TOO CUTE for words

Okay, that title's a lie because though they are too cute there are a lot of words here.

This is also from that little mysterious envelope of negs bought at the flea market.

The little boy in the little sun hat is just cute. No other word. He's cute! The little girl is cute too, but not as cute as that little guy in the suit and hat. He looks like a little doll. So though I said too cute for words I at least needed enough words to say HE'S CUTE!

I find myself really drawn to snapshots of children. Most have not had the life experiences to cop an attitude. Well, in the old days. These days I see kids at very young ages with attitudes. Might not be their attitude, it might be one they got from some video game and are currently using until they see the next video game. I also blame MTV. I blame MTV for a lot of what goes on these days, but I won't get started on that. I don't have enough of an attention span to continue.

Click on image to see it larger.

No really, IT'S THE CAMERA, not your eyes

They were so sure this was going to be the perfect little shot of this little fellow. He posed so sweetly in his little suit. And then the print came back. Oh no. Oh oh no! He's blurred! Completely blurred. The grass and trees are fine, but the little darling is blurred!

Click on the little fella to see him larger.

That's okay, we're only going to send it to Aunt Elsie and she never wears her glasses so she'll never know. In this case her vanity is to our advantage.

Another negative from the little envelope. Okay, yes, he looks like an ad for the movie The Omen but I'm sure he was as sweet as could be.

Sweet sweet CHERRY

This little sweetie is enjoying some of the bounty of summer. I'm guessing they're bing cherries.

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This vernacular photo is from an envelope of negatives bought at a flea market. I'm guessing the neg didn't travel far over time because this orchard looks a lot like the orchard I live in. This could be a shot outside my door. In fact, though I live in an apple orchard, at one time there was a cherry tree that produced two different kinds of cherries at different times of the summer on the same tree. A famous botanist was involved over 100 years ago. Alas he is long gone, and so is the cherry tree.

I have no idea if somewhere a print of this shot exists. I have the negative, it's scratched and worn, but the image of this little girl enjoying her cherries right off the tree still brings a smile long after she and the tree are gone. A child of the country with dirt beneath her feet. Too many children never experience the simplicity of such a moment. Think of all we've lost.

EDITH WILKINSON

This is Edith. I believe the last name is Wilkinson. That's how I interpret the handwriting on the back in pencil. She's a very pretty girl with shiny shoes. And an interesting chair. An armrest only on the one side. Clever. Just think how clumsy the photo would have looked if the other armrest were there. Instead it looks as if the missing armrest is actually part of the background painting. Yes, very clever.

Are young friends this formal anymore? I doubt it. Instead of a sweet little post card you'd be just as likely to receive a Tweet about what the person has just eaten or heaven forbid a sexting message. Yeah, things aren't like they used to be. Informal has taken on a new meaning. Little real thought is given to the person you are sending a message to. Plus it's being sent to perhaps dozens or hundreds at the same time.

This card must have been a nice little gift for Dina to receive. She kept it in good shape and eventually it ended up at that ramshackle house in Calistoga. Let's hope both Edith and Dina had good lives.

Who was JESSIE BLUE LIGHT?

This real photo post card was found at the same estate sale where I found the RPPC's from the previous two days. Other than saying the cards were purchased at a ramshackle house outside Calistoga, California I have no information. Well, I do have what is written on the back, Jessie Blue Light 1910.

Click on image to see it larger.

She fascinates me. There's drama in the photo because of the lighting, but she certainly isn't a dramatic person. She looks melancholy, which doesn't mean she was. I've said before I'm fascinated by the expressions on the old portrait faces only because I try to image them a moment before and after the shot was taken. I want to know if perhaps Jessie bent over laughing after this thinking it all so silly. She certainly doesn't look as glum as my posts the past two days.

Jessie looks like a school teacher, or a music teacher, or perhaps librarian. It's the pose, the stiff back. Perhaps the wife of a minister. But all of this is just me projecting and each of you will do the same. All of the people in these vernacular photographs are just actors in the story we tell. The truth rarely intrudes.

Then there's that name. A very unusual name. There's a story there for sure...lost to history.

WHY SO GLUM, part two

Here's the question. Are these two young ladies the melancholy older ladies of yesterday? Both real photo post cards bought at the same estate sale. If they are the same it seems they got even more glum as they got older.

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I keep hearing "Don't worry, be happy" in my head when I look at them. Perhaps they soon were dancing on the grass after the portrait was taken. I imagine there were lots of other people standing around watching since this wasn't taken in a studio, perhaps at their home. Good little schoolgirls.

WHY SO GLUM, part 1

We know our ancestors were not as glum as they look in photographs. So few smiles show up in early portraits. Everyone looks stiff and a little melancholy. Sometimes it's hard to look at these old shots and not see them as actors. I have to focus on the faces to imagine them coming alive. I like to imagine the moment before and after the shot. Were they like me muttering, "I don't want my picture taken" or did they find it great fun? Did they break out in laughter as soon as the photographer said, "Thank you!" I think this is why I usually don't buy old studio portraits. They're a dime a dozen, okay a buck a piece, but too often they're just boring. I really don't see the person. Too formal. It's the good ones where something went a little bit wrong that appeal to me. I'm thinking back about little Grace with her finger up her nose in the family portrait. Without that one little problem they'd just look like a boring bunch of people in front of a house. Grace gives it life.

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I have no idea who these two women are or their relationship. Family or friends. It's a real photo post card with nothing written on the back bought at an estate sale. Most of the shots were, I believe, from Nebraska. They look like cardboard cut-outs. No life to them. Were they happy when they saw the shot? All unknown. Actors in life. What was their script?

UPDATE: Okay, I screwed up. There are names on the back of this card. These two ladies are Ida and Ethel Haswell in 1914. For some reason I was thinking the names were on the card I'll feature tomorrow.

Part three..THE HUSBAND

I bought this the other day and it wasn't until last night that I paid attention to what was written on the back. Turned out to be the same handwriting that was on the back of Agnes and May's shots. So I give you the husband of Agnes, Uncle Ralph Cooper. Equally as mysterious as Agnes and May. Business man? Soft shoe artist? I'm waiting for him to do a little shuffle off to Buffalo. Or perhaps he was an enforcer. You know what I mean. Used that cane with determination. The whole family is quite mysterious and interesting.

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Uncle Ralph Cooper

Aunt Agnes Husband.