Destroying Photo Albums

Every so often, I feel the need to complain about the wanton destruction of photo albums and the breaking up of collections by antique dealers.   I understand that they're trying to increase their profits by selling individual images, but come on, there's history to think about.  It's true that the average person thinks of war, elections, and famous people when they hear the word history,  but there is a whole other historical past out there; the past of the ordinary, they way people lived, the day by day that's every bit as important as who won the election of  1884.

The dealer who sold me these images, as well as some others that may or may not have come from the same source, saw the two studio portraits as his profit.  When those photos wouldn't pull off the page, out came the razor blade and goodbye photo album.  Now, I admit that they are lovely images, but when I turned them over...all I could think of  was how much more interesting they would have been if I could have put her life into some sort of context.  And if the dealer hadn't cut things up, I might have been able to do that.  The funny thing is, I bought these two photos plus five other images in an envelope, for five dollars.  I would have paid more for a single page of the album, with both sides intact, and even more for the whole album.

Embossed on the second photo, "BAUGH WINFIELD, KANS"  I couldn't find anything about the photographer.  Winfield, Kansas is a town in southern Kansas, current population, 12,000+.

Cycling In 1955

The focus on this photo, dated "1955" is a bit shaky, but I love the old style bike,  the price was right, so I had to have it.

I got my first bicycle ten years after this picture was taken.  I desperately wanted a Schwinn.  My father, who always had an eye for a bargain,  got me a very heavy, chromed behemoth of a Huffy instead.  The house we lived in had a basement garage that was kept open all summer to help with the heat.  One day, someone walked through the open garage door, into the basement and took the Huffy.  My parents were very, very angry.  But they weren't angry with the thief.  They were angry with me.  A couple of months after the Huffy was stolen, my father showed up on one of his occasional visits, climbed into the back of his pickup truck and tossed out an old, used bike as a replacement.  It was an English made Raleigh, far lighter than the Huffy,  with a three speed Sturmy-Archer hub.

I grew up in a river valley in western Pennsylvania, and the Huffy was far too heavy to get up the hill and out of town.  The Raleigh, lighter and with gears,  didn't have that problem.  I've been an avid cyclist ever since.  The best bike isn't the newest or shiniest, it's that one that's ridden.  The Huffy, because of it's weight, had a tendency to stay in the basement, the Raleigh,  well worn, was always on the go.  I even rode it in winter, in the snow.

The North Texas State Normal College Album 6

Love the cow.  Why is that man sneaking up behind the woman?  Click on NTSNC in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.

The North Texas State Normal College Album 5

The end of World War 1 put a lot of planes on the market, and many of those planes were bought by out of work vets who made a living putting on air shows and giving rides to anyone with a few dollars in their pocket.  I like the ladies weird hairdo.  Click on NTSNC in the labels section to bring up the whole collection.

Poor Fisherman's Luck

The last of my super cheap, cheesy stereo cards.  I'm not quite sure what to make of this one.  I'm sure it must be a battle of the sexes thing.  But did they catch their man, or are they throwing him back?  Of course there's a third interpretation.  They're dumping the body.

Aerial Photography

Yet another poorly made, no name stereo card.  This one commemorating aerial photography in World War 1.  Aviation in what was once called the Great war didn't begin with life and death dogfights.  The first military aviators were spotters, gathering information on troop movements.  They were successful enough that shooting them down became a military necessity.  And so was born the dogfight, the synchronized machine gun and eventually the bombing raid.  I always knew that photography could be dangerous.

A Girl From the Golden West

This one is a bit interesting.  The card isn't well made and there are no company names or logos on the back.  It also looks to be a movie tie in.  In 1915, Cecil B. DeMille directed a movie called The Girl of the Golden West.  Close to the title of this card, but just a bit off.  The star of the film was Mabel Van Buren, and the woman on this card looks a lot like her.  Most people think that the movies ended up in Los Angeles because of all the sunny weather.  I'm sure that helped, but the reality is a bit more shady.  Inventor Thomas Edison, the patent holder for early motion picture equipment insisted on being paid for every foot of movie film shot, processed or projected.  To enforce those patents, he hired a goon squad who busted up the film productions that weren't in compliance.  The movies ended up in Hollywood because it was far away form Edison's strong hold in New Jersey.  I like the idea that some low end stereoview company was ripping off Cecil B. DeMille; that they left their company name off the back of the card to make it difficult for DeMille's agents to find them.