Demon Child

Printed with far too much contrast, the blasted out highlights in the little girl's dress, the washed out face, coupled with the stiff pose in the briers, and whatever the hell that is on her head, gives this child a demonic look that would fit in well with a modern horror movie. In the photo with her mother, the squint makes her look both masculine and far older than her actual age. The solo shot is printed on postcard stock, a common practice of both amateurs and professional printers of the era. Written in pencil, "Margaret Mason."

Group Photos

This family really loves it's group shots. Written on the back of the first picture in the collection, "Jakru at Miss Rybak's July 19-1914." My guess is that Jackru is the little boy with the flamboyant neck tie. July 1914 was the month before World War 1 began in Europe and three years before the U.S. entry into the conflict. While only one photo is labeled, the changes in women's clothes and the car give a range from just before the war to a few years after. Jackru would not have been old enough to fight in the first world war and might have been just a bit too old to fight in the second, but his life and the lives of the others in these photos would never be the same.

Another Formal Portrait

A studio portrait most likely from the twenties.

The Rainbow Club, Topeka, Kansas

I have a number of these old souvenir photo folders in the collection. (Click on nightclub or souvenir photo folder in the labels section to see others.) Before and during World War 2, many peoples idea of a great time on Saturday night was to get dressed up, go out to a club, have dinner and dance to what ever big band was playing. After the war, the ball room/nightclub began to loose some of it's appeal. Big bands would give way to jazz combos, and then jazz's very brief period of main stream popularity would yield to rock and roll, and the era of the nightclub would die. This image is from that period of transition. Written in pencil on the back of the folder, "10-22-49, Russ Stevenson's Birthday." The Rainbow Club looks more like an old fashioned road side diner, and at that, not a particularly nice one. Stamped on the back of the folder, "For extra copies, Contact Jayhawker 1356 Medford Photo No. T638 Topeka, Kansas." Stamped on the back of the photo, "Jayhawker Commercial Photos 1356 Medford, Topeka, Kansas." I did a search on this club, both in Topeka and all of Kansas, and couldn't find anything.

In Costume

A real photo postcard, trimmed and, at one time, pasted in a photo album. Could be a dancer, an actress, or it could be a souvenir sold at an historic site of some kind.

Young Couples In Love 2

More young couples in love, and for those of us past a certain age, some middle aged couples as well. Nothing, not even lab marks, on any of these snapshots.

Young Couples In Love 1

This is another one of those collections put together by a dealer of, generally, unrelated photos built around a common theme. In this case, young, affectionate couples. One of the pleasures of collecting old snapshots is speculating about the lives of the subjects. Who is madly in love with whom; who has that unmistakable "I hope this isn't the biggest mistake of my life" look; who is the dominant member of the relationship, and it's not always the man. Take a look at the photo of the confident looking lady whose beau stares at her profile. The couple standing next to the telephone poll look like they can't wait to get back to the motel. There isn't much info on these photos. Not one has any writing on them. The couple standing on the walkway leading up to the front door of a house, he's in a checked jacket, she's wearing a hat and two tone shoes, on the back, a processor's stamp, "THIS Thrifty PRINT FINISHED APR 4 1939 GUARANTEED BY THRIFTY DRUG STORES" The rather stiff looking couple, a bit off center, trees in the background, she's wearing glasses, "Genuine VELOX Photo Paper. ROLL DEV., 8 PRINTS. HOLD-PAT ALBUM, 25C. THE BALDWIN STUDIO. ST. LOUIS, MO. SUMMER 1942." The other stiff looking couple, second from last in the group, white clothing, a bit of palm tree seen above them, there is a very smeared, but still recognizable Fox Photo Finishers logo on the back. Fox was located in San Antonio, Texas and did a big mail order business in the south. Just so you know, on December 18, 2010, I posted one image from this group, separately. "Los Angeles Border." Go back through the archives to find out why I thought it was so distinctive. Part two (Or three, depending how one looks at it.) to be posted in the next couple of days.