THE QUIET ART OF READING from Tattered and Lost

Now that Christmas has passed, I can be a bit more vocal about my latest creation since those who received it as a gift won't have had their surprise taken away by a post.

Tattered and Lost: The Quiet Art of Reading is a book that came about during a dinner conversation when reading became the topic of discussion. Since the future looks questionable for finding vintage snapshots with the advent of everything being digital, and so few people getting actual prints made, I wondered what would happen to images of people reading actual printed material. Will the future be just shots of people staring at antiseptic digital devices? Will photos of people actually holding printed material become a novelty? The hunt was on for a new category; I do so love categories. I love to immerse myself in a subject. This was a really joyous one to collect with most photos from the U. S.,  but Germany, France, England, and Japan are also represented.




If you love reading, appreciate the time you spend reading, and recognize that there is a certain beauty in the act of reading, then I think you'll enjoy the vernacular photographs in this book.

The book is available at Amazon and CreateSpace.

Okay...NAME THIS CAR!

Another photo from the Arthur Bowen estate. This photo was also taken in Germany in the early '50s. Any ideas?


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NAME THAT CAR!

Arthur Bowen, son of schoolteacher Gertrude Bowen, was living in Germany in the early 1950s working for the U.S. government. He wrote postcards home to his mother about wanting to buy a car. Amongst the photos from his estate were a couple of photos of cars. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to figure out what this car is. I already know because he wrote the information on the back. 

Any guesses? I think you'll be surprised by this one.

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STRANGERS at the CARNIVAL

Have you ever been to a carnival when it's virtually devoid of customers? There's an eeriness to all of it. It's sort of like clowns; you know it's supposed to be a happy place, but without all the people covering up the ugliness it just becomes a bit creepy.

These photos are from the Ten Buck Box and most likely were taken by Arthur Bowen around 1951 when he was living in Germany. Arthur is Gertrude's son.

Look at these and tell me what you see?

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I can't stop thinking of the finale in Strangers On a Train.

HANS IN BERLIN October 10, 1927

I love this photo. It's very small, but was obviously taken with a very good lens. The size shown here is at 400% of the original size so you can see that the clarity of the shot would allow it to be enlarged even more. It was purchased at a flea market along with a few other photos taken around the same time period in Germany.

I'm not positive of the message because of the handwriting, but I believe it says "My loving Aunt Lena and Uncle ??? from your nephew Hans." He fascinates me. He looks like a character from a movie. If he was around 20 when this shot was taken he would have been in his 30s during the war. Can't help but wonder what became of him. Where he placed his hearts allegiance. 

The pose is interesting. Almost looks as if he's walking towards the camera, but the feet make me think he's leaning against the tree. But it's not a casual comfortable letting-yourself-go leaning. There's a stiffness to it. He wants it to be just right. Almost as if posed as a model. A very serious and dapper young man. What mystery played out over the next 20 years and was he alive to see it?