Mildred Gets Around

While I know that most of these old color scenic postcards are hand tinted black & white photos, it's always nice to see some proof. Take a look at the base of the News Building card and other building that are clearly a photograph can be seen. Click on the image to bring it up in a bigger window, and you can even see people and cars. The caption of the first card, "THE NEWS BUILDING is considered one of the finest structures in New York. It cost ten million dollars to build. The tower rises 36 stories: a nine-story newspaper plant adjoining. The facade on the front of the building contains figures, carved from stone, representing people from all walks of life. The words "He Made So Many of Them" is a quotation of Lincoln's. The beautiful News Lobby draws thousands of visitors daily. An additional attraction is a guide service through the newspaper plant. Have you been through?" No caption on the second card. Publisher of the News Building card, "LUMITONE PHOTOPRINT, NEW YORK. MADE IN U.S.A." The fountain card, "Published by B. S. Reynolds Co., Washington, D.C." Post marks, "NEW YORK , N. Y. STA P, OCT 19 6:30 PM 1937" and, "WASHINGTON, D. C. OCT 26, 11 AM 1937" Both cards are addressed to, "Mr. & Mrs. J. A. Wainscott, 623 So. Vancouver St., Los Angeles, Calif." The message on the first, "Tues. Dear Folks, Arrived here yesterday. We will stay for 1 week. It is raining today so I don't know what we will do. Had a beautiful drive down from W. Hawes yesterday. We are staying in the center of New York-Love Mildred & Cliff." And on the other, "Wash D.C. Dear Folks, We arrived about 9 o'clock this morning drove around & saw many things all day. Went through the Capitol & Some institutes of Art & Science. I think we will leave for Indiana tomorrow & go to Anderson first & then Indianapolis. I hope you are all fine. Love, Mildred." Why don't parents name their daughters Mildred anymore? Seems like a nice name to me.

Three Bears Number 500

Here's my dilemma. I love to hit the road. When I have the money, I don't have the time. When I have the time, I don't have the money. Back in the old days when I was still working at the photo lab, I had to squeeze everything into a three week vacation. Every three of four years, I would go to the Olympic peninsula in Washington state to go backpacking. I'd leave Los Angeles right after work, drive as far north as I could and sleep along side the interstate. At Portland, after a stop at Powell's Books (Book lovers should go to their website.), I'd drive out to Astoria on the Pacific coast and then drive to Olympic National Park. I've been there at least a dozen times, and every trip it either rained or snowed. I loved it. And then a ferry trip to Victoria, across the sound, a stop at Seattle. Minor league baseball on the way home. What else could I ask for?

On the back of the picture of the lady with the ocean in the background, "At Mora on Pacific Ocean, Sept 6, 1927." The sea stacks, "Rocks & Breakers at Mora, Sept. 1927." and the lady with the two bears, a bit of humor, "Three Bears near Forks, Wash. Sept. 1927." In 1927 it was still Mt. Olympus National Monument, created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1909. His relative, President Franklin Roosevelt, in 1938, signed legislation making it Olympic National Park.

This is my 500th post. Believe me, I had no idea it would go on this long.

True Color, Grayscale, and Silvering

Every time I scan in a photograph I have to make a decision whether I should use the grayscale or the true color setting. As a former professional black & white printer, I'm always tempted to go grayscale, but after some thought, I decided that, for this blog, I should do my best to duplicate the look of the original. That would be an easy decision for this image. The original is a mounted albumen print with a rich brown, sepia tone. But with many photographs the choice is far less obvious. Many of the old snapshots I have in the collection are in that zone between a nice black & white photo with blacks, whites, and gray mid-tones, and slightly yellowish-brown tones, caused by a less than successful, final, archival wash. When I worked at photo labs, one of my jobs was operating a copy camera. Sometimes our customers would bring in old family photos, and some of those would be leaching photographic silver and, of course, silver reflects light. When prints aren't washed or fixed properly, over time the residual silver will begin to show on the surface of the print. When making prints from copy negs, if the silvering wasn't too bad, we could always burn in backgrounds or print to a non matching contrast to hide the problem. When scanning a print into a computer the silver can make it almost impossible to get a decent scan. There is a bit of silvering on this print, seen in the uneven tones in the bottom third of the print. Mounted on cardboard, labeled, "Milton Loryea SPOKANE WASH." Written on the back, "Charles Butter."

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Added: Milton Loryea Photo Studio was listed in the Spokane city directory from 1893 to 1909. He and his brother Archie, also a photographer moved to Spokane from San Jose, California in 1892. Archie died in 1900.

Hobo of the Great Depression

This image is a perfect example of my love/hate relationship to old photo dealers. I was told that this photograph was taken from an album, and labeled "bum, Washington, D.C. 1934." Maybe that's true, or maybe it was just something the dealer told me to make a $2.00 sale. In any case, in an album, this image would have had historical context. It would be possible to see what the photographer was drawn to. It could have shown a much broader picture of the United States during the great depression. As a stand alone image, removed from the album, it's an interesting image, and nothing else.