Pole Climber

When I write that I think something is turn of the century, I now have to specify which century. I figure, from the kids clothing, that this image was probably from the beginning of the twentieth century into the very early teens. From back in the day when kids were supposed to get in trouble.

Nine Women

There are a lot of reasons these nine women could be posing together, but with the corrugated sheet metal wall that is the backdrop, my guess is that these ladies may be the office staff in a mill, or perhaps garment workers.

Janice Boyer

Another portrait from the twenties era, this one labeled "Janice Boyer Age about 25." It's cut out from a much larger photograph, which could indicate anything from a broken marriage and the elimination of the discarded spouse to the need to fit a frame.

Pershing Square 1944

Awhile back I wrote of my intention of adding some more postcards to the collection, especially linen cards from California. The caption, "Comprising a square block in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, Pershing Square affords a restful haven amid the hubbub of a great modern city. WESTERN PUBLISHING & NOVELTY CO., LOS ANGELES, CALIF." Stupidly, L.A. paved over a good deal of the square to discourage the homeless from gathering in the area. It's only recently that the city has tried to turn Pershing Square back into a pleasant downtown stopping place. It's the message on the back that's interesting. "AUG. 9/44 DEAR FRANCES :- WELL HERE i AM AWAY iN SUNNY CALiFORNiA ENJOYING THE BEST OF HEALTH, AND HOPE TO HEAR THE SAME FROM YOU FRANCES, iM TRYiNG TO GET OUT OF SHOW BUSiNESS, AND i HAVE BEEN iN CALiFORNiA FOR THE PAST SiX WEEKS LOOKiNG FOR SOME NEW BUSiNESS, WHICH i HOPE i WiLL SOON LAND. WiTH BEST WiSHES, SiNCERELY MAX COLEMAN." Addressed to "MiSS FRANCES VALENTiNE MAiN POST OFFiCE SCHENECTADY NEW YORK BOX 54" The Schenectady address is crossed out, replaced by "54 Laurel Av., Superior, Wisc." It looks like Max was taking a run at Hollywood and was about to give up. An old story in L.A. I've run both IMDB and IMBD searches on both Max Coleman and Frances Valentine and came up with nothing, so it looks like Max and Frances moved on to other things. (I like to think that Max and Frances met in New York taking a run at a stage career.) The post mark, "LOS ANGELES CALIF. AUG 10, 1944 1:30 AM" All the lower case I's are as written on the postcard. Click on postcards in the labels section to see other L.A. area views as well as a brief history of the linen postcard.

Three Gals In Slacks, One Guy In a Skirt

As I've noted before, I spent decades working in photo labs and I don't think I ever had a week go by when I didn't print some sort of amateur picture with a sexual theme. I had lots of women in lingerie, nude, and the occasional photo of people having sex. But, the surprising thing was just how much gender bending, mostly men dressed as women, there is out there. This guy was probably teasing his gal pals about not wearing skirts and before he knew it, they had turned the tables on him. Is the photographer another guy in skirts waiting his turn in front of the camera, or gal pal number four? If this guy is your father please leave a comment.

Another Frazier Carte de Visite

I'm running low on the cache of CDVs and I may have to start keeping an eye open for some other interesting ones for the blog. This one should have gone with an earlier post of carte de visites of the Frazier family (Posted 9/17/10) , but when going through things I missed the connection. Written on the back, "Ann and Amos Bonner who took Harry Frazier when he was 3 months old and raised him until he was 8 years old." Ann is bigger than Amos, not just more volume, but taller, and she has a somewhat masculine face. They must have been an interesting couple.

Kentucky Wedding

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Stamped on the back, "2074 S. PRESTON ME. 4-3654 SAM HINERFELD, Louisville, Ky. CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY" Well, as wedding photos go this one does have an interesting feel to it. It gives the impression of the bride and her party running up the church steps, just a bit late, but ready to go. The bridesmaid on the right has a real feel for what pose looks good on camera, while the bride holds her dress giving a sense of movement. Dating photos by cars can be problematic. The church seems to be in a working class neighborhood, where the residnets would very likely buy two or three year old used cars. The limo and some of the other cars, tail fins and all, look to be from the mid fifties, but the bit of car seen to the right looks like an early sixties Ford, Falcon. And the hair on the bride is early sixties as well.