the Bulgarians they were over run by the Soviets near the end of World War 2.  It's never a good thing to be between two warring factions.

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

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.

Street Scenes, Algeria

In the previous post, a French postcard publisher showed the French presence in Algeria.  In this post, ordinary, day to day life.  I couldn't find any information on the publisher, but with the English captions, and a stamp box on the back that gives stamp prices for the United States and Canada...well, I may be wrong, but I doubt anyone in north Africa ever saw this card.  Note the copyright date of 1909.  This card could have been sold for decades, but does the copyright date reflect when the photos were taken, or when the card was offered for sale?

The Rose Parade, January 1, 1926 Part 2

This is part two of five. I often date old photos by comparing things like cars, clothing, and hair styles with other pictures that have written dates. This collection was easy to date. Look at the photo with the theater marquee. I needed a magnifying glass to make it out, but the front of the theater advertises "The Live Wire" with Johnny Hines. The live wire was released on September 20, 1925. The theater is the Bard's Egyptian, which opened in 1925. Pasadena's Colorado Blvd., the route of the Rose Parade still has many building from the era. Note the marchers with the Pasadena Humane Society banner.

Where Is This?

With the Spanish business signs, it could be from Mexico, Cuba, or the Philippines. The sign on the photographers studio is partly in English, so it was probably a city with a lot of American or British visitation. Does the "THE MARINE STUDIO" indicate U.S. Marines or merchant marines were welcome to come in and have a picture taken. Well, if anyone out there can tell me where it was taken, please leave a comment.

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Added 9/14/10. In her comment, Christine H. speculates that this could be Panama. What caught her eye was the streetcar tracks. She noted that Panama, and I assume she's referring to the city on the Pacific side of the canal, had single trolley tracks that were removed in 1941. Coincidentally I had come to the same thought, but for far different reasons. This photo was purchased in the United States, and what Spanish speaking country had more American visitation than Panama. The Canal Zone was a defacto American colony that bisected the country. There were American military bases to defend the zone, American technicians to keep the canal running, American business interests dominated the local economy, and even the Panamanian government had large numbers of Americans in administrative positions. Also, a good explanation for the English photo studio sign. With all those Americans wanting photos to send home...And what got me thinking along these lines. A screening of the John Huston/Humphrey Bogart film Across the Pacific, a 1942 film about a Japanese plot to destroy the Panama canal. Christine H's thoughts are a far more valid explanation than my thoughts, but between us, we may have solved the mystery of just where this photo was taken.

From Belgium

The person who sold these four images to me, told me that they were estate photos from a family that had come to the United States from Belgium. The street scene has signs in French, as well as the word, "Doyon." Doyon is a town in the Namur province, in the French speaking part of Belgium, so it's a good bet that the information is correct. It's very difficult to see, but there is an arrow drawn on to the group picture (the third lady from the right) identifying the woman as Lena Jagger. Another wedding photo without women. The portrait of the lady is labeled Christianson-Leberman. It's written in pencil right below the woman, so it may be the name of the subject, or the photographer.

Coast Radio

This image is a perfect example of just how far an old photo can take a collector like me. I bought it because, as a cyclist, I love old bikes. The woman is riding a very distinct machine. The angle is just off enough that it can't be identified with any precision. Once beyond the bikes, things get even more interesting.

On the back of the picture, there is a processor's stamp. "PRINTED APR 8 1940 THE OWL DRUG COMPANY." That set me off in an entirely new direction. The Owl Drug Company was founded in 1892, in San Fransisco, CA. It would go on to become one of the biggest drug store companies in the world and would be taken over by Rexall in 1920. The Coast Radio store could be the name of a chain, or it could indicate that this picture was taken in an American coastal city like San Fransisco, or Seattle. Under the silk sign it says Rayons and Wools. Is the store next to it Molly Mae or perhaps Holly or Polly Mae? Is there a Masonic sign next to the silk shop? Quite a lot of information for a photograph that measures 2 3/8 x 4 inches.

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.