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Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.
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Today's Top 5
Meet the Bacons: 1921
Submitted by Dave on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 12:04pm.
New York circa 1921. "Bacon family." One of nine similar photos. Who can put a first name to Papa Bacon? Bain News Service glass negative. View full size.
Good day on the porch
Submitted by SteveB on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 5:00pm.
I have no doubt that Frank was having a good day hanging out with his grandaughters.
Papa Bacon
Submitted by Ice gang on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 4:36pm.
Seems to have started a family rather late in life.
[Frank Bacon's children were adults at the time. His son Lloyd's credits also include directing the Busby Berkeley musical extravaganzas 42nd Street and Footlight Parade. - tterrace]
Frank Bacon
Submitted by Sannazay on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 12:24pm.
That's Frank Bacon, noted vaudeville actor and San Jose's favorite son. He created the then-famous Broadway character of Lightnin' Bill Jones, and after playing the character for several decades wrote a book based on the play. His fantastic autobiography, "Barnstorming," is a great look at what it took to become a vaudeville actor and make a name for one's self at the turn of the century.
Frank died the year after this photo was taken. Frank's son, Lloyd Francis, was also a successful actor and director, and appeared with Charlie Chaplin and Broncho Billy Anderson in several Essanay films in Niles, near the family's home in San Jose. Lloyd later directed "Knute Rockne, All American" with "The Gipper" himself.
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Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.
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Today's Top 5