Hanging Out At the Beach

The streak is probably a light leak in the camera.  Hey, I used to work in a photo lab and I notice these things.  What can I say.  A group of bathers hanging out on an upturned boat.  Probably from the twenties.  I don't know why I equate the sea wall with Europe, but I do.  Are these people part of Gertrude Stein's lost generation, living in Europe, running from the wall street, and the roaring twenties?

Background History

I didn't buy this photograph for the people.  I bought it for the background.  The posters are a wonderful bit of history.  Right behind the people are advertisements  for a  Dwight L. Elmendorf  lecture, and a People's Symphony Concert. To the left, a benefit for German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in Siberia.  To the right the New York Symphony Orchestra.

 I found a lot of info about Dwight L. Elmendorf on line, but no actual biography.  But are all those bits and pieces about the same man?  The earliest mention of that name was linked to the murder of Maximilian  Eglau, an artist and teacher at the Institution for the Improved Instruction of Deaf-Mutes in New York.  A Dwight L. Elmendorf was the last known person to see Eglau alive.  He also provided an alibi for the Fitzgerald brothers, the prime suspects.  Dwight, also an instructor at the school, was dismissed from his position under cloudy circumstances.  That was in 1896.  Jump ahead to the Spanish-American war were Dwight L. Elmendorf was a photo-journalist.  And then from the early part of the twentieth century through the 1920s Dwight L. Elmendorf made his living as a travel writer and lecturer.  I would say it's a good guess that Dwight the photo-journalist and Dwight the travel writer were one and the same, but Dwight the teacher of the deaf?

The People's Symphony Concert Series started in New York in 1900.  But it wasn't an uptown, for the upper crust,sort of thing.  The whole idea of the People's Concerts was to bring classical music to young people and workers.  The People's Symphony is still in business. As a matter of fact, if you've got $37 to spare and can get to Washington Irving High School in New York City, you can buy tickets right now.   I don't know whether they're still trying to sell tickets to factory workers, but they're still going after the young.

The  New York Symphony poster advertises an appearance by opera singer Alma Gluck.  That was a name that jumped out at me.  Gluck was born Reba Feinsohn in Bucharest, Romania, but emigrated to the United States, with her family, at an early age. She became one of the best known operatic sopranos of her age.  I have some 12 inch, one sided, 78 rpm records she made in my collection.  Listen to the Mockingbird, and Carry Me Back to Old Virginey, the first million selling recording in history.  She was married to concert violinist, Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., and the mother of actor, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.  She retired in 1925.

The poster that really fascinates me is the benefit poster for war prisoners, sponsored by the Austrian Society of New York City, with a performance date of Monday, October 30.  It's obviously from World War 1, and by checking a calendar I was able to date it to 1916.  The United States entered the war in April of 1917, and since Germany and Austria-Hungary became our enemies...well, I doubt there were too many benefits for enemy prisoners after that.

One of the listed performers was Ernestine Schumann-Heink.  Schumann-Heink was born in Austria, which explains her willingness to lend her services.  She became a citizen before the war, in 1905, and spent April 1917 to the end of the war giving free concerts to American troops.  When she died in 1936, Schumann-Heink was buried with full military honors. She spent the last years of her life at her farm in San Diego County, but died in Hollywood.

And finally, the posters look like they're all from Carnegie Hall, so we even have a location.

Medics On the Roof

When I look at these three photos I assume that the men are doctors and the women are nurses.  That's not necessarily true.  American medical schools have been graduating women, in much smaller numbers than today, since the nineteenth century.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think the tall building in the bottom picture is New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Company A, 31st Infantry, Heavy Weapons Unit

I've said it before and I'm saying it again.  Americans are too patriotic.  It's far too easy to stampede us into stupid, pointless conflicts.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not a pacifist.  Give me a reason to fight that makes sense and I'll support war.  World War 2 being a good example.  But, the fact is that many of our wars have been in the foolish category.  Vietnam, Grenada, the second Iraq War, to name a few from my lifetime, were nothing more than a waste of money and lives.  That doesn't mean we should be callous towards our veterans.  That means, in the future, we shouldn't send so many of them to die for no real reason.

The title of the post is what's written on the back. The 31st infantry was formed at Fort McKinley in the Philippines and has the distinction of spending more time in overseas postings than in the United States.  Postings include the Philippines, Siberia, China, Korea and Vietnam.

Winter Sports

Winter is coming and it's time to think about winter sports.  Why is it that only one person acknowledges the camera?  Are the others just unaware or are they too hip to smile and say cheese?  I'm guessing hip detachment, and  the lady  mugging for the camera is the only fun one of the lot.

The Front Porch

This one is labeled, "Cousin Carol, Grandpa C., Mother & Wayne, Aunt Minnie, Marguerite, Me & Cousin Keith"  Another photo that has been cut from a photo album, so we'll never know who Me was.

Los Angeles Civic Center

Yet another linen postcard of downtown Los Angeles.  Take a close look at the the very tall building, the Los Angeles City Hall.  The original photograph was  in black & white and it looks like it had some separation problems.  The tower is white and against a sunny sky, white objects in black & white photos have a tendency to merge into the background.  One way to solve that problem is to draw in an edge line.  Click on the image to bring it up in a larger window and it's obvious that the person who added  color to the image also drew  a black line around the building.

The Los Angeles City Hall was designed by John Parkinson,  (The designer of the Rosslyn Hotel from the previous post.) Albert C. Martin, and John C. Austin.   It opened in 1928 and at the time, at 32 floors and 457 feet,  was the tallest building in L.A.  Until the late 1950's the L.A. City Charter limited building to 150 feet, excluding decorative towers.  City Hall was the tallest building in the city until 1964.  Today, the 73 story U.S. Bank Tower,  at 1018 feet,  is the tallest building in Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County, and the state of California.

The message on the back, "Well, here journey's end where to go from here?  Arrived here 7:00 A.M. Wed. still raring to go, don't want to stop anyplace. Spent a day in Frisco, had to leave, too cold.  George"  Mailed to "Bob R. Sudnick, 52 Piquette St., Detroit, Michigan"  And the postmark, "10 LOS ANGELES CALIF, AUG 6 12 P.M. 1941"  

What a date.  The middle of 1941 meant one thing to  American men and  women.  The last few months of peace before Pearl Harbor.  George was enjoying his trip.  Who knows.  It might have been his first chance to travel.  Six months latter and he was probably off to a military base and then Europe or the south Pacific.  When I read the messages on these old postcards  I always wonder if the writer survived the next five years.