Interesting Young Men

A fraternity party, an acting troupe, Vaudeville, a late nineteenth century group of gay men? It's impossible to say. Anyway, we've got one man in a woman's bonnet, one in what might be a woman's hat, and one man in a dress. An albumen print from the late nineteenth century (probably) with a very interesting group of young men.

Women of the Theater

This photo was very likely cut out from a bigger print. While it's possible that this might have been from a costume party, I think it's far more certain that it's a photo from a theatrical production at an all girls school or a woman's college. On age, my guess would be from the late nineteenth century or early twentieth. The seller told me that it was from an estate in Maine.

Green Bay Business College-Christmas Banquet

These are more photos from the Green Bay Business College collection. They were all stuffed in a separate envelope addressed to "Kenneth Bierke 225 Quinton Green Bay, Wisconsin." Typed, but no postage, so it must have been hand delivered. From three different banquets, two with a Christmas theme. In the first photo, directly to the right of the wall decorations, is a couple that will appear in most of the Green Bay Business College pictures. Mr. Bierke and his wife?

Green Bay Business College- Another Dance

Another picture from the Green Bay Business College package. A dance, but with a different date from the two previous posts. On the back of the photo, "THIS IS A KODACHROME PRINT Made by Kodak WEEK OF FEB. 16-59 RD."

Green Bay Business College-Riverside Dance #2

These square format photos are from the same Green Bay Business College dance as the previous post. Those photos were done by a professional photographer, these look like amateur pictures. Stamped on the backs of the color images, "THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY T. M. REGIS. U. S. PAT. OFF. Week ending June 23, 1956. Ro 3" With the June 3 post mark from the earlier post, the dance was probably end of May. An end of term dance.

Green Bay Business College-Riverside Dance

I've got a lot of these. A few years ago I purchased a group of pictures from the Green Bay Business College in Green Bay, Wisconsin. There are far too many of them to put up in one post. There is also some variety in the collection. Many of them are family pictures that appear to be family pictures of a faculty member. I'm starting with a small group of pictures that were all in the same envelope. The envelope is addressed to the "Green Bay Business College, 123 S. Washington, Green bay, Wis." The return address is "G. Ashert Studio, De Pere, Wis." The post mark is from De Pere and dated July 2, 1956. The theme of the dance is I Love Paris. There is an image of three guys standing in front of the punch bowl, written on the back, "Three too many." The name Ken Bierke is written on the back of several of the photos.

More Photos With the Desert Base

As I've noted on earlier posts, these collections that I buy usually have a number of prints that are more interesting than others. I actually bought this small estate collection for a group of five prints that had been taped together to make a panoramic image of what looked like to be a desert military base, that I published separately on 8/25/09. Some of these images seem to be from a college graduation. My guess from the 1930's. There is a picture of an older man wearing a medal. I think it's from the GAR, the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans organization for union Civil War soldiers. On the reverse, it's dated May 1930. The guy in the denim suit with the glasses is, I'm fairly certain, in the military, and he's wearing fatigues. I wish the skiing picture had been fixed properly and hadn't faded and turned brown. If the military base photo was from the California desert, then the skiing photo could be from one of the California ski resorts that had opened in the 20's and 30's. On the back of the cabin photo, "In front of our cabin." A motel cabin, I would think. I love the woman in the middle in her black dress. The boy in the fur coat, also faded and turning brown, is is interesting and has a stamp on the back, "ELKO LIFE TIME PRINTS K.C. MO." The only image with a location, noted, though it's pretty obvious that Mt. Rushmore, still being carved, ID's South Dakota. I also liked the picture of the three older men. Look closely, to see an airplanes cockpit in the background. And in a subtle way, the picture of the grandparents, daughter and grandchildren is very interesting. The older people are dressed, the woman in the long dress, in a pre World War 1 manner, while the daughter is probably from the 1920's or 30's.

The Ladies of Zeta Tau Alpha

The Zeta Tau Alpha sorority was founded on October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, VA, now Longwood University. It's motto is "Seek the Noblest." The figures I found were that there are now 240 chapters with 187,000 active members. Famous Zetas include presidential daughters, Susan Ford, and Lynda Johnson, Marine Brigadier General Margaret Brewster, broadcaster Faith Daniels, and actress, dancer Betty Buckley. Written on the back of the photo signed, "Oodles of love, Lois," "Lois Agnes Burger, Light hair, grey eyes, height-almost 5 ft. weight-105 lbs. Freshman at Ohio U. Athens, Ohio. 1020 McCarter Ave., Erie, Pennsylvania." The picture of the man came with the other photos, and even though he's not a sorority sister, I've kept it with the others. Written on the back, "Which one is the dog? Taken in front of our house. October 21, 1934." It's the only date listed on any of the photos, but it's impossible to tell if it was taken when the Zeta photos were taken, or if the house referenced is the sorority house or a private home.