Antique Photo Finds

[Lauren]

Hello,
On a recent "hunt" at an antique store I stumbled across bins full of inexpensive antique photgraphs. Of course, being a fashion nut, I had to hunt down some good costume research photos. Here's a few I found, and I'll try to post more later, if time permits. I especially adore the one of the girl dancing. Check out the gentlemen in the shadows watching her. You think she could be a harlow wannabe?

 

[Andykev]

Good Photos

Very nice pictures. Any markings on the backs? I have seen similar in our local antique shops (nearby city has about 30 of them in one section of town).

I always wonder who were these people, where did they go, what did they do? Likely, most are all long gone by now. Just a reminder of how short life is.

 

[Retro Grouch]

Nice pics! I really like the clothes.

I'm with Andy. Who were these people? How did these memories end up for sale?

The expression of the lady, in the #2 pic, scares. me.

Tom

 

[Dalexs]

Is it me or does the guy on the far left in the fourth photo down seem to show up in all the photos posted here? [huh]

Really great photos though. Thats why I love going to thrift shops an estate sales.

As to why these things show up for sale: Much of the time, when family dies and leave a house full of memories, most want to get rid of the stuff as fast as possible, sell the house, get the money, and move on. It's kind of sad really.

But honestly, it doesn't really matter who they were, as much as what they represented. A little slice of the past!

 

[Bogie1943]

Here a picture dated " Taken in New York City - 1916" I loved the color, the clothes of course, and the fact that he has a cigar in his hand.

 

[Bogie1943]

wide angle

 

[Lauren]

Ok, let's see...
*photo one has no markings,
*photo two says in a lovely pen scrawl Mrs Columbis and Ruth. Ruth is the little one.
*Photo three has no markings
*Photo four looks like it may have been trimmed, as the writing seems to crawl off the sides, but this is what I can make out:
"Collector of Customs
don't know the next the
Miss England. Wom
from New York. Me
France, + Capt. J. Bru
of Reamp, Memouski"
And it has a stamp in French that says
"Faites developper et limrimer vos Films chez ELZEAR COT, Photo
Mimouski, - - P. Que" Which I believe translates "Develop and Print your Film at Elzear Cot, Photo (and I am assunimg it it in Quebec)
*And the rest have no markings.

I am with you guys. It is hard to understand why anyone would give up their family history! But I enjoy giving nice old things a loving home!

 

[The Wolf]

Thank you for posting the photos, Miss Henline.
I especially like the bottom photograph. It reminds me of pictures I've taken with friends, just in another time. That might be what draws us to some of the old pictures: seeing that history wasn't just names and dates but regular people like you and me. We can see someone and imagine we have something in common.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Pen Collector]

Speaking of old photos....

this reminded me of an IMAX 3D movie I saw in 1995 entitled Across the Sea of Time. I was facinated by the old photos the young man was looking at through a Stereopticon.

If you haven't seen it, I recommend you rent it. I attached a review so you can get an idea of what it is about. If you google Across the sea of Time you can find out more about it. John Barry does a great job with the movie music score. Enjoy.

At the heart of director Stephen Lowe's visually spectacular effort is a fairly simple idea: Take hundreds of photos of old New York shot in the stereopticon format -- an early form of 3-D photography that was all the rage until the 1920s and which today is pretty much limited to the ViewMaster market -- and contrast them with new 3-D cinematography of the same locales.

Thus we're treated to two 3-D views of the New York Stock Exchange and a statue of George Washington. Nearly a century separates them, but aside from the changes in the clothing of the passers-by, not that much is different. It's pretty cool.

Even more fascinating are the street scenes in which hundreds of turn-of-the-century New Yorkers, all of them long dead, stare at the camera with expressions of amusement and excitement. Blown up on the six-story screen, these old photos show incredible detail and seem to irresistibly pull in the viewer. It's as close to time travel as we're likely to come.

Low hangs all of this on a flimsy but serviceable plot. It begins with a young Russian boy (played by Peter Reznik, a real-life Russian emigre with screen presence to burn) who has stowed away on a freighter. In effect the boy is retracing the steps of a long-dead relative who immigrated to the United States at the turn of the century, got a job taking stereopticon photos and over the years sent hundreds of letters and stereo photos back to his family in Russia.

Now little Thomas, with no money or visa but with a backpack crammed with the photos and letters, finds himself alone in the big city.

His journey takes him from Ellis Island to Central Park, from backstage at a Broadway theater to the financial district, from a subway tunnel to Times Square. At every opportunity we get to see old stereo photos of the same places.

And Thomas also finds himself relying on the kindness of strangers -- a hot dog vendor who takes pity on this smudged youngster, an Irish bartender who dispenses directions, an office worker who tips the kid a dollar to see his stereo photos.

It's a very clever way of re-creating the immigrant experience for today's audiences, and it packs a surprisingly powerful emotional punch.

And, yes, there are a couple of shots of the World Trade Center Towers. On their own they may not have been particularly pleasing, but as an element of the New York skyline they were little short of awe-inspiring. So, in the end, "Across the Sea of Time" is not only about what we've gained in a century, but about what we've lost.

 

[Lauren]

Sounds like a great movie! I would really like to see it. I have yet to see an IMAX movie, other than the Reuben Fleet theatre we have down here in San Diego, and they always make me dizzy because of the strange perspective of the round screen! I wounder, can you rent those movies, or are they a "experience" because you can only see them in the theatres?

 

[Pen Collector]

Yes, you can....

rent this movie. You won't get the same effect as in the IMAX theater, of course, however, it is a very good movie. I enjoyed the soundtrack as well.

 

[Empyrium]

Top hat, long coat, and grey spats. A good looking guy.