Betty Jane Easterly

Written on the back, "Betty Jane Easterly." Stamped, "B29." I know that I've written that children are the photo subjects that interest me the least, but the toy car made this one different. Based on the car's style, maybe the late twenties or early thirties. Those square front radiators started to disappear in the thirties. Anyway, the toy cor looks expensive, the house is nice looking, and the bit of the neighbors home that can be seen in the background indicates that these homes were built on fairly large lots. Does that mean that Betty Jane came from a well to do family, or just an indulgent one?

Gal Pals Along the Road

Two gal pals posing for a photo along a dirt road, very likely from the twenties. Note that the photographers shadow is in the foreground. Too, isn't that a nautical motif in the ladies dresses? Another interesting thing to wonder about. Was this an early example of a road trip with a pair of city couples out for a motor in the country? Or is this a couple of rural gals out for a walk, with their photographer friend? When this photo was taken, the United States was still a country where the majority of people lived in small towns and on farms.

Green Bay Business College- Portraits

Please, please click on Green Bay in the labels section so I don't have to retype all the stuff I've already put up about this collection. In short, I bought a pretty good sized collection of photos that were in some envelopes addressed to Kenneth Bierke of "The Green Bay Business College, 123 S. Washington, Green Bay, Wis." I'm fairly certain that the young guy is Kenneth Bierke himself. Only two more posts in the Green Bay collection, though it could be awhile before I finally finish it up.

Iowa Girls at the Beach

It's always somewhat risky trying to determine personality from a photograph. The tall girl seems like the leader of the group, but she might have that look because she's taller than her friends. The girl to her right, with the sad expression, grasping her friend's arm, is the shy, frightened one, I would think. Stamped on the back, "GEPPERT STUDIOS STAMP OF QUALITY DES MOINES ,IOWA" From the twenties I would think.

Your Niece

A small studio portrait, most likely from the twenties. Written on the back, "Your Niece Mary Allan Age 17."

Men's Club

I've got lots of photos in folders, but with the exception of the nightclub shots, I rarely publish anything other than the photograph itself. This one's a bit different. There was a fascination with "Orientalism" in the first several decades of the 20th century. The influences of the far east can be seen in the paintings, sculpture, design and architecture of the period. The design of the folder is far more interesting, with it's Chinese pagoda, and vine like frame around the photo, at least to me, than the photograph itself. Having said that, I still like the photo, and even without the paper folder, I would still have wanted to put it in the collection. The man in the glasses is older than the six other men, but he doesn't seem to be old enough to be their father. He may be a college professor with some students, or a clergyman with parishioners. This was the era of the missionary, and I've seen a lot of photos, just like this one, of young men about to go off to convert the non-Christians of the third world, posing with an older, more experienced hand. Or perhaps, the younger men have just joined a fraternal organization like the Elks. A far less interesting supposition, but one more likely.

Another Hand Painted Tintype

This is the second one of these I've found. (See my post 10/9/09.) Colored tintypes with eye color, or a rosey hue to the cheeks are quite common. Less common are tintypes that have had their entire surfaces painted in an attempt to make an image that looks more like a painting than a photograph. Usually those tintypes were painted over in a style that normally would be closer to the limner paintings of the colonial and early national eras than photographs. Like limner paintings, they were often made by itinerant artists who were just as comfortable decorating, furniture, clock faces, or making store signs. This image, and the one posted earlier, were done by a commercial service, and may have used more skilled painters than the travelling artists responsible for most painted tintypes. Of course this image, like the earlier one, has lost almost all of the surface paint, so we'll never know. My guess is, that what is left, is little more than a first inking that established specific areas to be painted. The admonition to not remove the glass from the picture may indicate that paint was also added to a covering glass, or it may indicate that the tintype was glued in some way to a sheet of glass.