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The Shorpy Store!
The Pantitorium: 1938
Submitted by Dave on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 2:30am.
August 1938. "A cleaning and pressing shop in Urbana, Ohio." 35mm nitrate negative by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Cornered
Submitted by Amos Warrington on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 3:26pm.
Mr. Shahn was not averse to using Leitz's "Wintu" right angle viewfinder on his camera's accessory shoe for those sneaky shots.
Sneaky Ben
Submitted by tterrace on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 2:27pm.
My guess he's the head in profile facing right. He was deliberately facing away from his subjects, pointing his small 35mm camera toward them unobtrusively (perhaps even partially hidden in his coat) in order to capture them candidly.
[Sneaky Ben used a 35mm Leica with a special right-angle viewfinder. You can see his profile reflected in many of the storefront shots. - Dave]
How did he do that?
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 12:09pm.
Ben Shahn's reflection is noticeably absent in the photo. Darkroom technique, or vampirism?
[He is indeed reflected in the glass. Who can figure it out? (Hint: We've been through this before.) - Dave]
You're Next!
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 11:01am.
A Pantitorium was a shop where you could get your pants pressed while you waited, in addition to the regular cleaning services.
When After a Job
Submitted by Dr Q on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 3:17am.
"When After a Job -- You Can't Afford to Look Untidy. The Man With a Good Job Doesn't Want To -- The Pantitorium"
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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