Women In Uniform

I could probably deploy a fairly effective strike force with all the pictures I have of men in uniform. Women in uniform, however, is a whole other matter. Until corrected, I'm going to assume that this is a World war 2 era WAC-Women's Army Corp. This hand colored portrait is a nice companion piece to my post of 8/19/09, WAVES of the Navy. Click on military women in the labels section to bring it up.

Emma Alexander

No, I don't know the name of the woman in these snapshots. When I found this small group of photos of the same lady over the years, I was most interested in the image of her in the blue jeans and bikini top, and the earliest of the collection, the photo of her leaning on a ship's rail. The ship picture is labeled "S.S. Emma Alexander" and that gave me a starting point to do some research. The S.S. Emma Alexander was built by the New York Ship Building Corporation for The Pacific Coast Steamship Company. The ship's keel was laid down on August 31, 1912 and was launched on May 17, 1913. Originally named the Congress, the ship was damaged in a fire off the Oregon coast in 1916, and then repaired and sold in 1918 to the China Mail Company for use on the San Francisco to Hong Kong route. The Congress was renamed The Nanking. In 1923, the ship was sold to The Admiral Line, renamed the Emma Alexander, and 1n 1924, was returned to service on the Pacific coast routes from San Diego, California, to the bay area, to Victoria, British Columbia, Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The ship went out of service in 1936, and in 1941 was sold to the British Ministry of War Transport Service, survived World war 2, only to be scuttled in the mid-Atlantic in 1946 with a load of gas bombs in her hold. So, we can date the first photo from no earlier than 1924, and no later than 1936. Based on the clothing, closer to 1924. Researching old photos can lead into some interesting directions. When I entered S.S. Emma Alexander into the search engine, all I was hoping for was a date range on the photo, but I also found some history on the coastal liners. The Admiral Line employed white crews, but like the Pullman Railroad Car Company, they employed black stewards. Go to www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/thomasfleming.htm for an article about Thomas Fleming, the future founder of the San Francisco Sun-Reporter, an important black newspaper, who, as an 18 year old, fresh out of Chico High School, was a steward on the Emma Alexander. It's possible that Mr. Flemming served breakfast to this lady. The only other photo with any written information is the photo of her standing in front of the large house, labeled "Monterey, Calif." The date range on these photos look to be from the mid-twenties to the late forties, early fifties.

A Framed Tintype

This one is a fairly large tintype made even bigger by the decorative paper frame. "No 337" written on the back.

The Hollywood Post Office

Did J.E. buy this postcard of the Hollywood Post Office at the Hollywood Post Office? If so why did he mail it from Beverly Hills? Printed on the back, "WESTERN PUBLISHING & NOVELTY CO., LOS ANGELES, CALIF. C.T. ART-COLORTONE REG. U.S. PAT. OFF." Post marked "BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF SEP. 3, 5:30 PM, 1942" And the message, Bev. Hills, Cal. 9/3/42. Dear Janie, Suppose C.B. is still on vacation. hope he is enjoying same. What are you girls doing? Guess D.J. is about ready for school again. Tell her I haven't forgotten her and shall try and answer her letter before I go into the army which may be soon. Tell C.B. to write me as soon as he gets home as I have a matter to take up with him. I'm awfully busy these days working overtime and sleeping overtime too. That's all I do, work & sleep. Answer soon, bye J.E." Addressed to "Mrs. Clyde Elam 4407 Brush Hills Rd. Nashville, Tenn." I'm always finding photos and postcards from the World War 2 era, and I always wonder who survived and who didn't. Most linen postcards started out with a black & white photo that was hand colored, and sometimes somewhat altered before printing, hence they just make it into the realm of photography. Anyone interested in more info on postcards should click on postcards in the labels section.

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.