50 YEARS AGO today

Fifty years ago today I met my best friend on the SS Matsonia as our two families sailed from San Francisco to the territory of Hawaii. We were both born in California, at opposite ends of the state, but as daughters of military officers we had lived all over the country and were each moving from the cold of the East Coast to the warmth of Oahu. Little girls with a huge wondrous ship to explore. We met because some wise person decided it would be nice to seat two families with two little girls at the same table. 

The question I have is...who is that little old lady in the hat? I don't remember her at all and I wonder what her story was. But I bet she was very clean. And why have I forgotten the name of the waitress? For so long I remembered her name, but no more.

Here's to us, for 50 years, best friends. Sisters.  

THEY SHOOT PEOPLE who hang laundry, don't they?

This is a tiny found photo, very tiny, but within that less than 1.5" there's a lot going on. I was drawn to it because of the girl and her dog. Sometimes I get a bit tired of the old saying "a boy and his dog" and think people forget the relationship girls have with their dogs. I like this dog and the little girl posing with it, caught in the moment as she's saying something. Was she telling the dog to hold still or was she saying something to the photographer?

I also like the huge house across the street with laundry out in the large side yard. Again, many things just made more sense then. You could hang your laundry out without threats from a home owners association. You didn't care if your neighbors saw what you hung on the line because their laundry was also hung out. A warm spring day with a gentle breeze blowing, the sound of a carriage in the distance coming up the road.

To see a larger version of the photo simply click on it and you'll be taken to Flickr.

BUSTER in the snow

This little tyke appears to be wearing some sort of Buster Brown suit while contemplating eating some really yummy soot laden snow. Hand written caption says "Take a bite?"  

Buster Browns were popular the first part of the 20th Century and were based on a popular newspaper comic character. At this link you can see examples of a Buster Brown paper doll.

Like fads today based on Disney movies, all things Buster and Tige were popular. I remember wearing shoes made by a Buster Brown as a kid in the 50s. I believe the company in some form or other is still in business.

Check out this link at Wikipedia for more information about the comic: Buster Brown

I imagine this was a style frowned upon by most little boys. They couldn't wait to get pants that went to their ankles.

Click on the image to see it larger at Flickr.

GIDDYUP ostrich

This vernacular photo was taken in 1919. It's in an old album I purchased at an estate sale. I don't know anything about the woman on the ostrich. Now there's something you don't get to say everyday in conversation. "Why no, I don't know anything about the woman on the ostrich, but thanks for asking." However, if we were back in 1919 and in South Pasadena, California the question wouldn't seem so silly.

The Cawston Ostrich Farm was opened in 1886 by Edward Cawston and closed in the 1920s. It was a major tourist attraction located on 9 acres 3 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. You could ride in carts pulled by an ostrich, buy ostrich feathers and products made using the feathers, and of course actually get on the back of one of the critters. Note that this poor creature has a bag over its head, the ostrich, not the rider. I'm trying to imagine what this scene must have been like once the wrangler stepped back and let it go. How long did the woman stay on? How far was she thrown? And if I didn't see her one foot sticking out on the side I'd swear she and the ostrich were one. Nice legs lady.

Click on images to see larger at Flickr.

KODAK ADVERTISEMENT 1937

A break from photos in my collection to look at an ad from Kodak in 1937. Without Kodak there simply wouldn't be so many wonderful vernacular / found photos to collect.

Interesting advertisement, especially taken out of its time period. The whole thing comes off a little creepy because of the headline and the heavily browed gentleman on the right. Okay, even the copy under him comes off a little creepy. I dug a little deeper and discovered he was actually a very popular author named Irvin S. Cobb. It's unfortunate it looks like a mug shot.

To see even more Kodak advertisements check out this gentleman's Flickr site. He has posted hundreds of wonderful old ads. Normally I would have posted this at my ephemera site, but I think this adds to the enjoyment of vernacular photography. 

Click on the image to see it larger at Flickr.

HEY JOE take a walk on the wild side

Oh sure, NYC is wild. They know wild, but what about Pendleton, Oregon in the first part of the last century? Not a woman in site in this town, known for their fine woolens (proud owner of two Native American blankets myself). This is Main Street. Don't know the year because the back of the real photo postcard is damaged from being glued into an album. But take a gander at just the one side of the street. 

Oh we got trouble, right here we got trouble. It begins with bowling and pool, moves onto cigars, and then...ohhhhh no!! The Orpheum! Yes, all within an easy stroll from the building on the corner advertising "workingmen's clothing" we have every known vice that Professor Hill railed against! Across the street, more trouble. The St. George Bar. And where, pray tell, did the fairer sex shop? Perhaps the other end of Main Street near the really big houses. Having never been to Pendleton I imagine it has changed considerably. Sort of a shame. Looks like fun!

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS first draft

Oh sure, we're all familiar with Tennessee Williams's Cat On a Hot Tin Roof. Brilliant piece of work. But all artists have their low points. The times when they doubt their abilities. They start a piece and labor over it, sure there's something there if they can only draw it out. Sometimes they just have to walk away from it for awhile to get a new perspective. Is it possible that this very photo is the evidence Williams scholars have been searching for? Is it possible that what became Cat On a Hot Tin Roof started out as Cats on Cold Wet Logs? I leave it to you...and the scholars. I'm simply a vehicle for the evidence.

WHO WE WERE, and probably still are

My copy of Who We Were: A Snapshot History of America by Michael Williams and Richard Cahan (writers of award-winning photography books) and Nicholas Osborn (founder of Square America.com), arrived and it's wonderful. Really wonderful. A variety, nicely organized, that will enthrall, have you scratching your head, and most likely saying to someone, "You've got to see this!" I know I'll be spending a few hours with the book. The jacket photo alone makes me smile. Wonderful collection. You'll find a link to their book at Amazon in the left column.