Arcadia, Pennsylvania Coronet Band

In my post of 5/6/10, The Munson Coronet Band, I noted that long before radio and television, it was common for many small towns to have local bands that played summer evenings in the town square. This is a real photo postcard, made when most professional photo processors had postcard stock on hand so that people could bring in their own negatives to have a custom postcard made. Hand written on the back, "Hoping this finds you all well as I am glad to let you know that we are all well. You will find me on this card if you look close. Hoping to hear from you soon. From your brother, John Currie Arcadia Pa." Addressed to, "Mr. Donald Currie, 320 Beech Street, East Pittsburg, Pa." Post marked, "ARCADIA, PA SEP. 18, 1908." Arcadia is a small town in Indiana County, north of Indiana, the county seat and birthplace of actor, Jimmy Stewart. East Pittsburg was absorbed into the greater city, years ago. And yes, Pittsburg was once spelled without the "H"

A Tintype of Two Women

I've been meaning to put up another tintype gallery with five to ten images, but I found this one not too long ago, and even though it's not in great condition, I was really taken by the angry look of the standing woman, so it gets it's own, separate post. With the hair, the scowl, she looks almost feral. Too, the dress is so striking compared to dress of the sitting woman who has a much more serene demeanor. Mother and daughter or two friends? Anyway, as I've noted in earlier posts, tintype is actually a misnomer. Tintypes are actually ferrotypes, shot on a sheet of iron with either a black paint or lacquer coating which makes the negative image seem like a positive.

Old Man

Another image from my days at the photo lab. This print was hand printed, by me, from an old, 19th century glass negative. As I've noted in some previous posts, while it was possible to buy commercially manufactured glass plates, many photographers made their own. Click on the image to open it in a bigger window, and water stains from either the making or processing of the negative can be seen as a streak across the subjects face. Too, the photographers finger print can be seen in the lower right corner. The one question; was the photographer an amateur, or some small town professional with a home made camera.

Another Studio Portrait

Well, I'm on a roll here. Just like my last post, a studio portrait of a woman, most likely from the mid to late twenties to the early thirties. No name or studio mark.

A Studio Portrait

My guess, from the hair style and what little I can see of the clothes, that this studio portrait was shot somewhere from the early to mid twenties to the early thirties. A black and white photo, properly processed can last well over 100 years. I have glass negatives and tintypes in my collection that are as good as the day they were made. As photography moves further into the digital age, I have to wonder if we are beginning an age were our photographic heritage will survive. Computers crash, discs degrade and color prints fade quickly.

To Miss Nellie Baker of Clinton, Maine From California

What I'd do to see the letter that accompanied these photos, when mailed, from the San Francisco Bay area to Clinton, Maine. All we know for sure is that someone mailed these photos from somewhere in California on June 23, 1908, that it was then relayed from the San Francisco post office on June 28, 1908, and arrived at Clinton, Maine on July 4, 1908. (TheClinton post mark is on the back of the envelope.) This is where the fun comes in from collecting old photos. While we can't know things for sure, we can speculate, logically. There are two probable scenarios here. The first is that Nellie Baker's friend was on a trip to California. The second, and more likely, is that her friend moved to the bay area. Are the photos of the school house, children, and library work places for Nellie's friend, or is she ( I'd bet money that we are dealing with a woman.) trying to brag to her friend that in California, we've got better schools, libraries, churches, and houses than you do, back home, in Clinton. The picture of the men in the boat, leads me to think that this family didn't live in San Francisco, but the head of the house commuted, by water, to the city. East bay, maybe Oakland, or perhaps from Marin? I think there is a good chance that the church and possibly the old school house are still standing, so if anyone out there recognizes them, please leave a comment.

What Dealers Do, A Boy and His Bra

Another example of how antique dealers destroy collections. According to the seller, this is a self portrait, from the 1940's, of a young man named Eddie Harbaugh. It seems that Eddie was a photography mad young man who had no one to pose for him, so he made up an album of self portraits. This is a tiny print, only 1 1/2 x 1 7/8s inches in size. I never saw the whole album, but at that size, there may have been hundreds of separate images, and if Eddie was willing to take a picture of himself in a bra, who knows what a treasure that album was. Sadly, we'll never know, since the dealer tore it apart, and sold the photos separately.