Coal

I grew up in a coal mining town in western Pennsylvania, and I'd love to add a lot more coal themed images to the collection. In addition to the usual spaces for address and message, printed on the back of this post card, "Published for The Union News Company. 1414" and, "Pennsylvania Bituminous Coal has stood the test in all foreign markets and is now a world-wide recognized standard. The coal is brought from the mines in small cars and then loaded from the tipple to the railroad cars as shown in this picture." There is also a logo for the card's maker, G.V. Miller & Co. Scranton, Pa. No date on this image, and while I'm sure it's fairly old, when I was growing up, this scene would still have been pretty common.

Clove Gum

Thomas Adams began manufacturing chicle based gum in 1869. His comapny began adding flavors, creating Black Jack, Beemans and in the early 1930's, Clove. This picture looks like it's from the early 30's, and was very probably one of the ways, Adams Gum marketed their new flavor.

A Woman in Fur

People who know of my interest in environmental issues find it strange, but the fact is, I don't have any problems with fur. From the thirties, I think. Who ever took this snapshot, knew how to take a great picture.

Show Girls!

There is a date, SEP 66, on the borders of these two small prints. I would guess that the cosutme was meant to imply that this entertainer was topless. Probably from Las Vegas.

A Patriotic Family

The 48 star flag places this image after the admittance of Arizona and New Mexico to the union. An old albumen print mounted on a piece of cardboard.

Betze Leach nee Parkinson

I don't have a lot of baby pictures in the collection. The fact is, at that age, they're all pretty much the same, no matter when they were taken. The baby photo came with the hand colored portrait. On the back of the baby picture, "Betze Parkinson." On the back of the adult portrait, "Betze Leach, wedding picture 1947." Best guess that the baby picture was taken 20 to 25 years before Betze got married. She's beautiful and that's why I bought the picture.

Burlesque Portraits

I was told that these two photos had come from the estate of a former Burlesque theater owner. They look like old lobby photos, displayed so that patrons could see who would be performing that night. The full length portrait is labeled "Polly Anne." A play on Pollyanna I would guess. No name on the head shot. The photographer's mark, "Bloom Chicago" is too vague to get anything from a Google search, but James J. Kriegsmann gave some interesting results. Kriegsmann was born in Vienna, Austria on January 1, 1909. He studied photography in his native Vienna before coming to the United States. He opened up a studio, on Broadway, in 1929, and specialized in theatrical portraits. He also did the portraits for the New York Transit Authority's Miss Subway promotion for thirty years. I'm a great fan of the Gene Kelly movie, On The Town, which has, as a plot point, Kelly's pursuit of Miss Turnstiles, obviously a play on Kriegsmann's Miss Subway pictures. Kriegsmann died on April 29, 1994. He was 85. His son James J. Kriegsmann, Jr. is also a commercial photographer specializing in theatrical portraits.