Set a Spell: 1939

Most of the time when Dave posts a caption with a picture that caption is the one that came with the photo, which in turn was usually written by the photographer. Commenters frequently provide additional information but the captions are a starting point.

Guessing is fine, but captions are handy, too.

I'd be willing to bet that this is 1954 or 1955, in southern Georgia.The fourth guy from the left has a new pair of bib overalls,but with a wide top. The top of these got narrower in the early sixties. Some of the tin signs on the wall date to the early'30s, and I would expect that the building dates to the late 1890s, with some updates in the late teens or early twenties. All guesses, but I've been dealing with old photos for a long time as a museum dude, and have spent a lot of time in the south. Again--Just guessing.

[The caption is correct as is. Note the sign "Sell your tobacco in Roxboro." - Dave]

It looks like the inside of a Crackerbarrel restaurant.

The image is beautifully composed, and (I think) truthfully depicts a country store in the rural south of the 1900s to the 1950s. While it is not entirely clear if this is a "plantation" store, the evidence appears to be that it is independent. Note the sign that says "sell your tobacco". The distinction is important. Independent rural stores sold on a cash basis (though there was also credit). Plantation stores existed largely an extension of the sharecropping economy and "furnished" their hands with credited food and household items until the crops were brought in. There were widespread abuses as plantation owners cooked the books.

The cedar posts on the porch were selected to withstand rot and insects, and the stone pillars under the joists that support the floor also were selected to withstand moisture and insects.

And the store was open on a Sunday. No blue laws in the countryside, I suppose.

The casual nature of the chicken-keeping situation . . . is awesome!

I love the props under the porch, stacks of stones with bits of timber at the top! The accumulation of Stuff has taken off, the ads, the little Pepsi-Cola off to the side, the BIG Coca-Cola! Great shot.

Is that Dave Chappelle on the left there?

That 22 can't be correct for gas a gallon--unless it didn't change for 35 years or so!

[22 cents per gallon is correct. Click here for a chart showing historical gasoline prices in the United States. From the 1920s to 1970s the pump price of a gallon of gas changed very little. And adjusted for inflation, it's about the same now as it was in 1920. - Dave]

According to this inflation calculator, 22 cents in 1939 was the equivalent of $3.04 in 2006. Gas wasn't really so cheap back then.

A wonderful composition. Hollywood set designers would poor [?] of this type of picture to recreate rural America in the 1930s. Life before the Internet sure looks simple.

Lotus07@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.bruceandsueinencanto.com

I don't know how to describe humor but I know it when I see it . . . ROTFL

Dave as in David Hall, I presume - this blog is awesome.

[Yes, that's me. Hi, Tom! - Dave]

Anybody else notice that the gentleman on the far left is sitting right next to the gas pump AND smoking a cigarette?!

[At least he's not holding a baby! - Dave]

what a great picture! untold histories laid right out there.

The only thing lacking here is an old hound dog lying around somewhere ... under the porch or in the yard. Is that 22 cents on the gas pump?? Wow! Great picture.

I remember old stores like this growing up in Dyer County Tennessee. Those old gas pumps were all mechanical with no electrical power, notice the hand crank, you pushed the crank back and forth to pump the gasoline up into the glass container at the top which had gallon markings, then you put the hose nozzle into your tank and it was gravity fed until the container was empty.

I love it. The second guy from the right might be living in tough times, but he's still cool enough to make that look good.

Look how the threshold is worn down. A lot of repeat customers have passed through that door.