Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
January 1939. "Coal miner in business center of Colp, Illinois." Acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Like others I'm sure I enjoy researching these small towns that are featured in these wonderful photos. According to Wikipedia:
"Colp community leader Frank Caliper was one of the state's longest-serving elected officials. He served 52 years as mayor from 1935 until his death in 1987."
Colp is located in Williamson County. A compelling history of that county is "Bloody Williamson: A Chapter in American Lawlessness" by Paul Angle and John Simon. Reads like the fiction of Elmore Leonard, but it happened.
The Shining Parlor
It was a drab street
A white man's street . . .
Jammed with automobiles
Streetcars and trucks;
Bee-hived with fruit vendors' stalls,
Real estate concerns, meat shops,
Dental clinics, and soft drink stands.
It was a drab street
A white man's street . . .
But it held the shining parlor--
A boot-black booth,
Commandeered by a black man,
Who spent much time smiling out
Upon the hub-bub of the thoroughfare.
Ever . . . serenely smiling . . .
With a brush and soiled rag in his hands.
Often . . . white patrons wait for
Their boots to be "shined,"
Wondering the while
At the wonder--
Of the black man's smile.
~ Anita Scott Coleman
That's really a beautiful sign, despite the lower part suffering from weather exposure. The art of hand-lettered sign painting is making a minor comeback in this age of digital/machine-made signs, and any current student of the craft could take inspiration from this one.
The mystery sign below the Baby Ruth and Butterfinger signs is the equally high in dextrose KoKoNut Roll:
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5