Glass Negative Nudes

I've got to find the money to set up my darkroom. Some more images from back in the day when I was a professional photo printer. I made these from a couple of glass negatives that I picked up at an antique store. The one model seems to be channeling Louise Brooks, which gives a date from late teens to late twenties.

Drunk Driver

Contrary to what most people now think, prohibition wasn't an idea of the blue nose anti-sin crowd. Rather, it was a reaction to massive alcohol abuse in the United States, especially in the years right after World War 1. I hope the driver is drinking water, but considering the era, I doubt it.

Carte de Visite, From Peru, Iowa

I'm getting through the cache of old carte de visites that I recently found in an old box in the closet. This one is from the studios of B. C. Daily of Peru, Iowa, and probably dates from around the Civil War to the 1870s. Peru is an unincorporated community in Madison County, Iowa. The town had a post office that opened on April 18, 1853 that closed for good on September 14, 1903. A sure sign of a town in decline, when the post office closes.

Heinz 57 Varieties

This photo is another one from my early days of collecting, and faded as it is, it's also a favorite. I grew up in western Pennsylvania, the home of Heinz, the ketchup and relish manufacturer. With it 57 varieties, Heinz was a huge presence in Pittsburgh, it's corporate headquarters. The football stadium that is home field for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is named for Heinz. And yes, I'm sure that they paid for the right. Take a close look, click to bring it up in a bigger window if needed, and you'll see that these two ladies are holding Heinz products. The can with the keystone label is probably Heinz baked beans. I should know, I ate a couple of cans of Heinz baked beans every week of my childhood. The taller lady is holding a bottle that is in the shape of an old relish container.

A Small Photo

A very small and very old photograph. At only 2 inches on the long dimension, it's about the size of a modern wallet photo. She seems to be sitting at one of the old fashioned school desks with the seat attached to the front of the desk to the rear in the class room row of desks.

German Mystery Postcards

Two real photo postcard submissions in a row. Unlike the Currie Boys post, this one presented a bit of a mystery. There is some German written on the backs of these two cards, and when I saw the name Karlstein, the first thing I did was go to the atlas and fine a Karlstein, Germany. But then, I noticed a very light photo lab mark, in the shape of a fish, "FOTORYBKA, PRAHA." Or in English, Prague, Czechoslovakia (Now the Czech Republic.) So, it was off to the Google translations sight to see if I could make out what was written. Well, who ever wrote the notes, didn't have the greatest handwriting in the world, and I was only able to do a partial translation. Any words that I couldn't translate are represented by a parenthesis, and the number indicates the number of words not translated. On the image of the couple walking, the lady carrying a fox stole, "Georgine and Edie Anderle on the way from a (1) day above (1) in the National Theater in Prague. National Theater, happy days behind us." Then there is a symbol that matches the one on the photo to identify the building. On the other image, "From one of our flights from the Karlstein Castle 8 VIII 1943 from (3) one (2) here." The names "Eduard Anderle, Georgine" are written on the edge of the card, but not part of the message. Well, a couple of things. Georgine seems to be younger in the first photo, but I can't be 100% sure of that because of the hat. It covers too much of her face. The man really is older in the second picture. Listed as Eduard on one card and Edi on the other, it could have been an older relative, perhaps father and son. Edi, the diminutive is on the younger man's photo, perhaps an indication. And 1943, at the height of the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. Were Georgine and Edi Germans on vacation, or was he a Nazi official there for the occupation? Or perhaps, they were Czechs, who wrote German and sent these two images along to a friend or family member in Germany. They could, after all, have been Sudeten, Germans, Czech nationals in the German speaking area along the German, Czech border. Karlstein Castle is in the town of Karlstein in the Czech Republic. Construction was started in 1348. I have found some photos that match the postcard, so I'm certain that it was taken in Czechoslovakia.

The Currie Boys

There was a time when every professional photo finisher and home darkroom had real photo postcard stock on hand. So much nicer to receive family photos rather than a picture of the local business district, church, or city hall. Each of these two photo postcards has "Minnie Streitmutter" written on the edge. The threesome is labeled, "Jim, Tom, Don Currie." But was Minnie a favorite aunt or one of the brothers' girlfriend?