For this weeks Sepia Saturday I am no where near the theme; though I will do my best to tie it all together.
It's not often you see cabinet cards showing a person displaying something to do with what they did for a living. Now I'm not saying this fellow was a pool shark, but I think we can agree he did like himself some pool playin'. Why else to pose with a cue? How common was it to make a living back then playing pool? And did he need the assistance of a train schedule to get out of town quickly? (Did you just miss that? Notice how I tied the theme in with this photo? Not worth mentioning? Okay, moving along....)
Click on image to see it larger.
Oh sure, he might have just loved the game. Perhaps he was a champion player with some recognition. Alas, there is nothing on this card giving any information. In fact, I can't even find anything about the photographer H. R. Robinson of Brockton, Massachusetts. H. R. must have been somebody because he/she makes a point of letting all know he/she/it was the "Successor to STIFF." That's gotta mean somethin' to someone!
Click on image to see it larger.
Okay, I might be showing my questionable intelligence. Perhaps this isn't a pool cue. Perhaps he played billiards or snooker or carried his own enormous toothpick. What do I know?
I look at this photo and think of the Hole in the Wall Gang of Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid fame. I think it's the hat. That hat makes me think of Butch. And then I notice that the photographer's studio was in the Home Bank Building. Red flags go up. Is this pool shark casing the joint before pulling a heist? Has he just done the same stupid thing Butch and Sundance did? Have his picture taken?
Well buddy, the jig is up. We've got you now!
Then again, maybe he was just a really nice fellow who liked to play pool.
This photo was in the large box of photos my friend Bert gave me a few months ago. I will be having brunch with him and his daughter on Sunday.
And to actually see a fabulous train engine you can look at a post I did last fall of the Pennsylvania Railroad's PRR S1 at the 1939 World's Fair. It was actually my Sepia Saturday post on September 3rd. It's such a beautiful engine that it's worth looking at again. The best train shot in my collection.
QUESTION: What is that thing in the cover on the right on the floor? Is that a Roomba vacuum in it's own little tea cozy?
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