The Voyage 1

I found this interesting collection of photos from a sea voyage, taken sometime in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, that I'll be putting up over the next few weeks. I don't know whether they were taken by a professional photographer, a crew member, or passenger.

Written on the back of the first photo in the column, "German Sailing Ship Thekla, Atlantic" Much to my surprise, I was able to run down some information on the Thekla. It was built in 1892 in Newcastle, England was registered in Hamburg, Germany and ran aground in a hurricane at North End Beach in Algoa Bay on the east coast of South Africa. It was carrying a cargo of sugar from Mauritius. The second photo is labeled, "Smith Chanel." The third, "Caleto Coloso, Chile." Today, Caleta Coloso is a private port owned by Minera Escandida, Ltd., a Chilean copper company and is used to ship copper ore. Caleta Coloso is in the Antofagasta area in northern Chili. The fourth photo is labeled, "Cape Pillar Straights of Magellan." The final photo is labeled, "Cape Forward Straights of Magellan."

Number 700, Olita Brown and Her Dobro

Post number 700, (I never thought it would last this long.) and it's time to visit the past. When I first started putting up these old photos, I wasn't getting a lot of visitation. In a good week, I was lucky to get a dozen or so hits, and it wasn't uncommon to not have any. Because so many of the early posts have gone unseen, I've decided to do a repeat from those early days every so often. At least every 100, maybe more often, but not that often. This snapshot of Olita Brown and her Dobro was put up on August 8, 2009, and then I wrote a very brief paragraph about the history of the Dobro guitar. This time, I'm just going to suggest that the viewer click on the image to bring it up in a bigger window and check out that wild dress she's wearing. I can't imagine it was store bought. Click on musical instruments in the labels to see the original post and get a very brief over view of the Dobro.

Fishing in Color

A very faded color. That's the problem with old color snapshots. They have a tendency to turn pink. At least this guy looks like he had fun, if not a lot of success. Stamped on the back, "THIS IS A KODACOLOR PRINT MADE BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY T. M. REGIS. U. S. PAT. OFF. Week Ending Nov. 3, 1956 II Ro 1"

Spring

The ice is breaking up on the lake and, while it's still a bit chilly, those winter coats aren't needed anymore. But where was this picture taken? I wish I knew.

Dancing the Night Away

How did she get on the dance floor without knocking stuff over? At the very least, that dress must have kept other dancers off the dance floor.

Get Your Kicks on Route 99

Remember the good old days when driving across the country could take a month; when driving across the country meant local and state routes, not all of them paved; sleeping in tourist hotels, auto camps and eating at lunch counters? Neither do I. I was born in the 1950s and don't remember a world without multi lane, limited access highways. If you're willing to put in 16 hour days, it's possible to go from Atlantic to Pacific in three or four days. On the other hand, my first cross country trip took four months, and no interstate highways. Written on the back of the first photo, "Nov. 1942 Erie, Pa." There are some other words, but they've been inked out and are unreadable. On the second, "Dorothy Fischer Dot Fisher across 26th St. Erie, Pa." And my apologies to Bobby Troup.

From Europe

Mother and daughter? Sisters, perhaps? A real photo postcard. Nothing written on the back, but the stock reads "CARTE POSTALE" so it's from France, or possibly the French speaking areas of Switzerland or Belgium.