FRIENDS

The last of the ladies on the one page in Bill and Dick's Excellent Adventure album.

IRENE HORSLEY in 1914

No information about Irene Horsley other than her name. In this getup she looks like she should be playing a bit part in the Music Man. In fact, I'm not sure there wasn't a character in the movie that didn't wear this exact outfit.



I do wonder how old Irene was when this shot was taken. How long did girls wear these huge bows? To say the least, I'm glad it went out of fashion. I've seen some shots of girls far too old to be wearing huge bows in their hair.

It is possible Irene came from Nebraska because this shot was purchased at the same estate sale as the previous two images.

UPDATE: Thank you, Bulldog.

Irene Horsley wife of Claude A. Perry. Born November 29, 1896, died April 9, 1977. (http://nebraskagravestones.org/view.php?id=133923)

Ship shape AT THE SHORE

Last week, on Sepia Saturday, I featured photos from a trip two fellows, Bill and Dick, took across the United States in 1914. This week I begin with another photo from that album, then, using the theme of going to the beach/coast/shore, I give you a variety of folks having fun in the sun.

This first shot was taken on May 16th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. That is Dick in the cart. The journal entry says that you could rent one of these carts for 30 cents an hour. It's depressing to think about.

I remember going to Atlantic City as a child. I fondly remember the boardwalk and the beach; I have no recollection of people being pushed in carts.

The rest of these are nothing more than glimpses of past beachwear from the early 20th century to the late 1950s or early '60s.

And last, but certainly not least...I just don't know. Prison uniforms, cult, or beachwear? I'm thinking if these outfits got wet they took a very long time to dry and could easily take you down in a riptide. What would they think of the beachwear today?

Bill and Dick's Excellent Adventure IN NEW YORK

This week I’m right on the theme at Sepia Saturday. In honor of our host Alan, and his trip to New York, I give you Bill and Dick’s Excellent Adventure.

A few years ago, when I could still afford to go to estate sales, I arrived late at one after most buyers had already emptied the house. To my astonishment I found an old photo album on the coffee table. Why was this left? What about it did not entice a buyer?

The album consists mostly of a trip two fellows took across country in 1914 between May 5th and June 5th. Their trip originated in San Francisco. Most of the images are just one or the other, Bill or Dick, sometimes both, posing for the camera. They’re not great photos, just ordinary snapshots. Usually there is nothing significant in the background to indicate where they are; you have to read the handwritten caption across the bottom of each image. What took my eye was the included typed journal; simple log of what they did each day. Nothing special unless we look at it with our eyes 97 years later. Then it becomes a bit of a treasure.

As you look at the images and read the journal remember that at this point World War I had not yet begun. Within weeks of their return to the San Francisco Bay Area the world was at war.

Click on any image to see it larger.

I have done two posts in the past about these same fellows. You can see them here and here.

There are two big mysteries never solved about this book:

Who took all of the photos of Bill and Dick together in the various locations? There was no other person traveling with them.

And...who are those ladies at Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and at the top of the Statue of Liberty? They are never mentioned.

I may not be able to get around to all fellow Sepia Saturday posters until next week so I apologize for being late with my comments.

UPDATE: I got to thinking about the ship which is mentioned when the fellas toured the harbor. I did a little digging and found the following links about the Hamburg-American Liner Vaterland. Not long after the fellas saw here she was seized by the U. S. and was eventually turned into a troop ship.

Time Magazine April 1, 1935

New York Times

An article with photos that was originally published in the September, 1937, edition of Fortune

New York Times

This is ANNIE

Meet Annie Rhebb. At least I think that's her name. I'm not sure. You might read the back of the photo and come up with a different interpretation. If so, let me know.

Click on images to see them larger.

Annie is quite a bit different than Rosa, though they are contemporaries. The first photo I posted of Rosa last year was taken around the same time as this photo, 1914. What a difference an ocean makes. Rosa in Paris. Annie in Ripplebrook.

I know nothing about Annie and do not have any other photos of her. She represents naive American girlhood in 1914 while Rosa represented the drama of a country at war.

Today what strikes me about this photo is Annie's hat. For that to make sense you really need to see my post today at my other blog, LANA TURNER was staring back at me. Annie is wearing a dark hat with white feathers. At my other site Lana Turner is wearing a dark hat with white feathers.

Annie, turn the feathers upside down! You won't believe the difference it makes.

BILL AND DICK'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE continued

Here we have Bill and Dick at Coney Island on their 1914 cross country adventure. You can see Bill in the earlier post "Bill and Dick's Excellent Adventure" in Washington D.C. 

Now, it's time for a sing-a-long. Pitch pipe please. Does everybody know the tune? Okay, sing along.

In the sea, in the sea, 

To our knees in the sea.

You and I, you and I, 

Barely wet we will be.

When those waves come a rollin' in 

We will sink or swim 

And if we are lucky

Find a honey.

Over and over

We'll try every day.

By the end of the week

Once again on our way.

I love to be inside the sea,

Beside the sea,

Beside the seaside,

By the beautiful sea.

Click on image to see it larger.

With apologies to Harold Atteridge and Harry Carroll who composed the original By the Beautiful Sea in 1914 for the musical "For Me and My Gal".

Bill & Dick's EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

I have an old photo album full of wonderful vernacular photographs that also contains a typed journal. The majority of the photos show two friends, Bill and Dick, who travelled all over the United States in 1914. They left San Francisco on May 5th and returned June 5th. During that month they traveled mostly by train across country arriving in Washington D.C. on May 12th. Below you will find a photo of Dick with a Mrs. Nolan, a sturdy woman if I ever saw one. Mrs. Nolan is referenced in the journal entry. It's fun seeing how formal the people dressed in contrast to the slobs most of us are today when traveling.

Bill and Dick seemed to have remained friends for many years after the trip and the album contains photos of them with wives and children.

Though nothing particularly interesting seems to have happened on the trip, at least not by our 21st century voyeuristic standards, Bill and Dick did have a good time. It's fun to read the journal and look at the photos of the two of them standing in front of buildings/trees/water and sitting/standing near different modes of transportation. I've also used some of the photos in my Blurb book and will be including more in the next book.

I previously posted a photo from this album under the entry "Giddyup Ostrich."