My Little Sweetheart-The Baker Family 12

This is it. The last of the loose Baker family photo album pages. It's also my favorite of the lot as well as the one that suggests the most questions. I'm still wondering whether or not the Brighton referenced is the one in New York or the one in England. If Brighton, New York was near Passaic, New Jersey, I'd go with New York, but it's a suburb of Rochester near Lake Ontario. And Passaic is in land, not on the ocean, so the beach photo has to be mislabeled. Where are they rowing? And is my little sweetheart a little boy or a little girl? Click on Baker family in the labels section to bring up the whole lot.

Visiting a Son in the Army-The Baker Family 11

In the 1920s when these photos were most likely taken, there was no G.I. bill of rights. There were no educational benefits, no signing bonus, not much of anything other than a pension after twenty years of service. People joined the army for adventure, or to build a career, or for patriotism, or because of poverty. From what I've seen of the Baker family album, poverty wasn't an issue. So why did this young man join the military? As usual, click on Baker family in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.

Aunt Alice From Australia-The Baker Family 10

And finally, the aforementioned aunt from Australia. I like to think that aunt Alice is descended from a London pick-pocket sentenced to transportation for life to Australia. Oh how things have changed. Now, having a few reprobates in the family tree makes for colorful stories. In the 1920s when these photos were probably taken, having a criminal ancestor was a shameful thing. Family shame! As always, click on Baker family in the labels section to bring up the whole lot.

Young Men and the Whole World Before Them-The Baker Family 9

The Baker family album has dates from the early twenties to the mid thirties. No dates on this page, but I'm betting from the confidence some of these young men project that these photos had to be taken during the twenties. Or, is it the age of the subjects rather than the date that matters? Is there an age where economic depressions and the shadow of war doesn't matter? Click on Baker family in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.

The Old Folks-The Baker Family 8

The older members of the Baker family. It's just a guess, of course, but the house in the second picture has an English country side look. It goes with the Brighton, Limey and Australian aunt references. Were the Bakers immigrants to the United States or did an English branch of the family send a few snapshots? Click on Baker Family in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.

After the Fact-The Baker Family 7

Some people take their pictures home and paste them into the family album. Some people throw their pictures in a drawer and get to it when they get to it. This page from the baker family album is the back side of the last post. On this one sheet of paper there are dated photographs from 1930 to 1936. In the digital age, people download their pictures to a computer, maybe they post them on Flickr. It makes me wonder if we are entering an era without family photos, at leas the physical kind. And when computers crash, or when the photo sharing service goes out of business, and there is no reason to think that they won't disappear when the next thing comes along, what then?

A Faded Beach-The Baker Family 6

What is it about the Baker family? Did they leave their photographs out in the sun or did their photo finisher not understand the concept of a proper fix and archival wash? Anyway, it's more than just the photos that have faded. The type of beach resort (Hampton Beach, New Hampshire) seen in these images are also a bit of a faded memory. While they still exist, the open beach, open to all resorts are being replaced by a more exclusive type of development. High end hotels, gambling casinos, and ocean front mansions are cutting off the general public from ocean access. Here in Los Angeles it's a constant battle with the wealthy building homes adjacent to public beaches and then doing their best to prevent the general public from crossing their land to get to the ocean. On paper it's still open to all, but when they are allowed to get away with it, those beaches become private. I've decided to break up the Baker family collection and not post them back to back. Just click on baker family in the labels section to bring them all up. More to follow.

The Missing Limey-The Baker Family 5

Okay, just for the record, I happen to like the winter scene, even though it's out of focus and not well exposed. Once again, we have a reference that may tie the Bakers to England, even though the actual photo is no longer there. "Another Limey" indeed. My mother was a war bride from England and she hated the term limey. Of course, she also thought the Irish were too stupid to govern themselves, the French were all sexual perverts, and we Americans were crude people who didn't deserve independence. And yes, she became an American citizen. I promise, the pictures will get better before the Baker Family collection is done.

One Page, One Photo, One Loose Photo-The Baker Family 4

I think of these as the Baker family collection because the seller told me they came from a photo album owned by someone named Baker. This page has the only reference to the Bakers, a caption for a missing photo. "THE OLD BUS. Baker's Pride-the Driver." The little girl is Janet Sturrock, a relative? I know a lot of people don't understand my practice of publishing everything from a collection. After all, the loose photo is so out of focus as to be almost unrecognizable, but something is written on the back that, at least to me, is interesting. "Canton 1925." Eventually there will be pictures from Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, Brighton, perhaps New York, but just as likely Brighton, England. There will be references to another Limey, and an aunt from Australia. These people got around, which makes me wonder. Is that Canton, Ohio or Canton, China? Canton, China had a large European community, and within it's gated communities, Europe was recreated. A picture taken there would look just like one taken in England. Sure, the odds are overwhelming that the blurred final image is from Ohio, but when the English are involved, when the empire was still somewhat intact, one can never be certain.

Doug and Bill Out of Focus-The Baker Family 3

Even though Doug and Bill are out of focus, the wagon they're playing with is still quite a sight to see. I'm glad I don't collect old toys, as this photo would send me off in search of old wagons. I can't afford storage anymore, and I'm running out of room.

Defining Things-The Baker Family 2

How would I categorize this collection? Well, I've got some loose pages from a trashed photo album, so photo album, of course. I've got photos labeled Brighton, possibly Brighton, New York, but having been there, I'm thinking Brighton, England. I've got other images of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, so immigration, vacation, maybe multi-national. But the real telling thing for me is that some images are dated from the mid twenties and others from the mid-thirties. Boom times to great depression. What drives me crazy as a collector is that those utterly devastated by the great depression didn't take pictures because they no longer owned cameras. This is one time when snapshots don't really tell a good story. Looking at photos from the great crash to World War 2, one would think that everything was right as rain. That there were no bread lines, shanty towns, or homeless teenagers wandering the roads of America.

What Kind Of Collector Are You?-The Baker Family 1

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I once met a man who only collected photographs that included the photographer's shadow. I've also met collectors that limited themselves to complete albums, and strangest of all, a woman who would only own 100 vintage postcards at one time. If she found something she had to have, and it was number 101, something had to go from the collection to stay at that magic number. While I'll collect just about any type of photographic image or any subject matter, I'm always looking for context. Can I relate it to some period of history, or are there enough images, grouped together, that I can imagine some sort of story, even if I know that my suppositions are very likely wrong. Too, and this is the sickness, I'm the sort of collector who worries that if I don't preserve some odd insignificant image, no one else will, and it will be lost forever.