The Green Room Hotel Edison

It's not often that I get to put up one of these souvenir photo folders from something that's still in business. Hotel Edison was built in 1931 in the same art deco style as Radio City Music Hall. It's located at 228 W. 47th St. New York, N.Y. 10036. The Green Room was the bar/restaurant attached to the Edison Hotel ball room. For more information go to http://www.edisonballroom.com/ Printed on the back, "For extra copies write to: Hotel Edison PHOTOGRAPHY DEPT. 46th & 47th Street West of Broadway. Ask for number on back of photograph." That's actually kind of significant because the negs still might be sitting in some closet in the hotel. Written on the inside of the folder, "1-July-1945 Here to the days ahead. Good times + luck. Harold" Also, "Hope she will be here in the next one Bill. Best of luck, Henrietta" And, "To a swell evening, best of luck to you. Lt. Ted Bratt."

Lee Staford & Louise Lloyd

I wish I could make out the photographer's name on this photo. There were so many talented photographers who made these theatrical portraits, and this one is a nice one. The hand written inscription reads, " To Naomi May we meet again and soon-Lee Stafford and Louise Lloyd." I checked IMDB and IBDB and couldn't find any info on this pair. Probably dancers.

Professional or Amateur?

As I've noted in some earlier posts, I spent years working in photo labs, and I don't think I ever had a weak go by without printing some sort of amateur eroticism. Even though I started printing black & white photos well after the invention of the Polaroid camera, and worked well into the digital age, there was still a lot of amateur nudes, pictures of people having sex, and a surprisingly large number of cross dressing photos to print. When I look at this collection, I wonder whether this woman was a professional model or if she was the photographers girlfriend. The three posed pictures look like the sort of thing that could be bought from under the counter at a lot of news stands. The one image where she is getting undressed looks like a girl friend picture.

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."

The Photo Show

An interesting little collection of four photos from some sort of photo show. The display case in the background of one of the photos has a late fifties through mid-sixties movie camera. The women's hair styles also look like they are from the sixties.

Post War Japan

Three of these images are conventional portraits. One photo looks like it's from outside a Japanese brothel. The portrait of the lady in the kimono is labeled, "Yokohama, Japan Oct. 1945," only a couple of months after V-J day. American troops would have been looking for both girlfriends and prostitutes in occupied Japan.

Green Bay Business College- The Homefront

It's been awhile since I've put up anything from the Green Bay Business College estate collection. (Go to the label section at the bottom of this post and click on Green Bay to see the others.) This large group of pictures all seem to revolve around a married couple who had some connection to the school. The name Kenneth Bierke shows up on some of the envelopes and prints, and I believe that this lady is Mrs. Bierke, and that when these photos were taken, Kenneth might have been in the military. Stamped on the back of each print, "THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY T.M. REGIS. U.S. PAT. OFF. APRIL 23 1945." Taken in the last year of the war.