May 1963. This is a gag shot; the "gag," such as it is, being that I'm supposedly baffled by a comic strip character. I'd been a Pogo fan for as long as I could remember (note how worn that copy is) and by then I was, of course, well aware that Walt Kelly's strip had meanings on more than one level. I still have all our books, Dell comics and even the original "I Go Pogo" campaign button that I vaguely remember picking up at the San Francisco Chronicle building in 1952, when I was 6. But seriously, I posted this because of the nifty clock radio. And I want to assure all the Shorpy skeptics out there that, in the interests of historical authenticity, I did not Photoshop out any of my zits. Ektachrome-X slide.

"Baltimore Fire, 1904. Church of the Messiah in flames." Our fourth photo from the Great Fire of 1904. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.

"Bethesda, Maryland. Chevy Chase School, 1935." We backspace to another typing class. National Photo Company Collection safety negative. View full size.

"Baltimore Fire of 1904. Electric Railway Powerhouse." Out third view from the Great Fire. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

"Montgomery High School students." An amusing (or maybe unsettling) class portrait from Montgomery County, Maryland. The Library of Congress says circa 1936; we've found a number of clues that narrow it down to 1939-40. See the comments for details. National Photo Company safety negative. View full size.

September 3, 1923. "Police and Firemen's ballgame." At Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., Barney and Spark Plug from the popular comic strip "Barney Google." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

Silver Spring, Maryland. Typing class at Montgomery Blair High School in 1935. 5x7 safety negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size.