4000+ fine-art prints suitable for framing. Desk-size to sofa-size and larger, on archival paper or canvas.
The Shorpy Gallery
Join and Share
Social Shorpy
To love him is to like him. Our goal: 100k "likes":
Recent comments
- Curtis Chevrolet
- Stunning Contrast!
- Smiling
- That's an Elgin Bicycle
- Photographer, locale and purpose unknown?
- Some additional features-
- Why did the West Side never develop?
- Boys will be boys
- Not Only, But Also
- Astounding!
- Kool-Aid
- High-water mark
- A Tough Pair
- Light saber
- Design by the Little Rascals
- Lower Left Corner
- It seems safe
- I am Iron-Lung!
- The bear is still there
- Creepy faux-religious theme
- Cord thing
- Darn.
- Well Done!
- Not sure of what to say.
- Teuton Pagans
- I'm the guy
- Our fully equipped house
- Some traces remain
- I'll Pass
- Double duty
Member Photos
Photos submitted by Shorpy members.
Colorized Photos
Colorized photos submitted by members.
About the Photos
Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.
Image Galleries
Search Shorpy
Today's Top 5
Executone System
Submitted by The Inventor on Wed, 12/08/2010 - 2:53pm.
When my Aunt Rose passed away I came into possession of her photos and negatives. There were very few photos but a pile of big negatives, many of which I half suspect were never printed, or perhaps were printed once and the photos lost a long time ago. She wasn't in the habit of documenting her snapshots, so each one is to me a mystery.
None is more mysterious than this. I don't know who the speaker is, or the occasion, but the location could be either northern Philadelphia or the Quakertown Pa. vicinity. One small hint might be the "Pa SRG" shoulder emblems. the time period is probably the late 1930s or early War years. View full size.
War poster
Submitted by The Inventor on Sat, 12/18/2010 - 12:42pm.
To date the photo further, the vehicle is a 1939 Chevrolet sedan delivery, and there's a war poster on its side, barely visible. I imagine an expert could tell when that particular poster first appeared.
Volunteers All
Submitted by DoninVa on Sat, 12/18/2010 - 12:05am.
Pennsylvania State Reserve Guard and my guess is 1942. Many states formed these units when National Guard units were federalized for WWII service. Usually composed of veterans from WWI or men not eligible for active military service. In these modern times many states still have these units under the control of the State Adjutants General, but not to be confused with the wacko militia guys dressing in cammies and running around in the forests shooting and blowing up tree stumps.
Rank
Submitted by Brent on Fri, 12/17/2010 - 3:53am.
This has to be after 1942 when the rank structure in the US Army changed. On of the men is wearing Sergeant's stripes with a "T" underneath it indicating that he is a Technician Fourth Grade (T/4). This rank was introduced in January 1942 and remained in use until 1948.
re: Executone System
Submitted by tterrace on Thu, 12/16/2010 - 10:16pm.
The lettered decals on the windshield are World War 2 gas rationing stickers; the program began in 1942. My guess is that this is an election campaign speech, judging by the bunting, or possibly a July 4 celebration.
THE 100-YEAR-OLD PHOTO BLOG
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.
RSS | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Photo Use | © 2013 Shorpy Inc.
Today's Top 5