Three By John W. Wilson

While I have a preference for old snapshots, it's nice to pick up some professionally done photos for the collection from time to time. Stamped on the back of each, "AUG 10 1949 PHOTO BY JOHN W. WILSON L.A. Times Staff Photographer" Fashion, society, or something from the movie community? If anyone out there recognizes either of these people, please leave a comment.

True Found Photography

This should be the last post for the next three or four days, which makes it the last for 2010, so I thought I'd end up with something more symbolic than visually interesting. This summer, June and July, I worked for the Census Bureau. In one of the older, run down apartment buildings I visited, I found these five snapshots. They were in the garbage that had been removed from a vacated unit. Most of my found photographs are found in thrift shops, antique malls, and EBay, but finding something that has been thrown out or left behind, well that doesn't happen often. I often wonder why people discard their old family photographs. These all have a printers stamp dated, "AUG 60," and 50 years isn't all that old. It's quite probable that the people in these photos are all still alive. Did the person who left these behind, after saving them for half a century, just give up on their memories of the past?

Los Angeles Border

I've got a lot of photos with decorative borders. By and large they have simple geometric patterns and since my primary interest is the photograph, I almost always crop them out when scanning. But, as an Angeleno, I had to include the border on this print. The top and bottom shows the peristyle, the ceremonial end of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, commissioned in 1921, opened in 1923, and used for the 1932 Olympics. The bears are for the California grizzly, the extinct symbol of the state. And I think some of those flowers are orange blossoms, and perhaps the California poppy, the state flower. And for those who still don't get the L.A. connection, there is the "LA" in the bear. Click on the image to blow it up and get a better look at the border detail. Got to love the short wave antenna.

Los Angeles Way Back When

I found this small collection locally, here in Los Angeles, and it really speaks to those times when people were coming to southern California in search of the good life. No dates on any of these images, but I would guess that they arc from the late twenties to the early thirties.

Pershing Square 1944

Awhile back I wrote of my intention of adding some more postcards to the collection, especially linen cards from California. The caption, "Comprising a square block in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, Pershing Square affords a restful haven amid the hubbub of a great modern city. WESTERN PUBLISHING & NOVELTY CO., LOS ANGELES, CALIF." Stupidly, L.A. paved over a good deal of the square to discourage the homeless from gathering in the area. It's only recently that the city has tried to turn Pershing Square back into a pleasant downtown stopping place. It's the message on the back that's interesting. "AUG. 9/44 DEAR FRANCES :- WELL HERE i AM AWAY iN SUNNY CALiFORNiA ENJOYING THE BEST OF HEALTH, AND HOPE TO HEAR THE SAME FROM YOU FRANCES, iM TRYiNG TO GET OUT OF SHOW BUSiNESS, AND i HAVE BEEN iN CALiFORNiA FOR THE PAST SiX WEEKS LOOKiNG FOR SOME NEW BUSiNESS, WHICH i HOPE i WiLL SOON LAND. WiTH BEST WiSHES, SiNCERELY MAX COLEMAN." Addressed to "MiSS FRANCES VALENTiNE MAiN POST OFFiCE SCHENECTADY NEW YORK BOX 54" The Schenectady address is crossed out, replaced by "54 Laurel Av., Superior, Wisc." It looks like Max was taking a run at Hollywood and was about to give up. An old story in L.A. I've run both IMDB and IMBD searches on both Max Coleman and Frances Valentine and came up with nothing, so it looks like Max and Frances moved on to other things. (I like to think that Max and Frances met in New York taking a run at a stage career.) The post mark, "LOS ANGELES CALIF. AUG 10, 1944 1:30 AM" All the lower case I's are as written on the postcard. Click on postcards in the labels section to see other L.A. area views as well as a brief history of the linen postcard.

Hollywood Hot Spots

These two images are linen postcards of night spots from the golden age of Hollywood. (Information about how linen postcrds were made can be found in my post of 7/3/10 Catalina in Postcards.) The first Brown Derby was opened 1926 by Herbert Samborn at 3427 Wilshire Blvd. and was shaped like a derby hat. It was so popular with the Hollywood crowd, that Samborn opened a second, more conventionally designed restaurant at 628 Vine St. near the corner of Hollywood Blvd. It opened on Feb. 14, 1929. This is the building depicted in this postcard. A third Brown Derby was opened in Beverly Hills, and the final one in the chain was opened on Los Feliz Blvd. They have, since, all been closed. In 1934, Samborn died and the restaurants were taken over by Robert Cobb, the inventor of the Cobb salad. One of the anecdotes I've found about the Brown Derby; noted for it's movie star caricatures, the restaurant's manager would place those of married couples and actors who were dating, together. If the marriage or relationship ended, the caricatures would be moved to opposite walls. I've already written about the history of the Earl Carroll Theatre-Restaurant in a previous post, dated 8/18/09, which can be easily accessed by clicking on night club in the labels section. The Earl Carroll Theatre opened on December 26, 1938. Both of these cards were published by the same company, "WESTERN PUBLISHING & NOVELTY CO., LOS ANGELES, CALIF." "C.T. ART-COLORTONE REG. U.S. PAT. OFF." On the back of the Brown Derby card, "The famed Brown Derby on Vine Street, Hollywood, with it's adjacent distinctive bamboo roof, is the acknowledged center of the smart social life of the movie colony." The Earl Carroll postcard, "The Earl Carroll Theatre-Restaurant in the heart of Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard near Vine, is a favorite Nite Spot in the Film Capitol of the the World. Seating arrangements are terraced so all guests may enjoy unobstructed view of the lavish stage productions with "Sixty of the Most Beautiful Girls in the World." Both of these cards are unused.

Los Angeles After the War

I've written enough about my distress when dealers break up photo albums, that I'm happy to finally put up one of the albums I own, complete. It's a small collection. While the album itself has around fifty or so pages, these few pictures were placed on only five of those pages. (The album owner used photo corners. A few of them are missing and have left small, triangular bits of crystallized glue behind, that are not to be found on any of the blank pages, which has led to my conclusion that the owner of this album gave up adding new images.) One of the things I've always found fascinating about old American photographs is the documentation of movement; the movement from one part of the country to another. One of the things my father told me was that the depression and World war 2 were good for the United States because it forced people to uproot and move on from their established lives. My father had to drop out of the tenth grade, he went on the road, worked for both the C.C.C. and the W.P.A. and then ended up spending four years in Europe during, and right after the war. I found this album in Rosamond, California, and at first thought that it must have been owned by one of the families that went to the high desert as support workers for Muroc, latter Edwards Air Force Base, but on closer examination I realized that the ridge line seen in the background runs from just north of downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena. For Anglenos, think Mt. Washington. More than likely, these images were taken in Glassell Park, a real estate development aimed towards defense workers. A lot of those old houses are still there, and with a bit of work, I could probably find this street. Of course, Los Angeles is the city that it is, because of twentieth century population shifts. The depression saw the uprooting of people from the great plains, Texas, Oklahoma, the Ozarks, and lots of them headed for southern and central California. And then the war, and the growth of the defence industry, especially aircraft in the L.A. area, brought even more people west, looking for high paid jobs. Since these photos are held in the album with photo corners and are not glued to the pages, I have been able to, carefully, remove them and then replace them back in the album. A few of the pictures have hand written captions on the back. The first picture of the older man in overalls being embraced by the woman in slacks, "Feb-9-1946 Quite a paunch you have there pop." The younger man and woman wearing a skirt, holding a plant in her hands, "Feb-9-1946. Smile Mac, it's not." The older man in overalls, with his arm on the older woman's shoulder, "The couple." Mac, standing alone, cigarette in hand, "Feb-9-1946 Look at the birdiee please." The two younger women standing side by side, "A Blonde & A Brunette OH OH!" The woman laying on the ground, "Feb-9-1946 Uh Uh! What a form!?" Mac, his arm around the waist of the woman in the cowboy hat and boots, "Hold on tight so IT won't Blow Away. (The hat of course.)" 1946 was a good year. The soldiers were back, the economy was booming, and everyone had a job.

Topsy's Cafe Postcard

By and large, I don't buy a lot of postcards, but I wanted this one because it was a great companion piece for an old souvenir photo folder I own from this club, (see my post published 8/25/09) and because it confirmed my assumption that Topsy's had a plantation theme. Printed on the back, "TOPSY'S CAFE is located at 8101 Long Beach Boulevard 15 minutes from 7th and Broadway and a short drive from Long Beach. No cover or minimum charge Sunday or week days. For reservations telephone LAfayette 1414." Is that 7th and Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, and is that via the Red Car Line?

The Trocadero, Hollywood, California

The Trocadero Supper Club was opened in 1934 by William R. Wilkerson. It soon became a favorite night spot for regulars Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Jackie Gleason, Henry Fonda, and Judy Garland. In the mid 1930s it became the place to Jitterbug in Los Angeles. Ted Healy, of Ted Healy and His Stooges (Yes, the three stooges were originally a four person act, with Healy as the bullying, leader of the group. Moe was one of the victims when Healy was the leader.) was beaten to death in a drunken brawl in the Trocadero, allegedly by Wallace Beery and studio exec, Eddie Mannix. The Trocadero closed in 1946. No name on this one. The lady seems like she's enjoying herself. Dated November 10, 1945, she had a lot to celebrate. V-E Day was May 8, 1945, and V-J Day was August 15, 1945. Printed on the back cover, "IF YOU DESIRE ADDITIONAL PRINTS OF THIS PICTURE WRITE TO THEATRE DISPLAY, 1614 W. WASHINGTON BLVD. LOS ANGELES, CALIF. REPUBLIC 3-1101 AND MENTION THE TROCADERO AND THIS NO. (1) AND DATE (Nov. 10, 1945) PICTURES ARE $1.50 EACH, TAX AND MAILING INCLUDED." To see other souvenir photo folders go to posts from 8/1/09, 7/24/09, 7/1/09, and 6/15/09.