Fete Eve, A Lesbian Wedding

France in the twenties? Life without men? This is a great snapshot of a group of women, some dressed as men, at a wedding ceremony.

Photographs By Zoltan S. Farkas, Inc.

Women are far more interesting photographic subjects then men. There aren't many men who can, or would, present such a variety of looks. These photos, probably from the fifties, are credited to Zoltan S. Farkas, almost certainly a commercial photographer doing advertising photos for a department store or fashion house. I couldn't find anything about him on the web.

Nude on a Tractor

OK, I know it's not a tractor, but it's some sort of farm equipment. Part of the fun in collecting old photographs, is trying to figure out context. I can't be sure, but I think this might have been from a camera club outing. I don't know whether they still exist or not, but there was a time when guys got together, formed photography clubs, rented studio space or locations, hired nude models and took pictures.

Snapshots

I run across these from time to time, small collections of old, unrelated, snapshots put together by a seller. Usually, there are a couple of interesting prints, and a couple of not so interesting ones. This grouping is no exception. The least interesting of the lot is the only one with any written information written on the back. The lady sitting on the porch, probably from the twenties, judging by the cloche hat, "Mrs. Gerrard, 1111 W. Kings Highway, San Antonio, Texas." The photo of the kids in the toy canoe is fun, but it's not something I would have gone out of my way to buy. I also like the women with the string of fish, though again, it's not a must have image. It's the three oldest that are really the ones to have. All three appear to be on the border line of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The three people posing in the corn field, the woman with the great hat, I think, sitting in the prow of a small boat, and the trio with the road sign. When I saw it, I wondered, if automobiles and motorcycles are forbidden, does that mean that horse drawn wagons and bicycles are allowed?

Lubbock, Texas

This is one of the treasures of my collection. This image is a an 8x10 contact print, mounted in a cardboard frame labelled, "Daniel, Lubbock." Daniel is the name of the photographer, not the subject. What a great image from the dust bowl era, made by a professional photographer. I'm taken by the young woman who looks away from the camera. An interesting composition.

Aloha Cafe, Tijuana, Mexico

One of the first things I did when I came west, back in 1980, was to go to Tijuana. There were still old guys with box cameras taking pictures of tourists sitting on donkeys. I've never been able to figure out why the donkeys were painted to look like zebras. Anyway, this picture was in another one of the photo souvenir folders sold by restaurants and bars. There is a date, 1946 in the background of the photo. Printed on the inside front cover, "IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE PICTURE, BLAME THE ASS." On the same page as the photo, "PICTURES BY GAETAN ARE SECOND TO NONE." There is also a spot for autographs and the name of the folder's owner. For other photo souvenir folder posts, go to the archives and go to 7/1/09, and 6/15/09.

Crazy Dancing Teenager From the 1950s

No names, no dates, no nothing! Just a couple of great 8x10's of a crazy, dancing teenager from the 1950's. This young lady is probably still alive. If anyone out there recognizes her, please leave a comment.