1940s GLAMOUR

This is a very large print: 11" x 14". It, along with a large box of photos, was a gift from a friend at Christmas.

I have no information about the woman in this photo or who took it. It's obviously a glamour shot, most likely taken in the '40s. Was this a wife's pinup to send to her husband?

Unlike the glamour shots of today, which often look just a little too tacky, this is done in the style of George Hurell. Done in the style, but in no way captures the magic that he did. Take a look at Hurell's work, especially similar ones, and you'll find that this one is a bit confusing. The photo was taken as a horizontal, but turned horizontal it just looks weird. Well, it looks weird either way. At least with the vertical she's making eye contact. Look at the shots Hurell took of Bette Davis and Veronica Lake. They make sense as horizontal images.

Now look at this one horizontal.

I think her chin should have been lifted up more allowing a better gaze into the lens. But then I'm just being picky. I imagine the woman, and any recipient, must have been thrilled. It is a lovely shot, but it could have been so much more.

And if I'm going to be even more picky, I think the photographer should have touched up the shot by taking out whatever the heck that is on her sleeve. It's really annoying.

This is what I came up with for Sepia Saturday after being gone for so long. Just as the Sepia Saturday selection is a little "off" so is this one. 

I have missed participating and I'm happy to see it is still up and running. I appreciate the work put in to keep it going.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

The SERIOUS FAMILIES little dancer

If you've been visiting this place the past few years you will be aware of the Serious Family consisting of a mother and three children. To see the other posts click on the word "serious" in the labels below.

Here I give you the lovely little daughter in some sort of costume. I'm guessing it was for a dance recital, but I'm open to other suggestions.

It was nice finding one of the children again.

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

The UNKNOWN Couple

Found this a few weeks ago in a dollar bin. It's very damaged so I ran a filter to "fix" it enough to view because I want you all to decide if it's a man or a woman on the right. Both have rouge on their cheeks thanks to someone thinking that was necessary. And actually, without the fix of the shot the details aren't as easy to see.

So two guys hanging around or a guy and a gal? I'm thinking they headed west to seek their fortune and found Northern California to their liking. How they ended up in a dollar bin is a whole other story.

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

To SIT BENEATH A TREE and Read

With this week's Sepia Saturday as a prompt I'm reminded of one of my favorite photos from my book Tattered and Lost: The Quiet Art of Reading. I have no information about this woman who long ago chose to sit at the base of this tree and read, but I understand the lure.

In the summer I like to sit in the shade, hear a light breeze rustling the leaves, and enjoy reading outside. Of course I usually fall asleep.

Click on images to see them larger.


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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

The WALLFLOWER

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

The "END" of Summer

The unofficial end to summer. The leaves are already turning and dropping. Fall is coming early. I somehow seemed to have missed summer. I know it's technically still here for a few weeks, but I cannot get over the mindset of old schooldays when Labor Day meant back to school day was imminent. Back in school meant summer was over. 

Is this woman looking towards her past or her future? And are those sunglasses as part of the scarf design? It looks like sunglasses on the side of her head. Maybe she's coming and going.

Click on image to see it larger.

I am ready to move into fall, though there were still books to read that were only meant for summer. But as of last Friday I am finally through with the details left to deal with from the accident I was in last November. Each day now I realize I feel a little bit less stressed. Perhaps that is why I missed summer. Too much on my mind all the time to spend any time enjoying myself.

I'll put "enjoy myself" on my list for fall.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

The Category That Gets LITTLE RESPECT

I've said it before and I'll say it again...snapshots of women looking over the shoulder in kitchens is a category. You'll never see a whole book of these shots. Heck, I don't even buy all the ones I've seen and I've seen some really good ones.

There's always one of two reactions: surprise or a slight tinge of annoyance. Okay, occasionally you'll see someone smiling, but having been one of those people to take photos of women in kitchens I can say that it's usually a look that screams, "STOP IT!"


Click on image to see it larger.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

Sitting Quietly in a HOTEL ROOM

The person who sold this image on ebay said the woman was sitting in a hotel room. There is nothing written on the back to indicate this is true. What do you think indicates it's most likely a hotel room and not just this woman's bedroom?

I think it's a lovely room with the soft light. And if it's a hotel room is she reading a Gideon Bible? I travelled a lot as a kid with many motels coast to coast and a few old hotels. It never failed that I'd find a Gideon Bible in the drawer. Of course I checked for free postcards and stationary first because they were never a given. But the Bible in the nightstand was always there. It actually made me laugh when I was a kid because I wondered who this person Gideon was who kept hiding books in the drawers.


Click on image to see it larger.

This is image is from my book Tattered and Lost: The Quiet Art of Reading and is my contribution to the theme this week at Sepia Saturday.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

DECONSTRUCTING the Gathering on the RMS QUEEN ELIZABETH

And so we end with the dowager who has set herself up with a court aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth.

It's likely that we're looking at are several widows who spent the money their husbands had acquired during their marriages on this grand adventure. Of course, it's possible they came from money to begin with. Perhaps one of them had worked hard for years to save up for a trip like this and was quite excited to be sitting with such well off folks. They sure didn't dress like this in South Dakota.

Click on image to see it larger.

RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. With her sister ship Queen Mary she provided luxury liner service between Southampton, the United Kingdom, and New York City, the United States, via Cherbourg, France. She was also contracted for over 20 years to carry the Royal Mail as the second half of the two ships' weekly express service.

RMS Queen Elizabeth at Cherbourg, France in 1966.

While being constructed in the mid-1930s by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, she was known as Hull 552 but when launched, on 27 September 1938, she was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth, who was then Queen Consort to King George VI and in 1952 became the Queen Mother. With a design that improved upon that of Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth was a slightly larger ship, the largest passenger liner ever built at that time and for 56 years thereafter. She also has the distinction of being the largest-ever riveted ship by gross tonnage. She first entered service in February 1940 as a troopship in World War II, and it was not until October 1946 that she served in her intended role as an ocean liner.

With the decline in the popularity of the transatlantic route, both ships were replaced by the smaller, more economical Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969. Queen Mary was retired from service on 9 December 1967, and was sold to the city of Long Beach, California, US. Queen Elizabeth was sold to a succession of buyers, most of whom had adventurous and unsuccessful plans for her. Finally she was sold to a Hong Kong businessman, Tung Chao Yung, who intended to convert her into a floating university cruise ship. In 1972, while undergoing refurbishment in Hong Kong harbour, she caught fire under mysterious circumstances and was capsized by the water used to fight the fire. In 1973, her wreck was deemed an obstruction, and she was partially scrapped where she lay. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

And then...


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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

DECONSTRUCTING the...Part 6

Only two fellas at this gathering. Once you see where they are you'll probably figure out why.



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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

DECONSTRUCTING the...Part 5

I hope this woman was a kind person. I feel like she would have always had a hankie in her pocket that she would spit on to wipe smudges off a child's face.

Only two people left to reveal.


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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

DECONSTRUCTING the...Part 4

Real pearls or fake? Old money or new money?


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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

DECONSTRUCTING the...Part 3

An elegantly dressed dude.


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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

DECONSTRUCTING the...Part 2

At least you can tell that it's inside.


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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

DECONSTRUCTING the...

where are these people? You'll gradually find out more about what is going on in this photo as the week goes on. No earth shattering discoveries. This photo was taken long ago and I'll leave it to you to guess where the people in all of their finery might be.


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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

STYLIN'

It's always sad to find an image like this with such damage, but it's nice knowing that it can be easily fixed with Photoshop. She's shop worn and was tossed aside. I liked her and respected what she was doing. She was stylin'!


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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

Sitting in SPLIT PEA SOUP

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

The SERIOUS FAMILY CUTS LOOSE!

Finally, a bit of fun.

Click on image to see it larger.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

More of the SERIOUS FAMILY

The antique store was having a sale so I perused the box I had perused so many times before. I managed to find a few snapshots I had missed on previous trips. Minor excitement when I found this photo of the kids from the Serious Family.

To see past images of these oh so serious children click on "serious family" in the labels below.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

Silent PROTEST…In Sensible Shoes

Information available.

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.