Havana, Cuba, circa 1904. "Muelle Tallapiedras (Tallapiedra wharf)." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

1943. "South America. U.S. Army Air Transport Command pilot being awakened to receive orders." No rest for the weary, including Lt. Sidney Tannenbaum. 4x5 acetate negative by David Eisendrath, Office of War Information. View full size.

Coney Island, New York, circa 1905. "Dreamland Ballroom." The home of light music. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1910. "Brady -- Gas Company. Auto showroom." Star billing goes to the gas light fixtures above a Hudson center stage at the showroom of J.H. Brady, dealer in Hudson, Peerless and Pope-Hartford automobiles. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Detroit, Michigan, 1902. "Richmond & Backus Co. office." The other end of the room seen here, with a different cast of characters, and a cleaner desk. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

My brother, via self-timer, in his half of the bedroom we shared. At the time - May 1955 - he was 17, I was 8. Later that year he'd be off to college, but the room didn't become completely my domain until he moved into our sister's when she married in 1958. Here the only sign of my occupancy is at the lower left, part of the disorganized agglomeration of junk I always had covering the child's table I called my desk.

On the wall, the incongruous juxtaposition of a holy water font and a protractor. I can't remember if the former ever actually held any holy water; on the other hand, you never can tell when you might need to draw a circle. The chart shows U.S. mineral distribution. On the side shelves of his desk, stacks of science and nature guidebooks, including some Golden Nature Guides which later became mine. I still have them. The photo tacked to the upper right corner of his bulletin board is a collage of two other Tri-X shots he took in his high school classrooms. Yes, we still have that too, complete with the original Scotch tape. There are also several 35mm film canisters on the desk - metal ones, remember? I think he took this with bounce floodlight; it looks too bright for the room's normal illumination.

Note the complete absence of rock band, supermodel, sports and movie posters. Yes, it was a different world. View full size.

Cleveland, Ohio, circa 1910. "American Steel & Wire Co. plant." Your assignment: Create a diorama of this scene using toothpicks, cotton batting, string and cardboard. Panorama made from two 8x10 glass negatives. View full size.

Detroit, Michigan. January 1902. "Richmond & Backus Co. office." Our third peek behind the scenes at R&B -- printers, binders and "office outfitters" -- reveals a cozily cluttered workspace enlivened by a display of "faces you have'nt saw." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Annapolis, Maryland, circa 1905. "Old Harwood mansion (Hammond-Harwood House)." Street-furniture nerds will appreciate the carbon arc lamp with the yardarm-style boom, and the odd-looking hydrant. View full size.

Yosemite National Park seems to have been a favorite of this family throughout the years. I do not know the identity of the woman but she is in quite a few other pictures I have. View full size.

Richmond, Virginia, circa 1905. "Murphy's Hotel." Also seen here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1910. "Tourist Auto Co. (Tourist buses in front of church with Hotel Tuller at right)." Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.

October 28, 1924. Washington, D.C. "Dr. Hazel E. Munsell of Agriculture Dept." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

Alexandria, Virginia, 1926. "Citizens National Bank, King Street at St. Asaph Street." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

Sept. 17, 1924. Washington, D.C. "Joseph Hiscox, Agriculture Dept., with exhibit for National Dairy Show in Milwaukee." National Photo Co. View full size.