A European Village Wedding

Must of us have had the experience of looking at an old photograph and knowing where it must have been taken.  There's nothing written anywhere on this picture.  I could have been taken almost anywhere, but when I look at it it says Europe to me.  Not the Europe of Paris, Prague or Berlin, but the Europe of a small village somewhere in eastern, or perhaps southern Europe.  I'll bet the photographer was a local shop keeper who had a side line taking photos.  An old piece of canvas was hung up on the wall to provide an even background, and a glass negative, the same size as the finished photo, was exposed.  Maybe the married couple moved to the United States and brought this print with them.. Maybe they mailed it to their emigrant cousin.  Who knows how it got here.  But then again, maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe this image was made in Iowa.

Rabbit Ears

There's always a joker in the crowd.  Stamped on the back, "van Leaucourt"   Leaucourt is a small village in Belgium.

Bad Natalie

Natalie Wood look-a-like ignores dying granny.  Bad Natalie!  Printed, "AUG 72"

The German American Collection, The Album 5

It's a wedding. So that's why all these people have gathered together. I do hope people will click on the individual images and bring them up in a bigger window. It will make it easier to see that the man straddling the barrel in the second photo is the accordionist in the first. And since there is a date on the beer keg, August 5, 1923, we can then get a good idea of the wedding's date.

The German American Collection, The Album 4

Trying to duplicate the experience of going through a photo album, on line, really isn't possible, but since this page would have been sideways when opened, that's the way it's posted. This collection is a lot bigger than this album. To see it all, click on German-American in the labels section.

The German American Collection, The Album 3

The idea of English as a national language is only about 100 years old. Much of the upper mid-west was pioneered by immigrants from Germany and the Nordic countries. Many of the small farming communities, not only had German, Swedish or Norwegian as primary languages, but sometimes, the only language. In one town, civic documents might be in German, in another, the schools taught in Swedish, and the street signs could be in Norwegian in a third. So what changed? America's entry into World War 1, viewed by many as an unjustified intrusion into a European war of empire, had to be sold to the general public. Propaganda campaigns that pictured German soldiers as blood crazed animals, who willingly bayoneted woman and children, who raped nuns and burnt churches, helped sell American entry into the conflict, while also bringing into question the patriotism of those who continued to speak languages other than English.

So, how can we tell that a photograph is from Europe when all we have to go on are signs in the background, or written labels that may not be in English? In the case of this album, take a close look at the team photo. There is a badge on the athletes jerseys from Aurich. Aurich is a region and town in Lower Saxony, in Germany. (Click on the image to bring it up in a larger window, to see it better.) Throw in some of the building styles, and a non American military uniform that will be in a future post from this album, and Germany, not Minnesota, is the more probable location.

The German American Collection, A Couple of Older Ones

I started this blog to impose a certain amount of organization on a growing collection. In the past couple of months I've made my bank roll even smaller with the purchase of archival storage materials. One of the first acid free boxes I purchased was for the German-American collection, and because it has been out of sight it's also been a bit out of mind. So, it's time to put up a few more posts. To recap, a dealer had purchased an estate, sold some of the photos separately, then broke up what was left into several lots and put them up for sale on line. I got one of the lots and because it's so broken up, I'm putting them up in a catch as can manner. When I get to it, I get to it. And remember, click on German-American in the labels section to bring up the whole lot.

A Nineteenth Century Wedding

EBay can be an expensive way to collect old photos. Believe me, I've found that out the hard way. But, if you're willing to spend time scrolling through page after page of old photos, from time to time something interesting and affordable will come up. I hadn't really been looking for cabinet cards, but there they were. Nine, starting price of 99 cents, two bucks for shipping and not a single bid. Anyway, this was one of the ones I liked for a rather perverse reason. I'm a big believer that as photographic technique improved over the years, so did the subject's relationship to the camera. Stiff and formal was the standard, lively with a sense of movement a rarity. It took decades for the people being photographed to learn to relax and show some humanity. I'm fascinated that these people looked so stark on the big day. There is a studio mark embossed on the card, "D. A. Frommeyer -HANOVER, PA-" All I could dig up on Mr. Frommeyer is that he had a studio in Hanover from 1886 to 1911.

The Postcard Bride

A real photo postcard was just that. Rather than using a commercial printing process, each individual postcard was printed with an enlarger, on light sensitized paper with a stamp box and space for address and message on the back, and then developed in a chemical bath. A number of companies, most notably Kodak, made photo postcard stock, and most professional photo studios, photo finishers, and many home darkrooms kept it on hand. Kodak even made a camera, the A3, that yielded a negative that could be printed without cropping on a standard postcard. (I think it used 620 roll film, but I haven't been able to verify that.) So, I wonder how many copies of this image was ordered by the bride. Did she slip one into the wedding invitation, or with the thank you notes for the wedding gifts? All we can really know is that this particular card was never mailed and no information was recorded on the back. My guess is that it's from the twenties or thirties.

The German American Collection, Until Death do us Part

Written on the back of the first picture, "Our Wedding Day April 18th 1942 Until Death do us Part." I've scanned in the back of the second. Click on German-American in the labels section to bring up more images.

Hazel Hamilton Rogers/Hazel Elizabeth Rogers

Written on the back of the second photograph, "Mother-1911 On Graduation From Wesleyan." On the third picture, "Mother's Wedding Picture Hazel Hamilton Rogers." The Confederate battle flag in the background of the graduation picture led me to Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, founded in 1836 as a Women's college by the Methodist Church. With Georgia as a location I went in search of any information I could find on Hazel Hamilton Rogers. What I found was a small foundation set up in memory of a school teacher named Hazel Elizabeth Rogers, daughter of Dr. Thomas Edward Rogers and distinguished musician, Hazel Hamilton Rogers. No sibling were mentioned in the brief paragraph. It looks like Hazel Elizabeth never married or had any children. The clear hand writing on the back of these pictures must be hers and very likely there were no family members to claim these pictures.

The German American Collection, The Wedding Picture

Again, I bought the butt end of an estate collection. A dealer had sold a number of photos individually, and then put everything else on-line in a couple of lots. This was the one I was able to get. Because it's all such a mish-mash, I'm putting things up when I get around to it with no real time table. Basically, when it gets done, it gets done. This photo, and what's left of an old photo album which is a long way from being posted, is why I'm calling it the German American collection. Stamped on the back, "Photohaus Karl Borft, Hieben, Bahnhofftr. 63" Well, my German is pretty bad and some of the letters were in the old style, Gothic script, which I often find confusing, but here goes. Photohaus is pretty obvious, so let's say Karl Borft's photo studio. I know that banhof is a station, so I'm guessing that the added tr. makes it a train station. I am confused about hieben though. I ran it through Google translate and got "cut down" and that makes no sense to me whatsoever. I hope this couple got out of Germany before the 1930's. Click on German American in the labels section to get the other parts that are available for viewing.

Kentucky Wedding

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Stamped on the back, "2074 S. PRESTON ME. 4-3654 SAM HINERFELD, Louisville, Ky. CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY" Well, as wedding photos go this one does have an interesting feel to it. It gives the impression of the bride and her party running up the church steps, just a bit late, but ready to go. The bridesmaid on the right has a real feel for what pose looks good on camera, while the bride holds her dress giving a sense of movement. Dating photos by cars can be problematic. The church seems to be in a working class neighborhood, where the residnets would very likely buy two or three year old used cars. The limo and some of the other cars, tail fins and all, look to be from the mid fifties, but the bit of car seen to the right looks like an early sixties Ford, Falcon. And the hair on the bride is early sixties as well.

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.

A White Wedding

I have no idea what the bride wore, but I do have this shot of a wedding guest in his white shoes and suit. The lady he's standing with seems to be a member of the wedding party. Stamped on the back, "ALBERT PHOTO SERVICE Candid Photography 5106 W. 22nd Place-CICERO, ILL. REORDER BY NUMBER."

A Formal Portrait

I'm assuming that this lady did not dress this way, normally. I've seen hair-dos like this in late silent and early sound movies, so I'm guessing mid to late twenties to early thirties. A wedding portrait or for a formal affair of some kind.

Bride & Groom

Not the same couple, but the same location and almost certainly the same photographer. Both of these images are contact prints from an 8x10 negative. Probably from the forties or fifties.

Novelty Wedding Stereoviews

While many stereoview cards where of current events, landscapes, and city scenes, there were also a number of novelty images as well. These two are wedding themed. The faded image, entitled The Bridegroom is three minutes late, was "Photographed and Published by B.W. Kilburn,-Littleton, N.H." On the front, side borders, "Copyright 1897, B.W. Kilburn." and "JAMES M. DAVIS, New York, St. Louis, Liverpool, Toronto, Sydney." Davis was a major distributor of stereoview cards and equipment. The other image, in much better condition, is from the H.C. White Company. Hawley C. White was a major publisher and manufacturer of stereoview equipment. On the borders, "H.C. WHITE CO., Gen'l Office N. Bennington, Vt., U.S.A. Branch Offices: New York, Chicago, London." And, The PREFEC-STEREOGRAPH. (Trade Mark.) Patented April 14, 1903. Other Patents Pending."

Ridgewood Lodge #1455 Wedding

The hair styles look like the forties to me. Maybe a war bride; one of the many couples who rushed through weddings when death in combat was a real possibility. My guess is that the bride is throwing the bouquet, even though it can't be seen in this photo. The scanning of these old photos require a minuscule cropping on the edges of the image. I've lost just enough that the top of the bulletin board in the background was lost. In the original it reads, "Ridgewood Lodge, No. 1455." A quick Google search came up with Elks Lodge 1455, Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Before and After the Wedding

These two small photos came from the same source, and appear to be the same woman, a few years apart. One looks to be the woman on her wedding day, putting on the wedding garter. The second image, dated August 1955, looks like it's a few years latter into her wedded life.