Old California 1

I picked up this small collection of California snapshots from an on-line estate sale. There are 33 images in the group, which I will be posting as three setts of 11. The photographer's life seems to have been centered around the bay area, both San Francisco and Oakland, and the Los Angeles area, for the first ten years or so of the twentieth century. The photo of the tower is easily recognizable as the ferry building in downtown San Francisco. It's still there and still in use. The Lyric Theater sign isn't much use in identifying a location. Lyric Theater was just too common a name for early music halls and Vaudeville theaters. The mansion on the hill photo is labeled, "Home on hill above Ocean at Santa Monica." For those who don't know California, Santa Monica is right next to Los Angeles. The house looks familiar to me, and the next time I'm in Santa Monica, I'll see if I can find it. Pacific palisades, I would think. The football statue from the Berkley Campus is printed on postcard stock, and while it could be a commercially produced card, the lack of patent and copyright info on the back makes me think it might have been printed in a home darkroom. The baby carriage photo is labeled, "Betty at 241 E-31 ST, Los Angeles." The ostrich pictures could have been shot at any of the farms in California that raised exotics for meat, and hides, but it looks like the sight of the commercial ostrich farm in South Pasadena. There is an apartment building on the sight now. The two children photo has a difficult to make out embossing, but under a magnifying glass it looks like, "Mushet Los Angeles." The two Asian gentlemen image has Chinese letters down the left margin, and in English, "Heap Good." And my favorite from this group; the Shriner's photo. California has always been a state that puts a value on boosterism. It's our real estate based economy, I think.

The Latin Quarter

I've just picked up a small collection of nightclub souvenir photo folders, all from the same source, all from New York City, and I'll be publishing them on an irregular basis, grouped by nightclub and folder design. They must have been owned by a woman, because they all smell of the same perfume.

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The Latin Quarter was opened by Lou Walters, father of newscaster Barbara Walters, in 1942. It was located at 1580 Broadway, near 47th Street. The original Latin Quarter, also owned by Walters, was in Boston. The Quarter was famous for it's on going floor shows, chorus girls and some of the biggest headliners of the day, including Frank Sinatra, Sophie Tucker, and the Andrews Sisters. Walters sold the club in the 1950's. New ownership increased the skin and made it a more adult nightclub. In 1969, the unionized chorus girls went on strike. Already at a disadvantage from competition with rock clubs, unable to pay it's rent, the Latin Quarter closed. In 1969, it reopened as the Cine Lido, an adult art house, specializing in European porn. In 1978, the theater closed and reopened as the 22 Steps Disco. From 1979 through 1984, the building was a legitimate theater, first named the 22 Steps Theater, then the Princess Theater, and then the Latin Quarter Theater. In 1984, the building was, once again, a nightclub. Still named the Latin Quarter, it was one of the first clubs in the New York hip-hop scene. Renamed the Penguin Club, it was notorious for fights, shootings and stabbings. The building was torn down in 1989. Anyone interested in the history of New York area nightclubs should visit www.tipsontables.com. Specifically for the Latin Quarter, www.tipsontables.com/latinquarter.html. Stamped on the back of the folder, "SOUVENIR PHOTO $1.00 REMEMBRANCE OF A PLEASANT EVENING AT LATIN QUARTER. For extra copies write to: PLANETARY PHOTO 311 West 34th Street, BRyant 9-7440 Ask for number on back of photograph." Written in pencil on the inside front cover, "To Susan and Evelyn-My best and everything good to two great girls-and here's to our most delightful time, such as we had tonight. Affectionately Don McGrace." As always, click on nightclub in the labels section to bring up more old nightclub souvenir photo folders.

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."