The German American Collection, The Album11

Posing with books was once quite common. When and why did that change?

These Boots are Made For Walkin'....

.....and that's just what they'll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you. At least that's how I think it goes. When I was about ten years old or so, I had some very strange fantasies about Nancy Sinatra. Hey, I was ten, I had no idea what I was doing.

The German American Collection, The Broken Ones

It's my preferred practice, when scanning mounted prints, to crop out everything but the actual photograph. Too, I prefer not to impose a symbolic meaning to old, family photos. But in this case, where a dealer went to an estate sale and bought up boxes of old photos that no one was willing to save from the prying eyes of strangers, it only seems right that there should be some damage to things. Take a good look at the child on the left in the final print. I'm convinced that's a little boy in the dress. What were they playing? Peter Pan? Click on German American in the labels section to bring up the rest of the collection.

Fox Dreams

What a faraway look. Some would say dreamy, others, vacant. With the strange, distorted reflections in the window glass, perhaps hallucinatory. I don't like to crop the photos I scan. Silly perhaps, but I like to leave things as the photographer found them. But if I had the original negative and I printed it, I'd crop it so that only her face and the window would show.

The Epworth League Album 4, Ladies and Their Homes

Happy women in small town America. There will be a car latter on in this album, but for now, people are still getting around by horse power. And the houses, other than the probability that some of these women may have lived in them, well I couldn't see giving a separate post for a couple of snapshots of houses. Click on Epworth league in the labels section to bring up the previous posts.

The Epworth League Album 3

I have a theory, completely unsupported by an facts, that photo albums are almost always put together by women. My other theory is that photo album are often put together by someone, for someone else. This album starts somewhere in the middle west and ends in California. Looking at these last two posts, makes me wonder if this album was made by a daughter for her mother, and if her mother is this lady. A mystery I would love to solve. Click on Epworth league in the labels section to bring everything up.

The Epworth League Album 2, Odd Angles

There are a lot of angled photos in this album, and they aren't easy to scan. Interesting bunch of images on this page. The subject looks happy and very relaxed in the seated photo. The hammock, she looks pensive. And finally, like the evil aunt in The Wizard of Oz. Wasn't L. Frank Baum from the middle west? There is a middle America feel to these three images.

Danger

So what's dangerous about this woman? Well, nothing actually. When I logged onto Blogger this morning I made the mistake of clicking on the tab to try the new interface. Got a notice that my current browser didn't support the new interface. I followed their advice and downloaded Google Chrome, and still got the same notice. Had to go to the library, wait for a computer to open up, go to blogger to hit the tab to go back to the old interface. Oh how I hate computers!

Carte de Visite/Ohio

Well, I haven't put up a carte de visite for awhile so I thought I'd put these two up. Other than that they are both from Ohio, they aren't related in anyway. The profile has a studio mark on the back, "Geo R. Elliott, S.W. Corner High and Town Streets. Columbus, Ohio" And written, "Julianne Elizabeth Anthony (Mother)" Elliott was born in 1837 and had a studio in Columbus from 1870-86. A photographer for hire, his specialty was stereoscopic views. In 1886 he became the employee of James Madison Elliott, presumably a relative, who in addition to being a photographer was also a painter and crayon artist. Neither man was a great talent, but they made a living at it. On the mother/daughter portrait (I'm guessing), written on the back, "Jennie E. & Bell M. Norris, Stryker, Ohio" Stryker is in the northwest corner of the state, near the Michigan border. Click on either cdv or carte de visite in the labels section to see a lot more. The carte de visite was an early attempt at a standardized photographic format. They were small albumen prints mounted on a card, approximately 2.5x4.25 inches. While some people did in fact use them as visiting cards, they were usually given as keepsakes to friends and family. In the 1860s and 70s, the term cartomania was used to describe the craze for collecting as many cartes de visite as possible. Kind of like friending as many people as possible on Facebook.

Mrs. Nancy A. Larkins

I wish this one was in better shape. The lady is beautiful. Written in pencil on the back, "Mrs. Nancy A. Larkins, Browns to right of market. 6x8 = Blk frame no 100, New Silver-oval or square which ever will show best. Dec. 19-250 No 136." Stamped in red ink, "DEC 1, 1904" Mounted on card, there is an embossed studio mark, but the name of the photographer has worn to the point of being unreadable. I can make out Blairsville, PA, though.

Making the Unnatural Look Natural

Isn't that what photography is about? Black & white, static poses, selective focus, glossy surfaces. Making something unnatural represent the real world in a way that people see as real life. No one has skin tones like the lady in this photo, but a good colorist can make his subject seem, not just beautiful but warm and inviting. Written on the back, "mail with bell."

Dead Animals On My Neck

Those who know that I'm an avid hiker, backpacker, and all around lover of the great outdoors find it difficult to believe that I have nothing against hunting or the wearing of fur. When I was a child some of the older ladies in my home town still wore the old style fox wraps with the fox biting it own tail, somewhat like the one in this photo. Were they designed to to unbite? Stamped on the back, "From WHITING'S STUDIO JUNCTION CITY, KANSAS." Thinking of Frank Zappa?

Miss Rathburn

Written on the back, "Miss Rathburn. Pacific School, Seattle, Wash." When this picture was taken, teaching was about the only profession a woman could enter. For some odd reason, being a married woman was considered a bad example for the children. My first grade teacher (1960), Miss Snyder was born in the nineteenth century and never married. I wonder if she thought it was a good deal.

Thank You Very Much

A couple of photos of a lady who takes her camera everywhere taken by someone who takes his camera everywhere. And that's why I have so many old photos in my collection. Thank you to all the camera bugs out there. I own a number of old box cameras and most of them will work with 120 film. They don't take very good pictures, though.

Dot Wenzel, World's Smallest Entertainer

In 1950, Dot Wenzel married Don Williams and began performing under the name Dottie Williams. Dot and Don were both members of Nate Eagle's Hollywood Midget Movie Stars troupe. She was a singer and dancer, billed as The Miniature Rita Hayworth. I did a search on IMDB, and couldn't find a single screen credit for either Dot Wenzel or Dottie Williams. If there are any recordings of her I'd love to hear them. Printed on postcard stock.

On the Porch Steps

I'm guessing from the late thirties to early/mid-forties. Note the palm fronds in the background. Perhaps from Florida or southern California.

Mrs. Arciaga

What's the difference between an original and a reproduction in a medium that's designed to be endlessly reproducible? Most art dealers would say that a photograph printed after the death of the photographer is a reproduction, but if the photographer didn't do his own printing, is there really a difference? A first, second, and in many cases a third generation copy negative will be almost indistinguishable from the camera original. The original of this image would have been a black & white photograph that had been hand tinted to add color. Judging by the condition and dried tape on the back of this print, it's very old, but it's printed on color paper. Some time in the past, probably at least forty or fifty years ago, someone wanted a copy of this image, so they went to a photo lab, had a color copy neg and print made. Written on the back, Mrs. M Arciaga, 573-18th, San Pedro, Cal."

Amateur Glamour, Dodging and Burning, and Man Drag

Look at old newsreels, and you'll notice that when the average person was interviewed they stood stiffly and spoke in a monotone. Today, everyone knows how to perform for the camera. I think the same is true for photography. Once the necessity of standing absolutely still to compensate for slow shutter speeds was no longer an issue, professional photographers could pose their subjects in a greater variety of positions. It didn't take long for the amateur to emulate the pros. This photographer may not have realized that he was emulating someone like Louise Dahl-Wolfe or Cecil Beaton, but he was. The side profile and angled horizon line of the first and second shot in this collection have been used by every fashion photographer in history. Take a look at the third image of the group. Notice the light area around the subject. Dodging and burning is a method that printers use when there is detail in the negative but the shadow areas print too dark and that detail goes solid black, or the highlights print too light and what little detail that prints through seems to be floating in a sea of pure white. To burn is to selectively increase exposure in an area of the print. The printer would make a general, over-all exposure, and then make a second exposure on the paper while obstructing light in those areas that would be considered properly exposed. Dodging is when the printer makes a single over-all exposure while obstructing some of the light in the shadow areas that would print too dark, turning black, with no visible detail. Even though this image was taken in direct sunlight, our photographer could have avoided the need to dodge and burn by using a flash to balance the light. And now for the final image from our photographer. Today, if someone is in drag, it's a man in a dress, but it wasn't that long ago that a woman dressed in male attire would have been just as out of place in the general scheme of things. Written on the backs of the second and third image, "Fairgrounds 6/47" On the back of the cross dressing photo, "3/28/43"

Clearfield Cabinet Card

When I first started collecting old photos, my main emphasis was on old. The older the better. While I still look for interesting cabinet cards, carte de visites, and tintypes, as well as more modern studio shots, press photos, and postcards, my focus has shifted to snapshots from the twentieth century. This is one of my first purchases. Clearfield, the county seat of Clearfield County is in central Pennsylvania, about a two hour drive from my home town. Nothing on the back of the card.

Zuver Studios

Lewis W. Zuver was a professional photographer in Butler, Pennsylvania. He was active from the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century. He had a brother, Leonard Zuver, who had a studio in Tionesta, Pa., and a sister Mary Zuver West who was also a professional photographer who specialized in portraits of women and children who had a studio in Bradford, Pa. There is a small, difficult to see, embossed logo on the photo directly underneath the portrait. It has what I think is a horse, with a Z underneath, in a shield, with "ZUVER STUDIO, BUTLER, PA." around the outside of the shield.