Children 1

I'm not real big on pictures of children, but I do end up with some in the collection.  A few months ago I bought the grab bag of pictures, 100+ photos in an sealed envelope, purchased blind.  So, I'm going to put up some of the kid images from the envelope in the next few days.  Hard to tell when this one was taken.  Originally black & white, hand colored by the studio.

The Burgert Brothers of Tampa, Florida

Take a close look at the lower right hand corner to see the photographers mark, "photo by Burgert Bros. Tampa 360316"   Photography and the United States have an interesting history.  Unlike Europe, a lot of American history happened after the invention of photography.   There were the big things.  The Civil War was well documented by photographers like Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner who followed the campaigns with their large format cameras, while the individual soldiers went in for tintypes and cartes de visite to send back home.

The Burgert family represented a very different type of history.  The first Burgert, Samuel, showed up in the Tampa area of Florida when it was little more than a local, sparsely populated fishing port.  For ninety years, from the 1870s to the 1960s, the family recorded the rise of a major urban area.  The Burgert Bros, were Samuel's six sons as well as one daughter-in-law.  They took portraits, pictures of businesses, hurricane damage, and anything else that came along.  I found a great article, with pictures, at www.tampapix.com/burgert.htm

The Florida Lumber and Millwork Association was founded in 1920 as a trade group and is now known as the Florida Building Material Association.

The Destruction of Hattonchatel

When I saw the back of this card, I knew there was no point in trying a translation.  The handwriting is too small and run together.  If someone wants to have a go at it, be my guest.

The Chateau de Hattonchatel is located in the commune of Vigneulles-les-Hattonchatel in the Meuse department of France.  (Glad I got through that)  The site was originally fortified in in 860 by Hatto, the Bishop of Verdun.  Built on a promontory overlooking the Seine River Valley, it was the chief stronghold of the bishops until 1546.  The castle was destroyed in 1918 during World War 1.  After the war it was reconstructed between 1923-1928.  Today it's a hotel, conference and wedding center.  I'm a little puzzled why someone would want to memorialize the destruction of a 958 year old building.

Bad Natalie

Natalie Wood look-a-like ignores dying granny.  Bad Natalie!  Printed, "AUG 72"

Please Visit Me

 I've had a few problems with this postcard.  I'm  fairly certain that I've got the message right, but the names and address....let's just say that my handwriting is better and I've got lousy handwriting.

This card is postmarked, "FAYETTE CITY, PA 5 PM 1911"  It's addressed to "Miss Bella Kahoir (?) 935 Terrace (?) Str., McKeesport, Pa."  And the message, "Dear Sister, When is any one of you coming out to se me love all Moroi (?)"

For someone like me who grew up in coal country, western Pennsylvania, this is a fascinating card.  Fayette City is the sight of a legendary coal mining disaster.  On December 7, 1907, an explosion at the Naomi Mine killed 34 miners.  Fayette City was, and still is, a pretty small town.  Those 34 deaths pretty much wiped out the working age, male population of the community.  Perhaps Bella moved to McKeesport, a mill town on the Monogahela River, south of Pittsburgh after the disaster.  Perhaps Moroi had married a miner and moved to Fayette City. In either case, there's a good chance  that one of the sisters, possibly both, lost a husband, or father or brother in the mines.

When I was in high school, we had to take a course in Pennsylvania history.  I can remember spending a couple of weeks going over mill and mine disasters.  In 1907, most coal companies would have given the family of a dead miner a few hundred dollars, a months free rent in company owned housing and then that family would have been evicted and left to fend for itself.  If a young widow didn't find another husband or a job of her own it was starvation, homelessness or prostitution.

The lady on the card is Phyllis Dare, and English stage actress born in 1890, died 1975.  She was noted for her work in musicals.

Swimming at the Creek

If you grew up in a small rural town like I did,  you'd know that a creek lies somewhere betwixt and between a river and a brook.  Of course, how that's perceived varies with where you're from.  In western Pennsylvania, where I'm grew up, rivers mean the Allegheny or the Ohio and this stream would fall into the creek category.  In Nevada, people would probably see it as a good sized river.  In any case, it looks like a good place to cool off on a hot summers day.  I used to swim in Roaring Run and Crooked Creek.  And sometimes, I'd just wade in Hilty's Hollow.

No names, dates or location on the print.  There is a processor's mark, "Fox Tone Print, FOX CO. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS"  That doesn't mean much.  Fox was a regional lab with a large mail order business.

Long Dresses on Long Beach

I've noticed a tendency of blogger to cut off  the right side of images, so hopefully this slightly wider scan will give a fuller view.  And if not, well, so it goes.

Another hand colored postcard that no doubt started out as a black & white photo.  Imagine going to the beach wearing those long dresses and wool suits.  And wool swimsuits!  I don't see how they stayed afloat.