Hollywood, 1953. "Actress Marilyn Monroe at home." 35mm color transparency by Alfred Eisenstaedt. View full size.

"C & P Tel. Co." Another look at the operations of the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. around Washington circa 1925. Plus an interesting glimpse at the kind of working-class houses not usually seen in the photo archives from this era. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

Handset assembly (or maybe rehabilitation) at the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company circa 1925. National Photo glass negative. View full size. Who can spot the clues that might tell us when this photo was taken?

1915. Washington, D.C. "Woman Suffrage. Hazel MacKaye." Hazel, director of the Susan B. Anthony Pageant, lived at 1729 H Street N.W. Her brother was the poet and playwright Percy MacKaye. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.

"C & P Tel. Co." The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. garage in Washington circa 1925. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

Hollywood, 1953. "Actress Marilyn Monroe, playfully elegant at home." 35mm negative by Alfred Eisenstaedt, Life photo archive. View full size.

Washington circa 1925. "Homeopathic Hospital." Which seems to have been at the corner of Second and N. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.

December 1955. Here's our family's entry in the Shorpy Christmas tree sweepstakes. Devoid of any jolly celebrants, unfortunately, but at least we have my mother's curtains and drapes. Many vintage ornaments are in evidence: Santa heads, houses, a table lamp, a mushroom, an angel, a prizefighter, some birds with spun glass or celluloid tailfeathers, and one of my personal favorites, a big one we always called "the stars and stripes forever" on the left a little more than halfway up. Some were from my Mother's family and dated back to the early 1900s, including one that still had wax drippings on it from when you actually lit your tree with candles. On the right, our Motorola hosts the Nativity scene complete with plastic Wise Men. Sharp-eyed observers may note that on the window seat, the fishbowl, vacant a year later, here appears to be inhabited. My brother recorded the available-light exposure details for this Kodachrome slide on the mount: f2.8 @ 1 second, during which he jiggled the camera slightly. View full size.