SISTERS, part two

This is May's sister, Agnes. I'm betting they were an interesting family. Agnes is quite sultry. The Sultry and Saucy Sisters. It would sure be a hoot if the next time I go back to the antique store I found another sister in the box.

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Aunt Agnes

Dads oldest

sister

now dead

1976

SISTERS, part one

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This lovely lass, who looks a bit to me like a saloon gal, is named May. On the back of this tattered photo is written:

Aunt May -

Dads sister

Now May Maldipe

This photo was bought for a dollar at an antique store a few weeks ago. On Friday I bought a photo of her sister at the same antique store that apparently wasn't in the box a few weeks ago. Well, maybe it was, but I didn't notice it. Let's just say the sisters had style, especially May. And May had an attitude. Would you say "saucy" would be a good word to describe May? Her sister not as much attitude. Her sister will be the next post.

Pose for mommy. THAT'S A GOOD BOY.

Kids want to please their parents, until they reach the age when they don't even want to know their parents. This little fellow, looking confused, has been dressed up in a little sailor suit and told to salute the photographer. Yes, he looks cute, just as they wanted, but I wonder if he enjoyed it? Was he a little performer at heart as some kids are or was he simply obeying orders?

This is a RPPC that had been glued into a scrapbook. You can see the black fibers on the left from the old page. I paid extra for this one at an estate sale a few years ago. He was just so darn cute that I knew he had to be mine. There he was on a table full of stuff with people pawing through all of it. I got to the sale late and really couldn't believe that nobody had bought him.

I find at estate sales sometimes I do just as well showing up late as being one of the first in. It's pretty much a crap shoot.

For MOM

Had to break out of here today to keep my mind in focus. Sometimes just meeting deadlines day-in-day-out makes my eyes cross. So off I wandered to my favorite antique store and perused the old box of photos for a buck. Found this little jewel.

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Nothing is written on the back so I don't know if this was made for a mother, a grandmother, auntie.... The "doily" is made from plastic with brown ric-rac. The photo is attached to a thin piece of cardboard with beige corner tabs. School project? Boy Scouts? We'll never know.

A few years BEFORE THE FALL

On the back of this snapshot, bought at an estate sale, it says "In New York City 1925." There they are, at around 3:20 pm, according to the clocks seen in the shot, enjoying the afternoon sun. Within 4 years some were jumping out of buildings in distress over the market crash. I have no idea what street this is in NYC. I find it fascinating all of the men are wearing straw boaters. The uniform of the day. Or was it Straw Boat Friday?

It really does look like a canyon. It reminds me of some of the closed in canyons you find in the Southwest. Walk through parts of Zion in the afternoon and see the deep shadows. New York City is full of man made canyons only a little over 100 years old compared to the natural canyons created over millions of years. Have to admit, I'll take the natural canyons and their silence over the noise of a big city.

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At least, YOUR SHOES WERE SHINED

I bought this cabinet card last year on a brief sojourn to the Gold Country. An antique store with no customers and one seller willing to sell things at half-price. So for two dollars I got this little fellow who travelled all the way from Pennsylvania to California.

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I wonder, if when his family saw this shot, they noticed his face was ever so slightly blurred. His feet are in focus, but his face isn't. I hadn't even noticed it until I enlarged it. It would have been such a disappointment to those who loved him. "Well John, at least your shoes were clean. Sigh." Let's hope Aunt Marie was pleasantly surprised when she received this from her nephew, John Conyer (?) Hays in 1896.

As to the photographer, A. E. Warren, I've found other photos online taken by him. An example here, with different more fanciful type, and here.

In 1894 Warren wrote a letter that was published in The Photographic Journal of America, Vol. 31 about the costs of doing business.

In 1898 he ran some ads in Meyer Brothers Druggist, Vol. 20 catalog.

Alas, also in 1898, tragedy befell Mr. Warren when his studio and home burned down. A brief piece was printed in Wilson's Photographic Magazine, Vol. 34, about the need for insurance.

Other than this I'm not finding anything about A. E. Warren. Nor have I found anything about young John Conyer Hays. At some point these two crossed paths and now they have crossed paths again 112 years later.

Uncle Sid, THE FORGOTTEN MARX BROTHER*

Most people think the forgotten Marx Brother is Zeppo. Nah, it's Uncle Sid. He's the truly forgotten Marx Brother.

This gem of a photo was found at an estate sale. In fact, the same sale where I found the shot of Frank Sinatra. How Uncle Sid slipped through the cracks is a Hollywood story told behind closed doors. He simply looked too much like Groucho and the head of the studio figured the audience would get confused. Uncle Sid did get to do some stand-in work and can be briefly seen in the following video clip, but I dare you to find him.

Sid self-published a book entitled "The Mark of a Marx" which came out in 1973. Occasionally copies can be found at flea markets, so keep your eyes open. It had a bright yellow cover with an "X" on it with "Sid Marx" under it. Simple, to the point. It's, as I recall, 96 pages long. Well, the text is only 81 pages with the rest blank. It's been said, though never verified, that Sid drew pictures of squirrels in several of the copies. Again, that hasn't been verified. But if you're lucky enough to find a copy be careful what you pay. If it's got a squirrel on a back page you've hit the jackpot!

* The above copy is pure nonsense. Well, okay, maybe not 100% pure, but it's most definitely nonsense. It will not float in water.

BEST FRIENDS

The past few months have been troubling on the health front. I've been through a variety of tests and still no answers. At least I know it's not cancer. The specialist called to say "Nothing to see, that's the good news." I'm sort of figuring I'll just let it be. I've lived with worse pain over the years. This will either go away or actually develop into something they can figure out. Whatever.

One of my best friends came to visit last week. I have two "sisters" I consider my best friends. One I met at age 7 aboard ship to Hawaii, the other I met at age 18 my second year of art college. Though genetically not linked, we are linked through our life histories. We are intertwined as much as a strand of DNA. It was so good to have her here. We laughed as usual and shared our usual verbal shorthand. I already miss her.

I'm assuming these women were "sisters." DNA or no DNA, they were somehow linked and decided to get all gussied up and go out for a portrait. I'm glad they did. I hope they had a hell of a time out on the town.

A HOLLYWOOD PARTY

There used to be elegant nightclubs in Hollywood. Not so much today.

Yesterday morning I got up really early...okay...early for me. I headed out for an estate sale. I didn't expect much and that's what it delivered. I was in the door with the first group so I know I didn't miss anything. It was more of a moving sale than estate sale with personal items not for sale. The house itself was very nice with a beautiful private grove of redwoods out front. A personal park. Lovely.

I zipped through the house, not finding anything of interest. But then what I zero in on is what most people are ignoring. On the way out I thought, "What the heck, check out the garage." It was there behind a large framed photo of a little girl in some sort of bright gymnastics costume that I found this photo. It was in a crummy black metal frame. You know the kind, black metal with some "gold" beading on the edge near the glass. Cheesy cardboard on the back that has a die-cut so you can fold-out a stand. They wanted a buck. Okie dokie. I'm a sucker for things for a buck.

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As soon as I got home I took the photo out of the frame and then it was my wonderful surprise to see the back of the cardboard souvenir frame in which the photo was inserted. Oh sure, the front has all the wonderful signatures, but it was the back with the War Bonds stamp that excited me. I'm easily pleased. And then to see "Hollywood Nite Club Photos" had me all a twitter (no, not the stupid minimal character posting social networking drivel).

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I have no idea what nightclub this was. I'm hoping someday someone finds this post and recognizes the painting on the wall in the background. It was très elegant. Look at the waiter with the white bow tie. You don't find that at Applebees.

The more I looked at the photo I found myself becoming nostalgic for a time that was already past by the time I was born. And I wondered about the people. Who were they and what was the occasion? I'd imagine most of these people, if still alive, are in their 80s. Were any of these smiling fellows sent off to Europe or the Pacific never to return? And what of the smiling young ladies with their corsages? Well, okay, the one isn't smiling. She seems to be longing for someone across the table and not who she's with. The guy on the lower left reminds me of Leo Gorcey from the Bowery Boys. I was addicted to the Bowery Boys when I was a kid, watching them every Saturday morning on a local channel. This fellow is far too young to actually be Gorcey, but he's got that Muggs look.

All and all it was a good estate sale, even if I only found one item. I got to walk around a private redwood grove, see a garish photo of a little girl in a gymnastic suit (I did not buy it), and found this joyous moment caught on film. People appearing happy AND there's a cake. Love photos with cakes.

Now if someone could just identify the nightclub I'd be so happy myself.

UPDATE: Received a comment with a bit of information about Hollywood Nite Club Photos:

I just inherited a few of these pictures, address for Hollywood Nite Club Photos was 6304 Riley Way, Carthay Circle Theatre Bldg, Los Angeles 36,Calif. YOrk 5293.

If this is indeed where the company was headquartered it would mean the building is gone. The Carthay Circle Theatre was torn down decades ago. It was a part of old Hollywood and the location of the "Gone With the Wind" premiere. Thanks to Craig Satersmoen for the information.

________

Found another vernacular photography blog, The New Found Photography. Stumbled upon it while hunting for information about "Hollywood Nite Club." Perhaps others are already aware of this site. I'll be adding them to the links to the left.

CHURCHYARD OF PRINCE GEORGE WINYAH Georgetown, South Carolina

Sooner or later someone doing genealogy research is going to find this post and say "Wow! That's where my ancestor's are buried." That's what's interesting about blogging, what seems to be useless information I impart somehow ends up meaning something to someone. It's happened several times.

I have titled this post using the copy written on the back of the photo, "Churchyard of Prince George Winyah, Georgetown, S. C." I have no idea where I got this. I found it the other day in a large chest that is full of several thousand post cards.

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It's a wonderful old cemetery with Spanish moss hanging from the trees and old headstones. Oh so perfect for a Halloween eve. Or perhaps a walk on a warm summers night with lighting bugs flitting around the moss and stones.

I did a wee bit of googling and found the following at Wikipedia about the church and cemetery. Funny thing is that I'm not finding any other photos online. That seems a bit strange considering it's historical relevance to South Carolina.

Prince George Winyah Church is an Episcopal church in Georgetown, South Carolina. Prince George Winyah is one of the oldest continuous congregations in South Carolina, and the church building is one of the oldest churches in continuous service in South Carolina. Prince George Winyah (Episcopal) and Churchyard was named to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971.

Starting in 1716, Anglican parishes were electoral and administration units in South Carolina government. Therefore, Prince George Parish and Prince George Winyah Parish can also refer to an electoral and administrative district that had the same geographic boundaries as this church.

Early History

As early colonialist spread across the South Carolina lowcountry, there was a need of a new parish north of the existing St. James Santee Parish. Prince George Parish was established on March 10, 1721. It was named after the Prince of Wales, who became King George II. There were two potential locations for the church: an inland settlement on the Black River and Winyah on the Sampit River and Winyah Bay at the location of today's Georgetown. In 1726, a wooden church was built inland on of a bend of the Black River near Brown's Ferry and twelve miles from the present Georgetown.

On April 9, 1734, the parish was divided to form St. Frederick's Parish. The wooden church was transferred to the new parish.

Prince George Winyah Church

The earliest vestry records for Prince George Winyah are January 13, 1737.A subscription campaign for a new church at Winyah was begun in 1737. This was supplemented by an import tax at the port and £1,000 from the colonial Assembly. Starting in 1740, the bricks were collected. Land was donated by William Screven, who was the first Baptist minister in Carolina, and his son Elisha Screven. Construction was begun in the mid 1750s. The cornerstone was laid in 1745.

The church was built of English red bricks with local oyster shell mortar. The cornerstone was laid on October 30, 1745. The nave has a rectangular plan with five bays. The center bays have side doors with fanlights and the others have windows with fanlights. Brick pilasters flank the side doors and are at the corners of the church. The roof is hipped over the sanctuary and has a Jacobean or Dutch gable at the entrance. The nave has a plastered, barrel-vaulted ceiling. The pews are paneled, wooden box pews. There is a center aisle and a cross aisle at the side doors. The floor is flagstone. The first service was held on August 16, 1747.

The church was occupied by British troops in the Revolutionary War. During the occupation, the church's interior was burned. Tradition also indicates that the church was used for a stable.

A chancel with a semielliptical apse and a gallery was built about 1809. A vestibule entrance with double doors and a tower was constructed in 1824. The brick tower had a square cross section topped with an octangular section with cupola and large cross. A clock and balustrated belfry is in the upper section. A Mohler organ was installed in 1850.

In 1823, Francis Huger Rutledge was ordained a deacon. He eventually became bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida. In 1828, Anthony Toomer Porter, who founded Porter Military Academy in Charleston, was baptized.

On February 25, 1865, the Union Navy occupied Georgetown. The church remained open.

In 1871, the chancel furnishings were replaced and the altar was enlarged. In 1874, the church was given a bell and a clock. A stained glass window from St. Mary's Chapel at Hagley on the Waccamaw was installed.

Churchyard

The churchyard is surrounded by a brick wall and contains the cemetery. In addition to parishioners and clergy of Prince George Winyah, the cemetery has the graves of several notable South Carolinians: Paul Trapier, who was a patriot and was elected to the Second Continental Congress; James H. Trapier, who was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army, Rev. Dr. Anthony T. Porter; Capt. Roger Shackelford, born in North Carolina and among the early Shackelford family of Georgetown; and Governor Robert F. W. Allston. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

A page from MR. ROBERTS LIFE

The past days have been spent showing you images from one page in Mr. Roberts' scrapbook. There are three other shots that did not get scanned properly that are near the binding. I will save those for a future post after I have rescanned them. Then we'll be back to "This is the lady who is next to the medal...which is next to the parrott....

For now, here is the page. And you can see there is a photo in the upper left corner that was not featured these past few days. It was actually the image used in a post last September called "THE WATERFALL across Yosemite Valley." I guess I should properly identify them sooooooo...This is the couple...who are next to Mr. Roberts and a Lady...who are above the sailor...who is above the parrot...who is next to the medal.

For now we bid adieu to Mr. Roberts and friends.

MR. ROBERTS with a friend in Alaska

This is Mr. Roberts in the 1930s in Alaska with a friend, no doubt a shipmate. So what we have is...Mr. Roberts in Alaska with a friend...next to a parrot...which is below the sailor...which is next to the woman...well, by now you know the drill. It's in Mr. Roberts' scrapbook

Mr. Roberts and A LADY

This is Mr. Roberts feelin' frisky with a lady....next to Mr. Roberts with a pipe...next to the civilian...who is next to the sailor...who is next to the woman...who is next to the sailor...who is above the parrot...which is next to the medal...on the page of Mr. Roberts scrapbook.

There will be a test, so pay attention.

The MAN WITH THE PIPE in the cold

This is Mr. Roberts with a pipe...next to the civilian...who is next to the sailor...who is next to the woman...who is next to the sailor...who is above the parrot...which is next to the medal...on the page of Mr. Roberts scrapbook.

Only a few more to go on this page in Mr. Roberts scrapbook.

The CIVILIAN AND THE SAILOR

This is the civilian...who is next to the sailor...who is next to the woman...who is next to the sailor...who is above the parrot...which is next to the medal...on the page of Mr. Roberts scrapbook.