World War 1, The Argonne

Again, I think these images are rotogravures. I have a pretty good background in conventional photography and can id anything from a daguerreotype to a modern digital print, but obsolete commercial printing ...a bit beyond me. The caption for the image with the shot up helmet, "How the Argonne was won. Like their Indian fighting ancestors the Americans fought from behind trees and bushes, digging a "fox hole" for cover whenever they paused. This photograph was taken by a Signal Corps operator during the advance of the 18th Inf., 1st Div., up the slopes of Hill 240, near Exermont, Oct. 11, 19198. These soldiers fought their way to the top in the face of heavy machine gun fire and drove the enemy from the position. The bullet-torn helmet in the foreground tells the story of a "buddy" who lies "over yonder." The men in the brush, "Hill 240, scene of desperate fighting." The guys with the machine gun, "Machine gunners, 1st Div., in action near Exermont. Oct. 4, 1918." The one with the tank, "Tank and supply wagon blown up north of Fleville." And the one with the wagons on the town street, "Artillery of the 1st Div. entering Fleville. Oct. 12." Not the signal corps. logos.

Crime Scene Photos

On the back of the photo of the two men, "Henry Weaver and Leon Olliphant looking over the blood stained stair case of Dr. Foss."

Woman as Man

A woman dressed as a man, probably from the 20's or 30's. A time when it was rare for women to wear pants.

Green Bay Business College- Another Dance

Another picture from the Green Bay Business College package. A dance, but with a different date from the two previous posts. On the back of the photo, "THIS IS A KODACHROME PRINT Made by Kodak WEEK OF FEB. 16-59 RD."

Green Bay Business College-Riverside Dance #2

These square format photos are from the same Green Bay Business College dance as the previous post. Those photos were done by a professional photographer, these look like amateur pictures. Stamped on the backs of the color images, "THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY T. M. REGIS. U. S. PAT. OFF. Week ending June 23, 1956. Ro 3" With the June 3 post mark from the earlier post, the dance was probably end of May. An end of term dance.

Green Bay Business College-Riverside Dance

I've got a lot of these. A few years ago I purchased a group of pictures from the Green Bay Business College in Green Bay, Wisconsin. There are far too many of them to put up in one post. There is also some variety in the collection. Many of them are family pictures that appear to be family pictures of a faculty member. I'm starting with a small group of pictures that were all in the same envelope. The envelope is addressed to the "Green Bay Business College, 123 S. Washington, Green bay, Wis." The return address is "G. Ashert Studio, De Pere, Wis." The post mark is from De Pere and dated July 2, 1956. The theme of the dance is I Love Paris. There is an image of three guys standing in front of the punch bowl, written on the back, "Three too many." The name Ken Bierke is written on the back of several of the photos.

Rural Cross Dressing

This is either a picture of a man in a dress or a very ugly woman. I found this in a box of dollar snapshots in a junk shop. One of the interesting things about collecting old photos is trying to guess context. This makes me wonder if these two are a gay couple living in the country.