An attractive young lady standing next to a statue of, I assume, Casimir Pulaski. Pulaski was a Polish patriot who came to the colonies, joined the revolution and is regarded as the father of the American Calvary. He was born in 1745 and died, in battle, in 1779. I looked for photos of memorials to Pulaski, but couldn't find a match.
More often than not, there really isn't much research that can be done on the old photos in my collection. But every once in a while, there are things I can look into. With the gothic style lettering on the building and the style of architecture, I was sure this photo must have been taken in Germany, but then I went to Google Translate and typed in Raadskelde and it came up as Dutch, and the meaning, council cellar. Then, after scanning the picture, and blowing it up a bit, it looked like there might be an extra letter at the end. So, I started typing different possibilities, and Raadskelder was the only word that worked. Again, it translated as council cellar, but this time in Afrikaans. I suppose that makes sense. After all, Afrikaans is a Dutch dialect. So, was this picture taken in the Netherlands, or South Africa?
Okay. I admit it. I have no idea if this photo was taken on a farm. But the out-of-focus background doesn't show any other houses, so it was taken somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, and since America was far more rural when this picture was made than it is now, a farm is a reasonable guess.
Not in the way we use the word now. This photo of Grandma reading the paper is about the size of my thumbnail. It's a bit out of focus, and if blown up, wouldn't be readable.
This is another one of those photos that has been cut down from a larger image. I always wonder why. An ex-boyfriend, how about an ex-husband? Maybe it just needed to fit in a frame. Written on the back, "Mon. Jan 2, 1939." An interesting year. The Great Depression was winding down, and U.S. involvement in World War 2 was only a few years away.
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?
Poinciana is a tree, it's a small town in Florida, golf club, and a popular name for restaurants. So, basically, I couldn't find anything telling me where this photo was taken. Written on the back of the top photo, "June 1953."
I think it's an art deco design, though I'm not 100% sure. Still, it's a great-looking dress. And don't forget to use the other door.
Benjamin Ave., or at least that's what is written on the print's border. I'm trying to figure out what she's holding. It looks reflective, so it's probably not a hat.
And giant pumpkin season too. At least I think that's a pumpkin in the lower right corner. I think the letters on the uniform are CRC, though I'm not sure of that either. More than likely he played for a small-town team or company-sponsored team. I love the bird hat.
Well, I don't actually know that she's on a courthouse steps, but the building has that heavy, institutional feel.
As I've mentioned before, I sometimes buy envelopes full of old photos. Usually, I really want two or three images and I'm left with a number of photos, some pretty nice, but not something I'd go out of my way to buy. Probably from the thirties or forties.
At first, I thought she was wearing a skirt or dress, but after I scanned the photo and blew it up, it looked like she was wearing some sort of pant. It looks like she's on a farm, so I was wondering if it's some sort of horse-riding clothes.
Actually, I'm not sure she's all that old. Mature, but not necessarily ancient.
Forgive me if I've posted this image before. I didn't start The New Found Photography to share my collection with the world. In a nutshell, I had picked up so many old photos that it had become impossible to look at them and as far as storage, to put it mildly, a mess. Anyway, while this blog made things better, my filing system has been chaotic and with over 2,000 posts, it's hard to scroll back and double check to see if any individual photo has already been published. I don't think this shot of a lady, probably from the twenties, standing in her backyard has been posted before, but if it has, sorry for the repetition.
I've mentioned this before. When I first started The New Found Photography it wasn't about sharing my collection of old snapshots. It was just a way of being able to go through the photos without having to dig out boxes and looking at the actual pictures. Anyway, some of those early boxes didn't get organized all that well, a problem I'm trying to solve far too late in the process. I don't think I've ever posted this photo, but where I found it, I'm not sure this is a first appearance. She does have a stern expression on her face.
On one hand I hate the color restoration setting on the scanner. It's different from the image I have in hand. On the other hand I love the color restoration setting because it allows me to see what the photographer saw when he opened up the envelope of newly printed images. Written on the back, "Sept. 1972, Juanita."
