Aviation

I run across these all the time; collections put together by dealers by theme, but otherwise not related. With my post of the flying family just a couple of clicks back, I thought it would be a good time to put up this aviation themed collection. As usual when purchasing a group like this, I'm drawn to some images more than others, and in some cases, I don't really have an interest in some of the pictures at all. But since I would prefer to err on the side of putting up too much rather than too little, I'm posting them all.

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To be born in 1955 is to be interested in airplanes. World War 2 had only ended a decade earlier and movies of fighter pilots and bombing raids were still an entertainment staple. Jets had come along, but prop planes were still common commercial air carriers. When I was 14 in 1969 man walked on the moon. A 75 year old person in 1969 would have been nine when the Wright Brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, and would have been old enough to have clear memories of the announcement that man had flown a powered craft for the first time. A fast progression of technology. And too, it didn't hurt that my mother was from England and built Minerva engines for Spitfires during the war.

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The long shot of the control tower and terminal with the factory smoke stack to the right is labeled, "11/4/39 Broward Field Hartford, Conn." The two color photos are stamped, "THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY T. M. REGIS. U. S. PAT. OFF. Aug 20, 1948." Still flying prop planes out of a small airport. Note the cars parked on the edge of the tarmac. There is a date stamped on the picture of the two girls in the helicopter, MAY 1984" but that has to be when it was printed rather than taken. The hair is all wrong for the 80s. The picture that shows a few small planes lined up on a runway is stamped "AMERICAN PHOTO SERVICE NOV 9 1948." The photographer was clearly drawn to the sky since it's the main part of the composition. Written on the back of the Aviation Mechanics School with it's Army Air Force insignia, "Hanger 1510B we use it for school-we work inside, it's a pretty big place." The TWA wing tip, again a prop passenger plane, "Geneva." I suspect that the group picture wasn't taken at an airport but the plane in the background just barely qualifies it as an aviation themed photo, written in the margin, "Lorasine Schleminns, Bill Donlin, Gabriel Pea, Beth Donlin and Becky-Wash, D.C." The old lady with the leis, "Oct 9, 1950." This may have been her first flight. The group of people standing in front of the control tower, "Our group at the Lourdes, France airport before we left for Paris." And the plane on the grass field, "July 12, 1939 Bendix Airport. U. S. Army Bomber." I'm fascinated that so many of these people dressed up to fly. The last time I flew, I wore jeans and an old, comfortable shirt.

Green Bay Business College- Color Vacation

Put this one down to my sense of history and belief that it's better to post all of the images in a collection, rather than editing them down to the most interesting views. Stamped on the backs of all these photographs, THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY T.M. REGIS. U.S. PAT. OFF. Week of July 12, 1954 III 2" And again, images from the life of Mr. Kenneth Bierke of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Associated with the Green Bay Business College, probably, first, as a teacher and then as an administrator. Eventually, when I get the entire collection posted, there will be images of his farm background, the parties, dances, and dinners attended, the wars fought, the wife on the home front, and in 1954, post war comfort, a nice car, some level of prosperity not known during the great depression and World War 2, that allowed he and his family to take a vacation. In the grand scheme of things, a pretty ordinary life, but one that covers a lot of the twentieth century, good and bad. Once again, click on Green Bay in the labels section to see the collection, posted to date.

Bonus Photos From Royaltone

When I Googled Royaltone Photo Service bonus photo, I brought up a self portrait by Andy Warhol, shot with a Kodak Instamatic. Makes sense, the original Instamatic, manufactured from 1963 to 1970, used a 126 film cartridge. The 126 format produced a square image, just like these. Of course, the original Instamatic sold in the millions, and 126 cartridges were made for years afterward, and may in fact, still be available. Take a close look at these photos. The woman in the black suit, on the green chaise lounge is sitting next to a chaise with a yellow towel, just like the one that the lady in the skimpy two piece is using. The same chaise used by the lady in black can be seen in the corner of the image of the lady in the yellow suit. All these photos were probably shot on the same day on the same roof, probably in the New York City area. It would be nice if these three pictures had been dated, but the styles, and the Instamatic connection, I'd say mid sixties to mid seventies.

American Suburbia 1959

Stamped on the back, "THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT Made by KODAK APRIL 1959-RF." I don't have anywhere enough color photos on this blog, but this one is one of the best. There is even a very good chance that this lady is still alive, and if she sees her photo, I hope she leaves a comment.

Green Bay Business College- The Homefront

It's been awhile since I've put up anything from the Green Bay Business College estate collection. (Go to the label section at the bottom of this post and click on Green Bay to see the others.) This large group of pictures all seem to revolve around a married couple who had some connection to the school. The name Kenneth Bierke shows up on some of the envelopes and prints, and I believe that this lady is Mrs. Bierke, and that when these photos were taken, Kenneth might have been in the military. Stamped on the back of each print, "THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY T.M. REGIS. U.S. PAT. OFF. APRIL 23 1945." Taken in the last year of the war.

The Ladies Costume Party

Maybe the lady in the wedding dress is the guest of honor, and she's about to get married. Then again, it just might be another costume, with no significance whatsoever. Stamped on the back of each photo, "THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY T.M. REGIS. U. S. PAT. OFF. Week o Sept 26, 1955 VI PA 1"

Party Girl!

No names or dates on these two snapshots. (I've never really been in love with color.) Were they taken pre AIDS or post AIDS? Oh for the days when STDs were curable with a shot of antibiotics.