Women on the Trail

I'd love to know where this picture was taken. It looks like these four women, all in their long dresses, are on a well maintained hiking trail. The sort of thing that can be found near parking areas and picnic grounds in state and national parks. Labeled, "Hester Rheveusou, Elsie Tapley, Bessie Moore, & E. Harbon. 8/18/10"

Shadows

Two strangely beautiful snapshots. These are home developed and printed photos by an unknown photographer who had a great sense of composition and a feel for shadow and light. Both are dated, "2/13/38." What is she wearing at her neck?

Affectionate Women Or?

This is a really interesting photograph. On one hand, it seems to show two affectionate women, but it also looks very staged, almost theatrical.

Army Wife

Labeled, "This isn't quite so bad but my nose-oh! Capt. Woodward, Capt. Young in their cabin May 4, 1948 aboard the U.S.A.T. General Simon B. Buckner from New York to Yokohama." The USSN General Simon B. Buckner was launched on June 4, 1944 and was named the Admiral Edward Walter Eberle and was used for troop and other personnel transport. In 1946 it was transferred to the U.S. Army and renamed the General Simon B. Buckner in honer of General Simon Bolivar Buckner the highest ranked officer killed in World War 2. He was killed by enemy artillery fire on Okinawa. The Buckner was returned to the Navy and active duty as a transport until it was decommissioned in 1999. This lady was most likely the wife of an officer assigned to occupation duty in post war Japan. It is also possible that she was a civilian administrator or support personnel.

Men Don't Make Passes...

...at girls who wear glasses. Dorothy Parker was wrong. Labeled "Marguerite Rice (Martin) Knoxville 1949-50." I'm guessing that Martin is a maiden name and that she had no trouble attracting men with or without glasses. A very attractive lady who, if she is still alive, is probably around 85 or 90.

Janice Boyer

Another portrait from the twenties era, this one labeled "Janice Boyer Age about 25." It's cut out from a much larger photograph, which could indicate anything from a broken marriage and the elimination of the discarded spouse to the need to fit a frame.

A Beautiful Portrait From the Twenties

One of the most beautiful portraits I've ever run across. Signed "Miller" in the margin.

Middle Aged Woman With Brooch

I'm not even going to take a guess on when these two pictures were taken other than to say that they're probably not too old. This lady has the all most generic look of middle aged woman transitioning into an early old age. Also, the look of an official portrait, a teacher, local council member, or church lady. Say aged 50 to 60. A bit of a snarl in the first picture.

A Third Creighton?

In the last two posts, I've put up CDVs of Kate Creighton, who I think is the mother of Louise Creighton, featured in the second of the two Creighton collections. Is this a third Creighton? This portrait is labeled "Kate Creighton" but the hair is straight and a different color. I thought it might have been mislabeled, but the chin shape differs from Louise and is much closer to Kate. There is a third possibility. While it is far more common for sons to named after fathers, it's not unheard of to name a daughter for a mother. The one thing that I'm curious about is that this young lady has pierced ears. Nothing decorative about the photographers stamp on this one, so I didn't bother to scan it in. "JOHN P. ORR. Photographer, 4 doors East of Lowery House, Jefferson Street, BUTLER, PA"

Kate Creighton, the Mother

I have five images of the Creighton family, this one of the mother and three more of the daughter which will be posted within the next couple of days, and a wild card mystery image. This carte de visite was taken by a photographer in Philadelphia. The child, taken at three different ages was taken by three different photographers in three different communities in western Pennsylvania.

Manipulated

Back when I worked at the photo lab, the digital dept. guys kept wanting to make the silly argument that digital was superior because it could be manipulated. Well, this image is from the 19th century, and it has been manipulated. I'm not sure how it was done, other than the general observation that coloring was added to give it a painterly look. I suspect that the original was bleached back to an almost ghost like density, and then the inks were added. By the by, bleaching back an image is done before a print is made a sepia tone.

Green Bay Business College- Portraits

Please, please click on Green Bay in the labels section so I don't have to retype all the stuff I've already put up about this collection. In short, I bought a pretty good sized collection of photos that were in some envelopes addressed to Kenneth Bierke of "The Green Bay Business College, 123 S. Washington, Green Bay, Wis." I'm fairly certain that the young guy is Kenneth Bierke himself. Only two more posts in the Green Bay collection, though it could be awhile before I finally finish it up.

Your Niece

A small studio portrait, most likely from the twenties. Written on the back, "Your Niece Mary Allan Age 17."

A Tintype of Two Women

I've been meaning to put up another tintype gallery with five to ten images, but I found this one not too long ago, and even though it's not in great condition, I was really taken by the angry look of the standing woman, so it gets it's own, separate post. With the hair, the scowl, she looks almost feral. Too, the dress is so striking compared to dress of the sitting woman who has a much more serene demeanor. Mother and daughter or two friends? Anyway, as I've noted in earlier posts, tintype is actually a misnomer. Tintypes are actually ferrotypes, shot on a sheet of iron with either a black paint or lacquer coating which makes the negative image seem like a positive.

Another Studio Portrait

Well, I'm on a roll here. Just like my last post, a studio portrait of a woman, most likely from the mid to late twenties to the early thirties. No name or studio mark.

A Studio Portrait

My guess, from the hair style and what little I can see of the clothes, that this studio portrait was shot somewhere from the early to mid twenties to the early thirties. A black and white photo, properly processed can last well over 100 years. I have glass negatives and tintypes in my collection that are as good as the day they were made. As photography moves further into the digital age, I have to wonder if we are beginning an age were our photographic heritage will survive. Computers crash, discs degrade and color prints fade quickly.

Pasadena Portrait

Found in a paper folder, written in light pencil along the right border, "Bennett" along the bottom, "Pasadena." From the twenties.

A Chicago Society Lady

I'm always hoping that someone will leave a comment that reads, "Hey, that's me when I was young, or that's my mother or grandfather." Stamped on the back of this 20's/30's era photo, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE PHOTO." If she's not the grandmother of someone, she might be a Chicago society lady or debutante and recognizable by the blogosphere.

What Dealers Do

Because of the damage, I would never have purchased this photo if it had not been part of a collection. This nice 19th century portrait was pulled out of a photo album. The glue and bits of black paper on the back is a dead give away. I've been known to complain about dealers breaking up collections and destroying the context of the photos. What might be a nice image, becomes an historically interesting photo when left with the other pictures in the collection. And, of course, a lot of photos get damaged when the dealer is clumsy when removing photos from albums. Lille could be a name, or it could refer to the city in France. The initials that follow the name are a mystery.

Rainbow Girls

This was purchased with a group of other, better, totally unrelated images. The throw-ins of my collection sometimes remind me of things long past, and while I still don't find this to be a strong photograph, or historically interesting, it does remind me of the two years that my sister was a Rainbow Girl. Every week, she and her friends, got dressed up in their formals and went to the "secret" meeting. I don't know anything about this image, other than it appears to be from the mid fifties to mid-sixties; I don't know if these young ladies are Rainbow Girls, debutantes, or whatever. The one in the glasses has an I'm in charge, and you better get used to it air about her. So did my sister.