This Is WHAT COLLECTING IS ALL ABOUT

Take a little time to read this wonderful article at the NY Times about an old photo album. It's exactly what a collector of vintage photos dreams of.

FLOATING on a Summer Day

I found this image several years ago. It reminded me of a couple summers as a child when my family lived in Maryland while my dad worked in D.C.

Two summers in a row we went to Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks and stayed at a lovely little cabin that was right along the shoreline. It had a screened in porch where I slept and a lawn which ran down to the lake. There was also a small dock with a couple of rowboats.

I spent my days floating on the water on an inflatable air mattress, sitting on the lawn reading books and coloring books, and going for rides in the boat. Just as in this photo there was a bridge to the left of where we stayed.

On one occasion after I'd gotten out of swimming in the lake and laid down on the lawn I was told by my dad to stay perfectly still. I had no idea what was going on but knew it wasn't good from the sound of his voice. Turns out I had leeches all over my back. I don't remember how they got them off of me and I can't say for sure I ever went back in Tupper Lake.



Click on image to see it larger.

This is my contribution for this week's Sepia Saturday post.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

Spitting in a BARBERSHOP

Why do men spit so much? What is it in their nature that creates the need to just lob one into the atmosphere? Sports figures, especially in baseball and football, are notorious for spitting. Each season as I watch football games and see players and coaches on the sidelines spitting I scream at the TV, “What’s wrong with you people?” I then immediately check to see if they’re playing on astroturf. Imagine being the poor underpaid soul who has to clean up the sidelines after a game. Now I know in baseball that a lot of the time they’re spitting tobacco. No excuse. Chew after the game. But at least they’re spitting on real dirt and grass. It will eventually dry up and disappear; not so on astroturf.

Spittoons were invented as receptacle for spit. Tobacco can be blamed for part of this. My maternal grandfather chewed tobacco and had coffee cans all over the house in which he spit. You didn’t want to be in the backseat of the car sitting behind him when he was driving if you both had your windows down. The side of his car…a brown streaked mess. But he’d been told by his doctor he needed to stop smoking and that chewing was an alternative. It was disgusting and my poor grandmother had a furrowed brow whenever you mentioned the cans.

Sepia Saturday this week features tobacco as its theme. I give you three men in a barbershop with a spittoon, the link to tobacco.


Click on image to see it larger.

I found the following historical information on Wikipedia which will help to put the photo in context.

The era of the common spittoon in the United States

In the late 19th century United States and Australia spittoons became a very common feature of pubs, brothels, saloons, hotels, stores, banks, railway carriages, and other places where people (especially adult men) gathered.

Brass was the most common material for spitoons. Other materials used for mass production of spittoons ranged from basic functional iron to elaborately crafted cut glass and fine porcelain. At higher class places like expensive hotels, spittoons could be elaborately decorated.

Spittoons are flat-bottomed, often weighted to minimize tipping over, and often with an interior "lip" to make spilling less likely if they tip. Some have lids, but this is rare. Some have holes, sometimes with a plug, to aid in draining and cleaning.

Use of spittoons was considered an advance of public manners and health, intended to replace previously common spitting on floors, streets, and sidewalks. Many places passed laws against spitting in public other than into a spittoon.

Boy Scout troops organized campaigns to paint "Do not Spit on the Sidewalk" notices on city sidewalks. In 1909 in Cincinnati, Ohio, scout troops together with members of the Anti-Tuberculosis League painted thousands of such messages in a single night.

A mass-produced sign seen in saloons read:

If you expect to rate as a gentlemanDo not expectorate on the floor

Spittoons were also useful for people suffering from tuberculosis who would cough up phlegm. Public spittoons would sometimes contain a solution of an antiseptic such as carbolic acid with the aim of limiting transmission of disease. With the start of the 20th century medical doctors urged tuberculosis sufferers to use personal pocket spittoons instead of public ones; these were jars with tight lids which people could carry with them to spit into. Similar devices are still used by some with tuberculosis.

After the 1918 flu epidemic, both hygiene and etiquette advocates began to disparage public use of the spittoon, and use began to decline. Chewing gum replaced tobacco as the favorite chew of the younger generation. Cigarettes were considered more hygienic than spit-inducing chewing tobacco. While it was still not unusual to see spittoons in some public places in parts of the US as late as the 1930s, vast numbers of old brass spittoons met their ends in the scrap drives of World War II. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

I really wish I’d been able to find out some information about the company that made the sign above the spittoon. Alas, all I can tell you is that it was the Bonheur Company, located in Syracuse, New York. They were a perfumer.

The following is all I found about the company. It is from The American Perfumer and Essential Oil Review, Volume 16; March, 1921—February, 1922.

Just imagine what this post would have been like if I'd focused on perfume instead of spit. Then again..."Budda" Oriental Odor doesn't really make it sound so great.

THELMA New York

On the back it says "Thelma New York."



I'll go out on a limb here and guess her name was Thelma. What's the rest of the story?

In my mind this was one of several shots taken in a photobooth to send to a young man she'd met. She wanted him to remember her, but didn't want to appear too forward so she just put "Thelma New York" in hopes he would remember her.

Her smile makes me think of Johnny Mathis which has me thinking of this song. I'd like to think that Thelma found the boy who loved her even if he wasn't from New York.

A LOVE AFFAIR at Dempsey's

Their first date was at Jack Dempsey's Restaurant.



And so was their last.



The end of a love affair.

The MOTHER AND SON with forensic photographer H. Seymour Squyer

Originally I was going to make this a simple post entitled "Memorial Day and Those Who Waited." The inspiration being this woman and boy who are unknown, but the photograph looks like the sort a Union Soldier might have carried in his pocket.





Then I decided to do a little research about the photographer, H. Seymour Squyer. Again, ephemera takes me on a journey.

H. Seymour Squyer was born November 4, 1848. He was a photographer at 77 Genesee Street in Auburn, New York. In the 1880 census Squyer is 31 and married to Francis (Kupenhouser?), age 30. They have two sons, Frank age 3 and Fred around 10 months.

From the brief information I’ve found, Squyer did portrait photography, criminal forensic photography, and stereographs. I cannot find actual examples of the criminal work or stereographs, merely references to them.

Here you can read an article from the Auburn New York Weekly Bulletin about a trial Squyer was involved in. He took photographs of two signatures which were then enlarged allowing a court to determine if a signature on a will was forged.

Here you will find an article in which Squyer was a witness in an arson trial.

And here you can read more about the trial.

Another trial in 1897 in which he is questioned about the length of a flame from a Sheldon revolver and photographs he took.

Here is an article about a trial in which Squyer took a photograph of a page from an accounting book.

On May 11, 1892 Squyer had his own run in with the law.

In the 1900 census Squyer, age 57, is married to Harriet M., age 38. Within a few years Squyer was dead. On December 19, 1905 the following obituary appeared in The Auburn Citizen.

He was buried on December 21, 1905 in the Fort Hill Cemetery.

Here is an article for Squyer’s will dated January 26, 1906.

On January 23, 1906 the following appeared in the Auburn Semi-Weekly Journal in regards to Squyer’s will apparently being contested.

That is not the last we hear of Squyer. In The Citizen-Advertiser in Auburn, New York, on June 30, 1949 there is the following article in which we are told that Squyer's photographic plates were nearly used as glass in a greenhouse.

Click on image to see it larger. 

Rare Print Recalls Days of Yore at Wells

Reminiscent of days gone by is a picture of Glen Park, once the Aurora home of Henry Wells, founder of the Wells Fargo Express Company and American Express Company whose generosity made possible Wells College at Aurora. The picture of the college is among a collection of photographic plates of Wells college and the Village of Aurora, given to the college by George Underwood, Jr., of this city.

These plates were made about 1900 by H. Seymour Squyer for many years a leading photographer in Auburn. His studio was located at 180 Genesee Street, where they Mohican store now stands. Shortly after Squyer’s death in 1905, G. G. Hayden, who had just built a house at the top of Chadell Place in Auburn, acquired from the Squyer estate a ton or more of the photographic plates to used in a projected greenhouse for which he had difficulty in obtaining the necessary glass. Hayden’s death cancelled the greenhouse plans, and the old plates remained on the grounds, crated in wooden boxes in an old chicken house. Here Mr. Underwood found them when he bought the Hayden place in 1945.

The task of sorting out the plates has been a long one; some of them were protected by individual envelopes, but very few were labeled or identified in any way. However, Mr. Underwood has succeeded in “getting some of them into the hands of those who should have them.”

He has given the following to Wells College: Five views of Glen Park, taken shortly before the former home of Henry Wells was purchased and given to the college by the alumnae in 1907; six exterior views of Main Building and Morgan Hall; three interiors of Main, showing the old gymnasium, a parlor, and the museum; six vies of the lake shore and the road approaching Aurora from the south; and early picture of the Aurora Inn, which was built in 1883 (?) Several of them appeared in early issues of the Wells College Catalogue.

Mr. Underwood’s collection also contains some wonderful views of Auburn and boating on Owasoo Lake; possibly a picture of the first Boys Conference every held by the Y. M. C. A in the United States, also some plates of the old asylum, later the Women’s Prison in Auburn.

Mr. Underwood plans to turn over to the County Museum all plates for “Which he cannot find owners.” A few prints at a time will be displayed and identifications requested.

You can visit this page to find even more articles in which H. Seymour Squyer is mentioned.

Here, at the Cabinet Card Gallery, you can see a wedding photograph taken by Squyer.

Ultimately, what Squyer is famous for is a portrait he took of Harriet Tubman available at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

And so it goes. I start out with just a photo and then I get sucked in.

Should anyone have any more information about Squyer I'd gladly post it or link to it.

UPDATE: Here's a link to a photo of Robert L. Drummond, in civilian clothes, a soldier who served in a New York State military unit during the Civil War.

LOOKING BLISSFUL at the Bliss Bros

I don’t find most cabinet cards particularly interesting because though, like all photographs, they capture a moment in time, cabinet cards capture a contrived moment. There’s nothing spontaneous about them. In fact, we learn only the superficial about the subjects. We may be able to determine a bit about their social status by analyzing the style of their clothing, which can also lead to dating the shot. Unless we have a name for the subject they’ll forever be a relatively blank slate. It’s virtually impossible to see any emotion in the blank stares that were required.




Click on either image to see them larger.

What I do find interesting are the photographers who took the shots. Unlike vintage snapshots where the photographers are rarely known, in fact virtually unthought of, with cabinet cards we see the specific work of the person behind the lens. We see a connection between the subject and the photographer when we are given a photographer’s name. We can search for more work by the same person.

This photo is from my friend Bert’s collection. A plain woman in a rather plain dress taken at the Bliss Brother’s Studio in Buffalo, New York.

Bliss Brothers (Harry A. and Frank H.) are sons of Horace L. Bliss, one of the oldest living photographers in Buffalo. He was born in Hartford, Conn., October 6, 1823, came to Buffalo about 1854 and learned the photographic business. In 1859 he established a photograph gallery at the corner of Main and Eagle streets, and successfully continued until 1886, when he retired on account of ill health. He made a specialty of outside photographs and also did considerable commercial work.

Harry A. and Frank H. Bliss are natives of Buffalo; the former was born February 28, 1866, and the latter February 6, 1858. Both were educated in the Buffalo public and high schools, learned photography with their father, and when the latter retired in 1886 succeeded him in business under the firm name of Bliss Brothers. Soon after starting, their portrait and commercial work had grown to such proportions that they separated the two, locating the latter on Oak street near Genesee, and continuing the former at the corner of Main and Eagle streets. They are among the leaders in both branches in Buffalo, and enjoy the highest reputation for artistic work. (SOURCE: Our County and Its People: A descriptive work on Erie County, New York; edited by Truman C. White; The Boston History Company, Publishes 1898)

The photo above of their studio is a portion of a larger photo at Shorpy.

Do an online search for “Bliss Bros” and you’ll find a variety of work, but nothing that really stands out as exceptional. Examples can be seen here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

However, researching the Bliss Brothers did shine a light on one of the big problems with researching anything on the net. How do you verify what you’re reading when posts everywhere are often nothing more than samplings from someone else's work? I give you the following example.

The Bliss Brothers are credited at one site as being the photographers of the famous shot of Harry Longbaugh (the Sundance Kid) and Etta Place. The site is for a"private investigator" so you’d hope they’d be detail oriented, though the birth year they list for Longbaugh is completely inaccurate at 1802. He did not live to be 107 years old.

I was willing to give the site the benefit of the doubt until I found the photo on Wikipedia claiming the photographer was the DeYoung Photography Studio located at 826 Broadway in New York City. This same credit is referenced at several other sites.

So which is true? Bliss Brothers or DeYoung? Does it even matter? Well, in our celebrity conscious society the idea that the photographer who took the above boring shot of the plain woman also might have taken a shot of the Sundance Kid and Etta Place does matter. We know the history, though sketchy, of Sundance and Etta. We have a reference point. We don’t have any reference point for the plain woman other than Buffalo, New York. And sadly, I have yet to find a copy of the Sundance and Etta shot with any markings indicating the photographer. I’ll go with DeYoung simply because so many other sites repeat this information. How accurate is it? I haven’t a clue.

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