MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
Home

Search Shorpy

SEARCH TIP: Click the tags above a photo to find more of same:
Mandatory field.

Search results -- 30 results per page

City of Cleveland: 1910
... Launched 5 January 1907 at the yard of the Detroit Ship Building Company at Wyandotte, she caught fire there while being fitted ... Cleveland, under construction at the plant of the Detroit Ship Building company, for the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation company, and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 4:26pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1910. "Sidewheel steamer City of Cleveland. Off for the upper lakes." Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size. Post-pyroThis must be the rebuilt version, after the fire. Looking good after the fireGoogled history and read that the steamer was launched in Jan '07 and almost completely destroyed by fire in May '07. Original build/superstructure must have been something grand. All Aboard!I can imagine the guy that broke the news to the people on the dock to form a single line. ColorlessI am always amazed at these pictures of an active crowded America at the beginning of the last century, there always seems to be a dearth of people of color present at public events. Were we "encouraged" to avoid large gatherings or were we just not tolerated by what was then mainstream America? What was our role in our country's many and varied activities? Crunched "Cleveland"After colliding with the Norwegian freighter Ravnefjell: Connecting The DotsRemember the Gothic mansion of W.C. McMillan that was shown here lately, well, from "Marine Vessels Navigating the Great Lakes in 1905" we find: Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co.,Detroit, Mich., W. C. McMillan, General Manager. ... Steamer City of Cleveland Captain, Archibald McLachlan Engineer, John Hall. W.C. would have been proudIn 1910 the City of Cleveland (v. 3) was the pride of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co., the company run by W.C. McMillan (the owner of the Addams Family-type home posted three days ago). She was built twice - because, in 1907, when her construction was nearly finished, she burned to her steel framework. The History of Detroit (1912) describes her elegance this way: "five hundred staterooms, twenty private parlors with bath, hot and cold running water in each room; telephone in every stateroom, passenger elevator, fire place, convention hall. Venetian garden, luxurious dining room and costly furnishings." An inauspicious beginning and tragic endmarked the career of the City of Cleveland. Launched 5 January 1907 at the yard of the Detroit Ship Building Company at Wyandotte, she caught fire there while being fitted out for service on 13 May 1907 (see photo). She was, of course, built for the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company, of which William McMillan, discussed here recently, was President, but who died a month after the vessel's launching. Rebuilt, she entered service in May 1908. Renamed City of Cleveland III in 1912, she remained in service until she collided with the Norwegian freighter Ravnefjell in dense fog on Lake Huron off Harbor Beach, Michigan, on 25 June 1950. The freighter's bow pierced her cabins, killing five aboard the passenger vessel. The official Coast Guard report. Following the collision, the City of Cleveland III was laid up at Detroit for four years until she again caught fire on 20 October 1954. Most of her was scrapped at Sandwich, Ontario, 1954-1955, but her hull was towed to Buffalo to be converted to a crane barge, a metamorphosis that never occurred, and the hull was broken up there in 1956. Eminent American naval architect Frank Kirby designed the City of Cleveland. Name changeMore about the City of Cleveland here. Incendiarism Is SuspectedMansfield (Ohio) News, May 13, 1907. SPLENDID NEW VESSEL City of Cleveland, Under Construction in Detroit, Swept by Fire Early Today INTENDED FOR COMMISSION OF JUNE 30 It was to Have Been the Finest Side Wheel Steamer on Fresh Water. The Boat Will Be Rebuilt, but it Will Be Impossible to Get Her Ready for Service Before Next Season -- Incendiarism Is Suspected. Detroit, Mich., May 13. -- The magnificent new passenger steamer City of Cleveland, under construction at the plant of the Detroit Ship Building company, for the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation company, and designed to run between Detroit and Cleveland, was swept by fire early today and is a total loss except for her hull and machinery. How much they have been damaged cannot be determined until the hull is pumped out and a careful examination made. The loss, which falls on the Detroit Ship Building company, a branch of the American Ship Building company is about $700,000 and is fairly well covered by insurance. The fire broke out just before daylight in some mysterious manner. There are rumors afloat that an inceniary is suspected. The officials of the ship yard are at a loss to explain the fire, as there were two watchemn on the ship and another at the gate of the ship yard. The City of Cleveland was launched at Wyandotte January 5 and was to have been turned over to the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation company about June 30. She is 444 feet long and is designed to carry 4,500 passengers, with sleeping accomodations for 1,500. The interior wood work and fittings were practically completed and the machinery and boilers were installed. The flames had secured a good start before they were discovered and despite the efforts of two fire boats and all the shore apparatus which could work on the burning ship, swept away everything inflammable from the craft. Tons of water were poured into the hull which now lies at the Orleans dock partly submerged. The two watchmen on the steamer got ashore safely and no one was injured during the fire. The City of Cleveland was intended to be the finest side wheel steamer on fresh water and her interior wood work all of which is destroyed, was unusually beautiful and lavish. Here whole cost was intended to $1,250,000. The ship building company will rebuild the boat as rapidly as possible, it is announced, but it will be impossible to get her ready for service before next season. The Detroit and Cleveland Navigation company will continue the same service arrangements on the Cleveland route which prevailed last season. Well how about that?It sure is a sidewheel steamer! (Pictures with no comments seem lonely to me and since this picture had not a single one, I had to acknowledge its presence). Go "City of Cleveland"! Keep on sailin'! Ghost ShipOne of the ships managed by one of the Halloween house owners. Largest Side-Wheeler in the WorldPopular Mechanics, March 1907: The largest side-wheel steamer in the world, the "City of Cleveland", was launched at Detroit on January 5th. Her dimensions are: Lenght: 444 ft.; beam, 96 ft. 6 in.; and depth, 22 ft. There are seven decks with a passenger capacity of 5,000 and sleeping accomodations for 1,500. In addition, freight cargo equivalent to 110 carloads can be carried. Electric passenger elevators connect the upper and lower decks. There is a telephone in every stateroom which will have connection with the city service when in ports. A complete wireless system will afford land communication when sailing. A speed of 25 miles is expected from the 8,000-hp. engines. A unique feature is the bow rudder which can be seen in the illustration taken just before launching. The steamer will cost $1,250,000 and run between Detroit and Cleveland the coming summer. Board of Commerce excursion, June 10In a 1910 issue of the Michigan Manufacturer & Financial Record you can read all about the upcoming cruise sponsored by the Detroit Board of Commerce, the This was seventh annual trip for the organization. It was also the first trade group to go on a trip by airplane. ColorlessOne explanation, in this case: Detroit's population in 1910 was about 465,000 - with only 5,741 Black people. Buffalo (my city) had only 1,773 out of 423,715. Migration to the factory jobs of the North began shortly after this time. AmazingGrowing up as I have in a largely post-industrial suburban America, images like this fascinate me. I suppose people do travel from Detroit to Cleveland today, but I don't know why. You could probably make the drive in the time it takes to roll through the traffic in Detroit to the airport, park the car, get a ticket, go thru TSA, get on the plane, land, get your luggage, rent a car, and drive to their destination from the airport thru Cleveland traffic. Given the choice of the two, neither seems as fun or as novel as taking to the lake on the City of Cleveland. Seeing pictures of my home country thru the eyes of this website is almost like reading science fiction. The names of the locales are the same, but the details of these people's existence seem almost otherworldly. Going back a mere second in time seems a infinitely less traversable distance than that to the farthest conceivable galaxy. It is a true Lost World. My continuing thanks for posting the photography. Mea Culpa Bauhaus For a people convinced they were on the cusp of modernity, they had an ineffable sense of style. Nothing of value was produced without elegant embellishment that is so lacking today.With apologies to Gropius and Frank, I think there is an ephemeral value to frills. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Detroit Photos, DPC)
The Miantonomoh: 1892
... the Atlantic and back. [You're confusing this ship with the first Miantonomoh . - Dave] In and Out of Service USS Miantonomoh (BM-5) was the second ship to carry the Narragansett sachem's name. She was one of four ships of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/07/2022 - 12:39pm -

The Hudson River, 1892. "U.S. double turret monitor Miantonomoh." Named after the Narragansett chief. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative by Edward H. Hart. View full size. Often overlooked.As it were. In every sense. Yet somehow managed to survive 45 years (at least if you count from the launch date, not the 6-year-long - !! - fitting-out period) Low freeboardLooking at that, you'd suspect the least wave would swamp it. However, it made it across the Atlantic and back. [You're confusing this ship with the first Miantonomoh. - Dave] In and Out of ServiceUSS Miantonomoh (BM-5) was the second ship to carry the Narragansett sachem's name. She was one of four ships of the Amphitrite-class of monitors. She was commissioned and decommissioned four times during her life which has to be some sort of record for US Navy ships. Retirement AgeThe continued use of Civil War-era technology helps to explain why the U. S. Navy was rated well below that of several nations which would not even make the Top Ten list today. It would not be until the early 20th Century that America began to catch up with the big boys. Having Teddy Roosevelt, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, as president certainly aided its progress. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, E.H. Hart, NYC)
Carnaval Cabrillo: 1913
... to San Diego a year after this image was taken. The ship will then be sunk off of Long Island on July 19, 1918. For the next 80 ... the distance in the 2000 view. Armored Cruiser The ship in the center of the picture appears to be an armored cruiser of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/14/2017 - 10:22pm -

San Diego, California, 1913. "San Diego and bay from U.S. Grant Hotel." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Can you tell meas a non-resident, and very astute perusal of this scene, what country is it located? Those two warshipsI believe Those two warships in the background are Pennsylvania-class cruisers. They were all stationed on the west coast at that time. June 14th or July 4thLooks like it was either around Flag Day or Independence Day judging by all the patriotism on display and I will bet that all those flags were not made in China either! Put that in your bong and smoke it! [Look at the banner in the photo and you'll see that it's September. - Dave] West Coast Armored CruisersThe two warships are the USS California and South Dakota (I can't tell which is which, though). These Pennsylvania class armored cruisers were built at the Union Iron Works in San Francisco (the 1906 completion was delayed by the earthquake) and stayed on the west coast most of their early life. On an historical note, the California will have its named changed to San Diego a year after this image was taken. The ship will then be sunk off of Long Island on July 19, 1918. For the next 80 years historians will argue whether it was hit by a torpedo or a mine from a German submarine, but new evidence has emerged that a German spy planted a bomb onboard. Not the FourthI thought this was a Fourth of July picture until I paid attention to the title. Here's some history on the actual event. Cabrillo and San DiegoJuan Rodriguez Cabrillo's discovery of San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, inspired San Diegans to organize a festival and parade in 1892, a much larger pageant in 1911 as a fundraiser for the 1915 Panama California Exposition, and the four-day Carnaval in September 1913 that this photo commemorates. The 1913 event celebrated the dedication by President Woodrow Wilson of federal land at the tip of Point Loma as the Cabrillo National Monument, overlooking the entrance to the harbor in the upper left corner of the photo. The actual monument would not be built until 1939, but the medal seen here was struck in 1913 for the event. The 1911 celebration featured a lot less less history and a lot more fun, and included the fantasy arrival of "King Cabrillo" at the court of "Queen Ramona." The royal mascot's name is not recorded. +87Below is the same view from July of 2000 (scanned from a slide - an art I'm still attempting to grasp). The structure on the left that still stands is the Spreckels Building. Interestingly, American naval power is also contrasted in the two shots. I don't know what ships are in the distance in the 1913 shot, but they can be compared to the USS John C. Stennis which has its fantail visible in the distance in the 2000 view. Armored CruiserThe ship in the center of the picture appears to be an armored cruiser of the Pennsylvania class. It's quite possibly the USS West Virginia, which was stationed along the West Coast at the time the photo was taken. Ship IDI believe the ship in the background is the USS California (ACR-6), a Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser. She was renamed USS San Diego in 1914 and was sunk by a suspected mine off Long Island in 1918. TransitionAnother picture showing the transition from four legs to four wheels and it shows that the auto is winning. BTW, check out that spiffy roadster in white; it stands out like a Rolls at a Yugo Convention. 1913 Auto Show Interesting contrast in those cars parked head on in front of the 2nd building. The one white topless car parked amid all the apparently black autos. Keystone State Taken to the CleanersSince those Pennsylvania-class cruisers spent most of their careers in the Pacific, I hope Pennsylvania got its money back! The flag I loveThis is a great picture, if only for the presence of all those beautiful, wonderful, brand new 48-star flags! (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC, Streetcars)
The Old French Market
... Call is to the left. --Infrogmation of New Orleans Ship's Chandlery Two storefronts, one says "Grocery and Ship Chandlery" the other "Ship Chandlery," the latter phrase indicates they ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/13/2019 - 10:53pm -

Circa 1880s-1890s. "The old French Market, New Orleans." Photo by William Henry Jackson. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size. Deutsche GroceryApparently the Old French Market had a "Deutsche (German) Grocery." Grocery is, of course, an English word; the German one would be Lebensmittelgeschäft. There must have been quite a number of German-speaking immigrants to make it beneficial use such a sign. High & Dry GroceriesThe "Deutsche (German) Grocery" is north (roughly) across the street from the French Market; the French Market is that irregular-shaped long structure in the center of the photo. Last time I was in New Orleans, 25 years ago, there was at least one long-established grocery store in about that same location. The French Market is in the high ground area, such as it is, of earliest New Orleans settlement, and probably didn't get flooded after Katrina, although I may be wrong about this. --- Almost 50 years ago, I lived on the other side of Canal Street, about two blocks toward Lee Circle from the http://Liberty Theatre, www.shorpy.com/node/5786. There was also a nearby second theatre; I remember going to both. Shorpy, thanks for the memories! Gaslight to Carbon ArcThe Southwestern Brush Electric Light and Power Company had these carbon arc streetlamps up and burning by the end of 1882. The street gas lamp pictured is about 40 years older. There were 400 electric streetlamps powered by 12 generating stations. These were the days of DC municipal power, supplied for streetlights only until Edison came to town in 1886 to provide power for indoor incandescent lamps. I am fascinated by the wires in these old photographs and the eventual "current war" between AC and DC: Westinghouse vs. Edison. LocationI'm still trying to figure out exactly where this was, since the area around the French Market has changed a lot in the last 100 years or so. It looks like the street on the left is Gallatin, now French Market Place. The building at the very end of the street is the old U.S. Mint. The street on the right would be Peters, which ran along the river. Where it's at!I took a walk down to the French Market this morning and it looks like the photo was taken from the corner of Decatur and St. Phillip streets. Decatur is on the left (I wrongly identified it as Gallatin in an earlier post and that's not the US Mint at the end of the street) and Peters is on the right. Some of the buildings on Decatur are still there and you can line them up to figure out where the photographer was standing. Love the French MarketI used to travel to New Orleans in the 1990s, and my employer at the time had a condo in the Quarter for out of town visitors. I spent a lot of time in the French Market (I didn't patronize the tourist trap bars or gift stores). The market was open 24 hours a day at that time. I brought home a lot of pecans and cajun spices, but passed on the alligator meat offered by one vendor. French Market: Same but differentThis is just up from St. Philip Street, where Decatur & N. Peters Streets split. The "Red Stores" building is at the right. Seen is a part of the French Market that used to extend upriver a bit further. There used to be several stalls beyond the Morning Call Cafe (now the location of "The Market Cafe" restaurant). In the Great Depression, the Works Progess Administration did lots of good works in New Orleans, paving streets, building parks and playgrounds, and renovating public buildings. From a historic preservation standpoint, however, the 1930s WPA work on the French Market was a mixed bag. They renovated some of the oldest structures, but also tore down several buildings that were already more than a century old at the time. The attached photo taken a short distance down and to the right from the William Henry Jackson photo shows WPA workers on North Peters on 5 January 1937; the Morning Call is to the left. --Infrogmation of New Orleans Ship's ChandleryTwo storefronts, one says "Grocery and Ship Chandlery" the other "Ship Chandlery," the latter phrase indicates they would provision ships with food. In searching around I found that another grocery and ship's chandlery farther down the street (near the corner of Ursuline's) was involved in a serious explosion in 1895: "April 6, 1895, Wednesday Page 2, 644 words NEW ORLEANS, April 5. -- Five persons were killed and a number were injured by an explosion of powder in the grocery and ship chandlery of Charles J. Salathe, Decatur and Ursuline Streets, early this morning. Following is a list of the dead" http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9803E7DC133DE433A25755C0A... Looking at the PDF of the full article I see that, among the dead, were two "saloon loungers." +120 (approx.)Like the rest of the French Quarter, much of this view is the same today. The buildings on the left side of the image, although altered, are the same. The attached image is the identical perspective from September of 2008. (The Gallery, New Orleans, Stores & Markets, W.H. Jackson)
Flyover: 1928
... voyage from Friedrichshafen, Germany. The great silver ship made her bow to the waiting continent at 9:45 o'clock this morning, ... idea of drollery. Or trollery. - Dave] "Sally ship!" Something seems odd about the comparative views of the Capitol ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:23pm -

"Graf Zeppelin over Capitol." The German airship on its visit to Washington in October 1928. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size. I knew Cheney was rightObama has left us undefended! Do I sense a..Homeland Security alert? Cue the F-18's. FalloutWhite House Military Director Dewey Tellum immediately apologized for the incident, and the German government has promised to cover the entire $88.95 cost of the promotional stunt. Oct. 15, 12:30 p.m. Washington Post, Oct 16, 1928 Battle With Winds Marked Air Voyage Log of Transatlantic Flight Tells Tale of Struggle Against Elements. New York, Oct. 15 (A.P.). - Graf Zeppelin, proud aristocrat of a long lineage of aircraft, cruised triumphantly up the Mid-Atlantic Coast today to show herself to millions of Americans who had followed with intense interest and some anxiety the progress of her record breaking voyage from Friedrichshafen, Germany. The great silver ship made her bow to the waiting continent at 9:45 o'clock this morning, Eastern standard time, when she was sighted from Cape Charles, Va., northern promontory of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. Behind her were not only 6,000 miles of land and water, but anxious moments when a damaged horizontal fin had forced her to reduce speed, and long hours of battling winds that were conspiring to keep her from the goal. Triumphant over wind, weather and ocean, she slipped over the American coast at 10:10 a.m. at a point six miles north of Cape Charles, and from then on, with the journey's end in sight, her sturdy motors bore her comfortably over the densely populated coastal plain. She paid her formal respects to Washington at about 12:30 p.m. sliding over the Capitol and White House beneath an overcast sky, and then slipped north to visit Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Trenton and New York, passing as she went many smaller communities, which like their more populous neighbors, saluted the victorious voyager from street and housetop. ... Washington first saluted the Graf Zeppelin at 12:21 when she approached from the east over the Capitol. As she circled above the Government buildings, sharp-eyed naval experts noticed the hole in her port stabilizer - the rent that had caused the anxiety last Saturday. President Coolidge took time to have a look at Graf Zeppelin. Leaving his desk in the White House executive office, he stepped outdoors, bareheaded, watched the dirigible for a moment, as everybody else was doing, and then went back to work. ... First Transoceanic VoyageThis is the Graf after it made the first flight over the Atlantic for an aircraft with paying passengers. It was also notable for damage done to the fabric of the port horizontal stabilizer, which was recovered and lashed tight by volunteers in flight. Due to the newspaper headlines there was a huge crowd assembled at Lakehust when she arrived. Also a ticker-tape parade for Hugo Eckner and his crew in Manhattan and a reception by President Coolidge in the White House. My mom saw it fly over her house on the eastern shore of Virginia as a child. She said it filled the sky. It was not uncommon for airships to fly at an altitude lower than their length. The Graf was 787 feet long. Big enough to "fill the sky!" PANIC!!!Can you imagine the havoc that would be caused if this happened today? WOW!Of all the great pictures I've seen here in Shorpy (and I've seen quite a few!) this has to be one of the most striking. Thank you very much for sharing it with us! 48 States in the FlagIn 1928, there were, in fact, 48 States in the Union. Someone up top needs to retake history class. [That may have been someone's idea of drollery. Or trollery. - Dave] "Sally ship!"Something seems odd about the comparative views of the Capitol building and the ship. It looks as though she's making a sharp turn, but it doesn't seem likely that a zeppelin's speed could ever make her heel like that. Do the crew need to shift some ballast? [There seems to have been quite a bit of dipping and circling involved. - Dave] The Zeppelin entered Washington from the southeast, passing close to the Capitol, to which it dipped in salute as hundreds emerged from the House and Senate office buildings to view the spectacle. Continuing straight through the heart of the city, the dirigible swung through the northwest section over the German Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue, down past the State, War and Navy Building toward the Washington Monument. By this time its altitude was estimated at about 1,000 feet. It swung easily with a slight roll, the rip in its port fin plainly showing. It circled the Monument, passing almost over it and dipping in salute. She then turned her nose to the northeast and went directly over the White House, where she again dipped in formal salute and then straightened away toward Baltimore on her way to New York and Lakehurst. Run for your lives!!It's heading for the Capitol!! (five minutes later) Keep on running! It's halfway there!! Fake PhotoPhoto is obviously fake. Flag doesn't even have 50 stars on it. Duh. D'oh! Fake Photo?Let's see ..... 1928 ..... hmmmm.... how many states in the Union? Hat Crime"he stepped outdoors, bareheaded ... " A scandal ensued. Atop the domeYou know, I've probably seen a zillion pictures of the US Capitol in my lifetime, but this is the first time (probably because of the object hovering over it, and because I'm looking at the photo in full size format) that my eyes were drawn to the statue on top. I'm sure I've seen it with my eyes, but not with my comprehension. I had to look it up myself to get a closer look at it. It's a statue called "Armed Freedom" and the best shot of it that I could find was, oddly enough, at AllPosters.com. ProgressThis event was hailed as momentous, and a mere 41 years later, America would plant a 50-star flag on the Moon with space flight. The Moon! In only 41 years after a dirigible was touted as progress! Up in the airThe photo looks like a montage to me. The image of the Zeppelin is exactly the same as the image on the newspaper front page, which was obviously taken while looking up as it flew over. [The propulsion pods are lined up vertically in the Capitol photo. Not so in the newspaper photo. Obviously two different views. Also note that the haze over the zep in the Capitol photo blends in very well with the haze in the rest of the sky. Our source here is a glass negative, as opposed to a print on paper. - Dave] The GrafWhat a beautiful ship. If I could take part in one event in history, I would want to be a passenger on the Graf Zeppelin's around-the-world voyage in 1929. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Zeppelins & Blimps)
L.A. Over D.C.: 1931
... airship. USS Los Angeles! The Akron was a great ship, however this is the USS Los Angeles built by Zeppelin in 1923. This ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/26/2023 - 1:19pm -

        UPDATE: The aviation experts among us aver that the photo shows the USS Los Angeles, not the Akron. In which case the date would be November 2, 1931, when both airships overflew the capital. August 19, 1932. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. "The Navy airship Akron appeared in the morning and after circling the city released several of her small fighting airplanes over Hoover Field. These were later drawn into the hangar constructed on the interior of the airship." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. Non-flammable, but deadly nonethelessAll Most of the Navy's airships came to tragic ends (the Los Angeles was the only one to make it to retirement). The Akron's death toll of 73 -- coincidentally the same as the number of flights it had performed -- was the worst of the lot. Flying aircraft carriersIt seems incredible now, but in the early 1930s the Navy experimented with launching and retrieving fighter planes from airships like the Akron. The photo below, taken three months before Horydczak's, shows a Sparrowhawk fighter suspended from the "trapeze" of the Akron. The pilot can be seen reaching to check the wing attachment that will allow the plane to be dropped safely into the air. The program died after two fatal accidents, both caused by weather. Almost MemorialThe top of that memorial looks like a pathetic "hurry up and finish it" to an otherwise very nice building. Sad and deadly endingThe USS Akron was destroyed in a thunderstorm off the coast of New Jersey on the morning of April 4, 1933, killing 73 of the 76 crewmen and passengers. The accident involved the greatest loss of life in any airship crash. I'm doubly impressedFirst, that F9C Sparrowhawk fighter planes could be released from the airship. Even more, that the Sparrowhawks could return to the airship. USS Los Angeles!The Akron was a great ship, however this is the USS Los Angeles built by Zeppelin in 1923. This is the ZR-3 USS Los Angeles, not ZR-4 USS AkronUSS Akron's engines were in a single line along the lower half of the hull, where USS Los Angeles had 5 engine pods (4 staggered on the hull and one on the bottom). The airship in the photograph is ZR-3 USS Los Angeles. I don't think that's the AkronLooks like the Los Angeles, but not the Akron or Macon. The engine pods give it away. Engines on the Akron and Macon were internal with drive shafts out to the props. Wrong AirshipThat's the Los Angeles (ZR-3), not the Akron. Comparing photos of the two make that obvious. The Akron may have been in the same area at the time but it's not in this picture. [The Akron and Los Angeles overflew Washington on November 2, 1931. However the Library of Congress photo caption (which is not dated) says it's the Akron. - Dave] Dirigibles were grossly overrated. Yes, that's the Los Angeles. The Akron hat four vertical lines on its skin from the condensers which were used to recoup water from the exhausts so they would not have to vent ever so much scarce and expensive helium. As for being overrated, just look how they all fared. Imperial German airships - way more than half lost to accidents, bad weather and enemy action. Well, they make one hell of a big target. LZ 32 even had the distinction to be shot down by a submarine. Of the six post WW1 zeppelins actually built two were lost and three of the rest hardy flew at all. The Brits were not doing much better. And had their own notorious command economy showcase with R101. The US had five of them (arguably some to the finer ones, especially the domestically built) - and lost four. Just look how often somebody comes up trying to resuscitate them - and not getting anywhere. IMHO a clear case of "mine's bigger than yours". Blimps on the other hand are a different matter. [Blimps are dirigibles. Dirigible means directable, i.e. steerable. - Dave] (The Gallery, Aviation, D.C., Theodor Horydczak, Zeppelins & Blimps)
Maine Cook Cat: 1896
... later, of course. Interesting to see how archaic the ship looks in comparison to modern warships, yet how advanced it would be ... thirty years or so earllier. If I didn't KNOW that the ship was destroyed killing most of the crew (at a time when the crew itself ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/19/2012 - 1:47am -

1896. "U.S.S. Maine -- berth deck cooks." And their feline mascot. 8x10 inch glass negative by Edward H. Hart, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Scary PantsNo way could I wear those trousers at my age. By the time I got them unbuttoned, it would be way too late. You guys over 60 know what I mean. Most were probably dead two years later, of course.Interesting to see how archaic the ship looks in comparison to modern warships, yet how advanced it would be compared to warships of just thirty years or so earllier. If I didn't KNOW that the ship was destroyed killing most of the crew (at a time when the crew itself could sometimes stay on the same ship from commisioning to disposal), I would swear I see three time traveling sailors in this group: the cook holding the bowl in the back row, the cook with the coffee pot, and the cook with the bowl in the front row (minus the mustaches) all look very much like specific sailors that I've known with in my career working for the Navy. I guess it's the old Ringo Starr looks like Yasser Arafat effect, but they are ringers. Scooping dutyI wonder what they used for kitty litter on the ship? Re: Scary Pants TamedI recall my dad, a WWII Navy vet, telling me of the process they used to break-in those buttonholes - repetitive buttoning and unbuttoning until they'd open somewhat easily. Scary Pants Part DeuxEvery sailor who ever quaffed multiple beers knows how to quickly unbutton for fast, fast relief. The trick is to enlarge the button holes so unbuttoning can be done without ripping the buttons off. Then, leave the top corner buttons on each side undone so you have a tab to work with. A quick tug on either or both tabs will drop the flap in a millisecond. Don't ask how I know this. 3 bottles on the wallAre those fire grenades mounted on the wall at the back? Those three bottesWere, I think, correctly identified as fire grenades. Better than today's silly goateesWhat an impressive array of mustaches! It's difficult to decide which of the two handlebars in the back row is my favorite. Scary Pants AgainWhen I was in, in 1963 to 1969, you didn't tuck your jumper into your pants so you didn't see the buttons. I buttoned only the two top outer buttons, to take care of business you needed to un button only one button on one side.The only time you could have facial hair was when you were overseas. Well risen or not?As a baker of bread for nearly four decades, now, the bread pans caught my eye, immediately. I was just thinking about how deep they look and imagining how high the bread would have risen in them, when I noticed the loaf of bread on the other side of the photo. Now, I wonder what went wrong. Did someone not let it rise long enough, in a hurry to have a fresh loaf of some kind, for the picture? Did they put too little dough in the pan? Or, perhaps, they did like I remember my mother-in-law doing and go off and forget about it, causing it to rise too high and then fall. Of those possibilities, the latter would result in the worst bread! P.S. That cat is purring! Fancy cruet setsWonder if this was the officers' mess or did your rank-and-file swabby rate fancy crystal cruet sets like those on the table. TraditionsThese fellows would never have past muster in the Royal Navy of the period (and probably not today either). Regulations for facial hair - for all ranks - required a "full set" of mustache and beard if someone were to go unshaven. By comparison Army regulations prohibited beards except for Pioneer units (where a very full untrimmed beard was pretty much required) and certain religious groups (such as Sikhs) who received exemptions. The same regulations were retained int he Canadian military until the Unification of the late 1960s and early '70s when it was determined that if all commands would allow mustaches and beards except when safety was compromised. Lanyards whattheheck are all those lanyards? Bosun's mates carried their pipes like that--attached to a lanyard and the pipe in the pocket. But these aren't bosuns. And hard as it is to believe the 13-buttons trousers were still standard issue into the 60s. "Don't call them them pants, sailor. Girls wear pants!" Unusual footwearThe sailor in the front holding the large round pan and the bare - headed man behind the coffee pot seem to be wearing loafers. A real softyThe toughest looking guy there...is holding the kitty. Awww, he's a real marshmallow underneath that gruff exterior! Ship's MascotThe name of the tabby cat mascot of the Battleship USS Maine was of course "Tom." Tom survived the sinking of the Maine, was found the next day somewhat singed but recovered fully. Attached is a portrait of Tom. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cats, DPC, E.H. Hart, Kitchens etc.)
Bon Voyage: 1903
... head. For its time the Barrett was a large and powerful ship handling tug with a single cylinder steam engine and a firebox boiler, all ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/08/2023 - 8:33pm -

New York, 1903. "R.M.S. Majestic -- outward bound farewells." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. O Captain! My Captain!Commanded at this time by Edward Smith, who served as captain from 1895 to 1904. In 1904, White Star started assigning Smith as captain on their newest (and largest) ships as they were launched: the Baltic in 1904, the Adriatic in 1907, the Olympic in 1911, and of course, the Titanic in 1912. The Majestic snaps backOn the upper deck an officer, in white, is snapping a photo of the crowd bidding the Majestic bon voyage. On the deck below him there are only working-class men who, to me, look more like crew members you don't normally see during the voyage than third-class passengers. Click to embiggen: She Lives OnAfter being scrapped in 1914, parts of her interior were sold off, with the skylight of the first-class dining room eventually ending up at the Smithsonian Institution. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1342683 The handsome tug shown wresting the behemoth Majestic from its wharf is the R.J. Barrett, built 1893 at Athens, New York, by Peter Magee for E.E. Barrett & Company, a prominent New York harbor towing firm founded by the father of Captain Richard J. Barrett, the vessel's namesake, Hoboken resident, and then the firm's head. For its time the Barrett was a large and powerful ship handling tug with a single cylinder steam engine and a firebox boiler, all of which it would retain its entire life. If the year is 1903, the location is Pier 48. The Barrett had a remarkably long life for a wooden tug, operating for Barrett until 1943 when sold to the Mathiesen Shipping Company of another well known New York tug family, renamed Mathiesen. The end came in 1947 when the Mathiesen was abandoned, probably at the graveyard of tugs at the east end of Arthur Kill. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)
The Corridor: 1898
... campground. -- Wikipedia Suddenly a pirate ship ... appeared on the horizon! Dave, is there no corner of pop ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 7:42pm -

Put-In Bay, Ohio, circa 1898. "Hotel Victory corridor." A door slammed. The maid screamed. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. The ShiningWelcome to the Overlook Hotel. A beautiful resort hotelin its day. Too bad there are not more of these types of hotels left. TimelessAre you sure this wasn't taken in 1998? It sure looks like it could have been, such fine quality. CharacterThese old hotels had character, which can be summed up in one word: combustible. I imagine feet clunking up the wooden stairs, and creaking across the wooden subfloor which undoubtedly underlies the carpet. The stairway doubles as a chimney, of course, and every room has a transom, which will all be opened during the summer months. The walls are probably wood lath and plaster. Although many hotels boasted of "fireproof construction," the more useful term "fire rating" had not yet been invented. The knob-and-tube wiring would be the least of your worries. As much fun as murder mysteries are, most deaths in these places were far more prosaic. AmenitiesI wonder if the folks checking in at the front desk asked about the availability of Wi-Fi? Maintenance Nightmare Acres of carpet and the electric vacuum cleaner will not be invented for a few more years yet. Plus the huge amount of laundry that had to be done everyday without electric washing machines. It must have taken an army of employees to keep a hotel operating back in the day. Your next step, the Twilight ZoneThe things along the corridor on the right are doors. The things that look just like them on the left are presumably doors too. But if you step into a left door you fall straight into that brightly lit atrium, or whatever it is, that you get to, down that flight of stairs. Uhm, no thanks. I don't want to go there. Erie TinderboxPut-in-Bay was Ohio's Mackinac Island, and the Victory was its Grand Hotel. Advertised as the world's largest summer hotel, it hosted many national conventions (including one in 1901 for fire insurance agents). By August 1919 it was a pile of ashes, burned to the ground in a spectacular fire. DanglersWatch out for low hanging lighting. RealityThanks Lectrogeek68 for reminding all of us of the downside of vintage construction, etc. Makes you appreciate modern building codes for their safety! Now when you can combine classic architecture, high quality craftsmanship, and modern day conveniences and safety, then you really have something! CombustibleOne of the world's largest hotels, the Hotel Victory, opened its 625 rooms to the public in 1892. The four-story hotel featured a thousand-seat dining room. However on August 14, 1919, the giant hotel burned to the ground. Today only parts of the foundations can be seen at the state campground. -- Wikipedia Suddenly a pirate ship ... appeared on the horizon! Dave, is there no corner of pop culture with which you are not familiar? Electric LightsLectrogeek might get a kick out of this old New York hotel sign for guests encountering electric lights for the first time. My mother stole it during a stay at an ancient hotel in the '50s. I never thought to ask her which one. [Wow. Amazing! Props to your mom. - Dave] I wonder who was playing in the piano barI'm betting it was Pat Dailey. He's always playing somewhere near Put in Bay. Hotel CaliforniaYou can check in but you can never leave. But First, A SongWell, since my baby left me, I found a new place to dwell. It's down at the end of lonely street at Heartbreak Hotel. The FireThe Mansfield News Ohio -- August 15, 1919 Sandusky, Aug. 15. -- Fifty guests were driven from their rooms, losing all of their belongings and damage estimated from $500,000 to $1,000,000 was caused last night when the Hotel Victory at Put In Bay burned to the ground. The structure, one of the most famous hostelries on the lakes, contained 625 rooms in addition to a large dining room, parlors and ball room. The origin of the flames is unknown, the blaze starting in a cupola and enveloping the entire third floor before persons in the hotel were aware that it was on fire. Word was telephoned to the hotel from outside of the fire. The huge structure burned like tinder and the blaze was visible for miles around the lakes. Crowds gathered at many points to watch the flames shoot high in the sky. The hotel was built in 1891 at a cost of over a million dollars, but has never been a paying proposition. A Chicago company headed by Charles J. Stoops bought the hotel this spring and had refurnished it. They carried some insurance but Ben Mowrey, manager, was not aware of the amount of the insurance. The "Key"The "key" that one was to turn was a surface-mount rotary switch, seen to the left of the stairway. They come up on eBay from time to time, and I own a few. Here is one that I found a couple of years ago, in the basement of a 1917 house in San Antonio. Presumably, it's still there. I didn't remove it. Electric LightsBryharms picture of that notice about electric lights reminded me of a story about Will Rogers that I heard quite some time ago. It seems that he and a friend checked into a hotel that had gaslights. They had never seen gaslights and, when they retired for the night, they blew out the flames as they would for a coal oil lamp. Luckily, they did not gas themselves but were very sick the next morning. We may laugh about the two incidents today but what new technology is just around the corner that we may not understand to begin with? The West WingNot Aaron Sorkin's "West Wing", Edward Gorey's. I fully expect to see a card or three tennis shoes lying on the floor, or a darkly dressed lady in an Edwardian hat on the stairs, or *something* disappearing around the edge of a doorway. That window at the end of the hallreally bothers me! It almost looks as if it's a portal to another dimension, or an alternate universe, or something. Might be a time-travel hole of some sort, who knows -- it could be 2011 on the other side! (The Gallery, DPC)
Trailer Trashed: 1954
... Oak and Jackson (parallel streets). Be Specific - Ship UNION PACIFIC UP's boxcar slogan. One possible scenario It may ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/18/2016 - 6:55pm -

"Railyard accident." Oakland again, circa 1954, and the Curious Case of the Tipped Trailer. 4x5 acetate negative from the News Photo Archive. View full size. Trailer dollytrailer dollies still have to have tail lights and plates in most places. Here's a modern one for sale. Brake failure - or DUI?Interesting schtuff - the tracks are signaled for right hand running so the truck appears to have been traveling in the same direction as the train. If a train were coming on the left hand track and hit the train it would have plowed it towards the camera. Would the hit be hard enough to push the entire truck and trailer into the right hand track? If it were coming on the right hand track towards the truck it would most likely be operating under train orders to run at a reduced speed... possibly restricted speed. That would have minimized any damage to the truck cab. The right front fender of the truck is bent back - was it pushed back from the impact or do they swing out in old IH's to allow access to the engine? To me it looks like the truck was running in the same direction of the switch engine with the whaleback tender. There isn't any evidence on the "ICC" bar of the last trailer to imply that the trailer was hit from behind. Is it possible that the jacknife caused the loaded trailers to bend when they came to an abrupt stop... and for the trailing trailer to flip from the stop? Oooh, and a neat collection of postwar freight cars, from an Espee and MoPac box cars to a Union Pacific box car with Pullman-Standard welded ends yet riveted lightweight ("ACR") construction. Kewl stuff, Dave Possible scenarioI agree that this is a double-trailer rig. Looks like it's filled with construction waste (cut lumber, etc.) Could it have been on a project somewhere behind it and had contact with the train, tugging it along by the rear trailer until the cab jackknifed? Pure speculation. Confusing messDarn if I can figure out this mess. Can anyone find a newspaper article to explain what happened here? Not knowing the exact date makes this hard to research. [Newspapers.com might have something. Or maybe some other online archive that has the Oakland Tribune. - Dave] Locomotive 1216Southern Pacific S-10 class, 0-6-0 switcher. GroupthinkOf the eight men closest to the truck cab, at least six are standing with arms akimbo, License plate and taillights explained:Trailer dollies (converter gear) usually have taillights and some states require them to be licensed and safety-inspected. (In California the license is optional, today anyway). Where is the second tractor cab Dave? [It would be between the trailers. Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. - Dave] What I've learned from Shorpy1954 was not a good year to be an insurance agent in Oakland. Hello DollyTrailer dollies have lights and plates. They still count as a trailer by themselves if they don't have a larger trailer attached. Scrap LumberSince the truck is from the Puget Sound area, I am wondering if the scrap lumber is being shipped to California perhaps for a particle board factory? Oak Street CrossingMy guess, in looking at Historic Aerials and Google Earth, is that the truck was crossing the tracks at Oak Street and the gas storage tank in the distance is the one that used to be at the foot of Grove Street, now MLK Way. The curve here in the tracks, to the right, seems to match with the curve near Oak and Jackson (parallel streets). Be Specific - Ship UNION PACIFICUP's boxcar slogan. One possible scenarioIt may have been hit by a train. Ripped, Not TippedThe trailer appears to have been ripped off the cab. I am guessing that the driver tried crossing the tracks and train met truck with obvious results. I wonder what a trailer load of kindling was worth in 1954? [There are two cabs and two trailers here. - Dave] It's considered a trailerI think the license plate and lights are on there because the dolly is a separate piece from the trailer and can be pulled without a trailer attached. The dolly would then become the trailer and need its own license plate and tail lights. [This is a good explanation. Thank you! - Dave] Tandem TrailersThis is one IH cabover tractor, pulling 2 tandem trailers. You are seeing the dolly that supports the front of the second trailer, still hitched to the rear of the first trailer, and under a lot of stress. It's a dolly, because there is no drive axle and pumpkin, just an I-beam axle. There is a pintle hitch and air + electric connections at the rear of the second trailer, so they can be coupled in either order. The angle of the right fender + headlight indicates that the other side of the tractor may not look as good as this side. [I see a license plate and taillights. - Dave] Steamcrane is correctThat's definitely an I-beam axle; you can see the flanges. The round thing you see near the center is a taillight or reflector on the other trailer. And a differential would be a lot bigger. [Someone please explain the license plate and brake lights. - Dave] Converter TrailersThe tandem trailer dolly is referred to as a converter trailer. I believe they were required to be licensed as well as a typical trailer. Don't believe there is another tractor unit involved. Pintle hitch is correctWhat you're seeing is a connecting unit for the second trailer to attach to. It would attach to any conventional trailer and carry a fifth wheel for a second trailer to attach to. These are still being used for "peanut wagons" (two trailer loads) and were once considered for even longer runs of three or four. Mercifully, they came to their senses before that was tried. It would have the license and brake light against such time when the second trailer was dropped off at a destination and the first trailer was going elsewhere. 18 Wheeler? Not so fast, count 'em. When I traveled I-80 from Nevada to the SF Bay Area, I would see dual-trailer setups regularly, even into the 1990's. There was a parking lot or rest area where the single trailers would be stashed so the 18 wheeler could make the run with a single trailer. I don't remember if they were power limited climbing from the Bay, or they were brake limited going downhill, but UPS and Roadway would leave trailers sitting with the 'dolley' still attached. The lights and plate are for use when there is no second trailer attached. A load of wood pieces would be volume limited rather than weight, so hauling two trailers full at the same time makes good sense. Tom in Canton, GA re: Single Trailers in SF"There was a parking lot or rest area where the single trailers would be stashed so the 18 wheeler could make the run with a single trailer. I don't remember if they were power limited climbing from the Bay, or they were brake limited going downhill, but UPS and Roadway would leave trailers sitting with the 'dolley' still attached." It's because of the length restrictions in the City, especially off the usual main roads. Even with a 28' trailer, it's difficult for a lot of semis to get around. With a >40' trailer, it's impossible. Madison StThe signal bridge was about 37.79285N 122.27045W, 100-150 ft east of Jackson St, so must be the Madison St crossing in the lower right corner of the pic. The train is on the westward track, so the truck was likely northbound on Madison when the slow-moving train hit the truck's right side and dragged it a short distance. (The Gallery, News Photo Archive, Railroads, Signal 30)
S.S. Miami: 1910
... a young lad lying on his stomach and looking toward the ship. I wonder what he wanted to see from that vantage point? Or maybe he ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/25/2023 - 5:19pm -

Miami, Florida, circa 1910. "Peninsular & Occidental steamer Miami off for Nassau, W.I." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Interesting vantage pointIf you look at the right side of the roof peak on the pavilion, you'll see a young lad lying on his stomach and looking toward the ship. I wonder what he wanted to see from that vantage point? Or maybe he just liked climbing on hot roofs. A bit of wrinklingto an embarrassed starboard stern. The famous William Cramp & Sons yardat Philadelphia launched the Miami on 23 October 1897 for Henry Flagler for semi-weekly service (tri-weekly during the winter season) between Nassau and Miami, then the southern terminus of his Florida East Coast Railway. It arrived at Nassau from Miami on its maiden voyage 18 January 1898. After decades in southern waters Peninsular & Occidental sold the vessel to the Atlantic City Steamship Company in June 1932, and renamed it the SS Steel Pier in honor of the Atlantic City landmark that opened the same year the Miami entered service. It ran excursions featuring live entertainment out of Atlantic City until sold and employed in the same trade at Manhattan in 1933. It found yet another owner in May 1934 when the Cape Cod Steamship Company purchased it to serve Boston, Buzzards Bay, and Provincetown during the summer, becoming a beloved fixture on that route until the end of the 1947 season, sold in October 1948 as a "new" vessel, the Diesel-driven Virginia Lee of 1928, replaced it. The Patapsco Scrap Company dismantled the Miami, as Steel Pier, in the spring of 1949 at Baltimore. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Florida, Miami)
Home Entertainment: 1917
... Foundered 1932, Tall Oaks from Tiny Acorns Grow" Top Ship Only Yes, I am sure that the 'peaked' cross-bracing at the top was to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 4:20pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1917. A Victrola talking machine on the delivery wagon at the Woodward & Lothrop department store. Harris & Ewing. View full size. Open windows.Its interesting to me that we have lost our connection to the street in our cities with inoperable windows. Back then you could open your window, get fresh air, and hear the sounds and smells of the street (for good or bad). Seems like now our buildings have become blank facades with no life to them. Not like back then anyways. The buildings seem more alive to me back then. That same buildings, today, would probably seem just a bit more sterile (albeit wonderful architecture!) Bills of ladingWell into the 1960s and perhaps later, these Victrolas and other audio products (radios, phonographs, tape recorders etc.) would be listed on the shippers' bills of lading as "talking machines." Freight technology and registrationsSomething that always catches my eye on old photos like this is the fact that you can see horse-drawn vehicles sharing the streets amicably with the new-fangled automobile, though evidently the older method of transportation was giving way to the new technological marvel by this time; there's only one wagon in this photo, while I can count at least 9 automobiles. Maybe the fact that it was the only vehicle big enough to take that crate vertically was the reason why it hadn't been discontinued yet. Also, have you noticed that the wagon does not seem to have a license plate? Makes me wonder if horse-drawn wagons were registered at all, like the automobiles. Do Not StackOnce in a blue moon Victrola crates come up for auction, and all the ones I've seen have the curious cross brace covering the top panel. I've always suspected that they were there to keep shippers from stacking the crates. Victrolas are very heavy, and I doubt stacked crates would survive shipment. The Laurel and Hardy Transfer CompanyShades of "The Music Box" (1932) in which Stan and Ollie have trouble delivering a piano from their horse-drawn wagon, proudly emblazoned "The Laurel and Hardy Transfer Company, Foundered 1932, Tall Oaks from Tiny Acorns Grow" Top Ship OnlyYes, I am sure that the 'peaked' cross-bracing at the top was to insure that no other crates were put on top at any point during shipment. I've seen other furniture crates built this way to circumvent the damaging force of something on top bouncing (horse drawn or hard rubber auto tires.) The crate was designed to protect from side to side damage but could not support the weight of other freight on top without possible crushing, which would almost certainly damage the contents. Gravity, while useful to most of us is quite a destructive force during shipping. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Stores & Markets)
Boston Harbor: 1906
... Philadelphia Stea? (just to the left of the big black ship funnel in the left/center foreground): Steaks Steam Steamers ... imagined. While trains were faster, coastwise travel by ship was more efficient and still very popular. The group of schooner masts ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/28/2012 - 4:38pm -

Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1906. "Boston Harbor and waterfront." Panorama of two 8x10 inch glass negatives, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The Waning Days of SailThe three ships with 5 masts each out in the harbor must be Cape Horners. Around the turn of the twentieth century, these enormous ships were constructed to be the fastest to Asia (before the Panama Canal), their speed outstripping even the storied "clipper ships." Day-OThe smokestack with the diamond (left side of picture)is a United Fruit Company, now Chiquita Brands, "banana boat." What's the island in the background?Pretty sure this was taken from Old Harbor South Boston making the samll island in the background Western Way or Thompson Island. Incredible ChangeThere are very few things extant in this photo. The Custom House Block building is still there as is the three story building to its left. Yet beyond that it is near unrecognizable. The end of Long Wharf was the rented Boston Immigration Station now a open public pavillion. Central Wharf, which says Mellin's Food for Infants and Invalids is now home to the New England Aquarium. The islands of the inner harbor can still be seen here. On the horizon from right to left there are many now lost landmarks. At the farthest right is Deer Island and the Suffolk County House of Correction which stood from 1880-1991). Next in the foreground is Governor's Island (with all those prominent trees) which was destroyed with Apple Island with the building of Logan International Airport. Apple is the thinnest mark almost lost in the masts of the white ships. The town of Winthrop is the rise above Apple with well built up Breed's Island to it's left. Part of Breed's became part of Logan and the rest were fused to East Boston. Philadelphia SteaPhiladelphia Stea? (just to the left of the big black ship funnel in the left/center foreground): Steaks Steam Steamers Steamships Steamship Company Steamship Company Ltd. BTW, who is piloting that rail barge a few yards from the dock in open water?? [Boston and] Philadelphia Stea[mship Line]Most likely "Philadelphia Steamship" or "Philadelphia Steamship Line," from the Boston and Philadelphia Steamship Company. Agent: Francis P. Wing Reference 1 Reference 2 Reference 3 (PDF) Hard work and leisureFrom a European point of view, even big schooners were coasters rather than Cape Horners. The latter tended to be the domain of square-riggers (such as the Flying P-liners). Anyway, those two pretty little steam yachts to the right make a nice contrast to the brawny cargo haulers. Five-Masted Coal SchoonersBy 1900 few if any East Coast sailing ships were still engaged in the China Trade. Pacific Coast steamships and the Transcontinental Railroad had taken over most of that commerce as early as the 1870s. The great five-masted schooners seen here, all more than 300 feet in length, were mostly built in Maine beginning in the late 1890s to deliver coal to Boston and other East Coast ports. Some remained in service into the 1930s. Similar Pacific Coast schooners were used to deliver lumber. Here is a typical Maine schooner under sail, the "Martha P. Small," built in 1901. A brief history of five- and six-masted schooners. Maritime CommerceIt was different in 1906. There's a barque being moved by a steam tug slightly left of center; you'd never see a commercial square rigger today. The large coasting schooners have all vanished long ago, too. Even the steamships are classic, period pieces: the Metropolitan Steamship Company (right foreground) operated coastwise, overnight ferries to New York, leaving every day at 4 PM, according to the Wikipedia article. H. M Whitney, in center foreground, was one of its earlier ships, built in 1890 in Philadelphia and in spite of having been sunk in a collision and later raised, looks very smart in the photo. The two, near-sister twin funneled steamships moving down-channel in the center of the image are also handsome ships, lifeboats and davits very white considering their exposure to all that coal smoke. They too seem to be passenger ships. We tend to forget that in 1906, roads were unpaved except in downtown areas, cars were slow and unreliable, and passenger air travel could barely be imagined. While trains were faster, coastwise travel by ship was more efficient and still very popular. The group of schooner masts on the left look like fishing schooners; these continued working the Grand Banks up to World War II. There's a relatively modern looking steam ferry in that part of the photo also. A great variety of maritime commerce, where today you would probably see just an occasional container ship or oil tanker. Coastwise trade in freight (but not passengers) still goes on, but it's mostly in barges pushed or towed by tugs, and Boston has lost ground to New York in international maritime trade. Jib SailsI love the pic of the schooner from willc with five main sails and the jib sails on the bowsprit to match. A marvelous photo so full ofA marvelous photo so full of detail. The ship in the lower right corner identified by the name on her stern is the H.M Whitney. Built for the Metropolitan Steam Ship Company (Whose name can be seen on a flag and the M on the funnel) in 1890. She was sunk in Boston harbour in 1892 when run down by another steamer. Raised and restored, the H.M Whitney continued in M.S.S.Co service. She struck a rock in Hells Gate, N Y Harbour in fog in 1908 but did not sink. In WWI, the H.M. Whitney was sold for ocean service. She seems to have been renamed the Maria Pinango in 1923 and in 1928 sank while in tow near the Azores. Quite a story. I've seen this picture before...This panorama also appeared in the book "Portrait of a Port - Boston, 1852-1914" by W. H. Bunting (First Harvard University Press, 1971). In the book Mr. Bunting identifies several of the ships: Steaming down channel is the Dominion Atlantic liner Prince George bound for Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. In the lower left hand corner is the Boston & Philadelphia steamer Indian. The three white 5-masted schooners are from the Palmer Fleet which carried coal between Hampton Roads, VA and the New England. In 1905 the fleet delivered 123 loads of coal to New England. They could make the round trip between Hampton Roads and Boston in about three weeks including loading time. Beyond the schooners is Governor's Island now part of Logan Airport. The Metropolitan Line steamer H. M. Whitney ran to New York. She lies on the north side of India Wharf. If anyone has any question about what else is in the picture post a note here and I'll see if I can answer it. Crane shipAcross the harbor appears to be an old hulk built into a crane ship and listing to port. (Panoramas, Boats & Bridges, Boston, DPC)
Baby Shower: 1960
... of the era This picture is full of period items. The ship’s wheel clock on the mantel, probably made by Telechron, the steel tube ... the period. The Time Odd that no one mentioned the ship's wheel clock on the bookshelf. It seemed everyone had to have one of ... 
 
Posted by Tony W. - 09/17/2011 - 8:11pm -

This is my grandma (who is no longer alive), pregnant with my father, making this around 1960. I'm fascinated by the mural above the fireplace and the little figures on top, but perhaps someone might know what the black thing on the table is? And, of course, the big blue thing and television are awesome. Scanned from a Kodak safety negative. View full size. FigurineDare I say, that black object looks like a figure of a panther. Now a cliche, then an object of pride? Black thing & Blue ThingI'm pretty sure the blue thing is a toy stuffed Humpty Dumpty and the black thing is a glass figurine - looks like a panther. Black ThingLooks like a ceramic cat (or perhaps a panther?). And that TV looks older than the photo year. My parents bought our first TV (a tabletop Magnavox) in 1954 and the screen was larger and more square than the one shown. Table-top ceramic sculpture?My guess is that "the black thing" is a glossy-black ceramic panther (I'm guessing the face end would have a few painted-on features in white or gilt), based on the "midcentury" stuff I grew up with (I'm a bit older than your father). BTW, someone has a vintage "Cal-Dak" laundry cart on eBay (ah, the wonders of the internet). Nice to have a (comparatively) younger Shorpy submitter--welcome! That thing on the tableI think that thing on the table might be a ceramic black leopard. My Mom used to have one of those on her front room coffee table.... Black...Panther... ceramic, glossy glaze...popular in the 50's The Black PantherThe thing on Gramma's coffee table looks like a fabulous fifties tchotchke, a ceramic panther planter. (Addendum: In the six minutes it took me to find the panther photo on eBay, six people beat me to the answer! Not to mention the dozens who are sure to follow.) The thing on the tableThe big black thing on the table is a ceramic black panther. The view is a little odd, but, its head is looking towards your grandmother and father-to-be while its tail is pointing at the photographer. Black thing on the tableIt looks to be a statue of a black panther; they're often pictured slinking around like that. My mom had one eerily similar to your grandma's that was also kept on a table. In fact, before I read the text, the statue was the first thing that caught my eye. Although panther statues like this are common, I'd bet my mom's and your grandma's are the very same. Shower?I'm guessing this was taken just after her baby shower. The item on the table looks to be a ceramic panther. The blue thing maybe a stuffed Humpty Dumpty. The gifts seem geared toward the coming baby, including the laundry cart for dirty cloth diapers. [Hmm. Could that be why the title of this post is "Baby Shower"? - Dave] One-upping the Panther FigurineThat's definitely a ceramic panther. My grandmother had one except hers was a lamp base with...wait for it...a plastic philodendron entwining the bottom. This wasn't her handiwork - it came from the store that way and was intended to give the impression that the stealthy cat was prowling the leafy undergrowth of the jungle. This lamp was placed in the most prominent place in the room: on top of the TV. Why one needs a lamp on a TV, I don't know. [Hugely collectible. Search on eBay for "TV lamp" -- there are hundreds. Including 16 panther TV lamps. Also a website devoted to them, tvlamps.net - Dave] LovelyYour Grandma was beautiful. What a lovely expression. Color TVI think what we have here is an early color TV, which used round CRTs well into the 1960s, like our 1965 model. Round B/W CRTs were on the way out by the early 1950s. It looks like the logo above the screen reads "PHILCO," who began producing color sets in 1956. If my surmise is correct, this was a rare family, perhaps one of those whose living rooms were invaded by friends and neighbors every Sunday night starting this year to watch "Bonanza" in Living Color. Deja vuI saw first of all the dress because I also was expecting a child in 1959 and had a dress like that (same color) and a fireplace like that and a shower like that -- way too eerie for words! I did not have a black panther! I can guess what she's thinking"Put that camera down and let me go take a nap!" Cool WoodI love the beige wood in the coffee table. Anybody guess what it is? Some type of maple or birch? My parents have a small desk in that same wood, and it extends out into a very long table. We sometimes used it when we had a lot of people over for a dinner party. Oh joy, a laundry cart! Just what every woman wants! Great looking shoes. Mid-Century BlondeThe table, I mean. Blonde walnut was a favorite furniture style of the 40s, whose pieces survived in many homes through the 50s & 60s. My best grade school chum's house was full of the stuff. It's also possible that the table top is wood-grained Formica. Humpty DumptyI've definitely seen lots of those Humptys over the years - I couldn't find a picture of one online, but here's a pattern for what looks to be the same guy (note sideways-looking eyes and bow on neck): Just maybeI can't be sure — perhaps someone else has noticed it, too — but that black figurine on the table seems to resemble — now stay with me on this, I know it's kind of a left-field guess — some sort of a large feline animal. Like a panther. Maybe. Black PantherDefinitely a black panther... my grandfather had the same exact one. Black PantherWithout question it's a black panther figure, a fairly common piece for the day. My late-grandmother also owned and displayed one; it remains in our family. Those little Asian figurinesThose little Asian figurines atop the fireplace mantel are also really something. My grandma had something like those candle holders, only they were salt shakers... Humpty HumpThat Humpty-Dumpty toy is near about the creepiest thing I have ever seen. The stuff of nightmares. CrackedIt seems like everybody in the world had one of those black panthers in those days. We had one - I was fascinated by it and wouldn't leave it alone (I was three years old). Of course I ended up breaking poor old Mr. Panther in half. Years later I found another one - with a "TV light" built in it - on eBay and I bought it. Kitten HeelsBut look at her shoes! Kitten heels with gold and clear plastic (?) instep. Seriously--one could wear those today. The dress too for that matter. My life's beginningsThis series sure makes me want to dig through all my old stuff. I was born in 1959, too. I have many of my dad's old slides that look so very similar to these. LaminatedIt looks to me like a laminate tabletop. My grandfather had one similar, with the end tables to match. Fast agingSomething doesn't add up here. There was a photo two days ago ("Father's Day 1964") of your Father, looking middle aged. Yet today's photo shows his Mom 4-5 years earlier, not yet having given birth to him? I'm totally confused. [Look above the photo to see who posted it. This pic was posted by Tony. The Father's Day photo was posted by tterrace. - Dave] Ah, the 21AXP22 ... the 21CYP22 ...That is a color TV for sure, and probably used the 21AXP22 kinescope which had a metal shell. Working on those sets back then, one had to VERY careful making adjustments anywhere near the shell of the kinescope (CRT) because the shell was carrying a full 25 KV! Yep, lots of memories working on those old color sets. Of course (little trivia here) if the set was manufactured around 1959, the CRT would have been an all-glass 21CYP22. In either case, both tubes required the use of a "safety glass" in front of the CRT face. Later tubes used an integral safety glass bonded directly to the face, eliminating the need for the external safety glass. And there, class, is your trivia for today! Discuss it among yourselves. Icons of the era This picture is full of period items. The ship’s wheel clock on the mantel, probably made by Telechron, the steel tube kitchen chairs, the asphalt tiles with the deco rug. The laundry cart in a corrugated cardboard carton. I wonder if it’s a Japanese import? This was just the beginning of such things. But what I get a charge out of most are the Dixie cups. Before a certain point in time, the only style available was that simple white with blue doodads. Now we have them in an infinite array of designer patterns. FlooredThis is the first time I've seen asphalt tile used in a home -- except for ours. Built just after WWII, there was little other choice I guess. Ugly as sin but lasts forever. Figures and cupsI remember those wax coated cups, vividly. We used them through the summers for picnics. The candle holder figures look Chinese, or possibly Japanese. My father's aunt had a few figures made in occupied Japan. At the time they were inexpensive but are now collector's items. What a pretty grandmother-to-be. Haeger PotteriesThe panther was Haeger Potteries signature piece of the period. The TimeOdd that no one mentioned the ship's wheel clock on the bookshelf. It seemed everyone had to have one of those, too. They came in many different sizes and bases, as I recall. [Jazznocracy mentioned it way down below. - Dave] Stack O' GiftsJudging from the pile of goodies stacked in front of the fireplace, I'd say Grandma made quite a haul on this day. Ah, the kindness of women invited to baby showers. Confused over ageOkay Dave, you have me totally confused. I just viewed a photo of you at age 14 in 1960. Yet here is a photo of your Grandma pregnant with your Dad in 1959/1960. How is that possible? [You are confused! These are not pictures of me, or my grandma. The age 14 pic is tterrace's photo. The grandma photo is Tony W's. - Dave] Floor TilesI had tiles like that in a house I owned a few years back in MPLS. It was a sweet little brick rambler built in '54. Mom of InventionI wonder if they had gift wrap big enough to cover the laundry cart box, or if they did what my mother and aunts did and used whatever leftover wallpaper they had gussied up with lots of pastel colored curling ribbons. TV lamps and other mid-century modern bad tasteThe reason TV lamps were created was that people of the era believed that watching TV in the dark would damage your eyes. I can remember, as a child, having adults turn on the lights of the room I was in, when I watched TV at night, explaining that as the reason. Why watching TV in a darkened room would hurt your eyes, but watching a movie in a darkened theater didn't, was never explained. But that is at least one origin kitsch lamps on top of TV sets. Oh, and those streaked floor tiles were everywhere. The ones in our house (built 1953) were black with green and ivory streaks. They were made of asphalt. Those beige ones may be all vinyl, or vinyl-asbestos. Asbestos was in a lot of 1950's home-things to "save" your house in the event of a fire. [Here is my theory: Most people like a lamp on if they're watching TV at night. Table lamps were often too bright for the relatively dim picture tubes in 1950s TV sets. TV lamps were a way to have ambient lighting that didn't wash out the picture. - Dave] Mantelpiece muralA mantelpiece mural like that would have been pretty unusual in most Southern California houses of the 1940s and 1950s. Tony, have you found other photos of the living room that might show more of it? Books!Someone should point out that there are actually books in the living room. It was about a decade after this that, as Nora Ephron noticed, the Reagans built the California governor's residence with a wet bar in the living room but not one bookshelf anywhere in the house. MuralisticThat mantel mural actually looks like a Van Gogh print, but I'd have to dig through my books to find which painting... The tree's dark outlining and wet-on-wet is Van Gogh's signature style. LovelyShe is lovely and every mom to be should be thrown a shower like this one. This is a classic mother-to-be photograph, I have one of myself on the day of my shower that is very similar. Does anyone know what that black thing is on the coff.... Hey look! A shiny new quarter!! Shower IILooks uncannily like my own mother's pics from when she was pregnant with me in 1959. TV next to the fireplace with bookcase behind. Makes me want to dig out my old Kodachromes and see what I can find. Mind if I smoke?Now that I am able to bring up the full sized image, I'm wondering if that's not a matchbook on the table. That smallest porcelain tray looks like an ashtray with telltale smudges in it. This was back in the day when pregnant women thought nothing of smoking through their pregnancy (as my own mom did in 1946). Gak! Bow-quetIn looking more closely at the large version of the photo, I noticed that Grandma is holding a bouquet made up of all the bows that must have been on the presents she received. The presents themselves are displayed in front of the fireplace. One is reminded that in those days baby shower gifts had to be gender-neutral -- the gift on top (some kind of blanket set?) is yellow and white. (PS - it was I who posted the Humpty Dumpty pattern - guess I forgot to log in...) TV, fireplace & bookcasePJMoore said: Looks uncannily like my own mother's pics from ... 1959. TV next to the fireplace with bookcase behind. Something like this? (1960) Mid-century pixI love the turn of the century pictures and the chance to pore over the details of buildings and cars and the ghost people, but these mid-century pix always attract lots of interesting comments. I am usually prompted to remember things I haven't thought about in years, like the bathroom floor in my childhood home that had those flecks of green, black and white that someone described below. More of both, please. Memories....This is a great photo of a moment in time. Perhaps frightening to some, I have that clock, a panther, and even ... sigh ... those tiles on my floor right now. The house was built in '55 and I was built in '54. Our panther is a relatively new member of the family, but my husband's pride and joy. Believe it or not, visiting his childhood friend, he saw it sticking out of the top of his trash can -- just four years ago! Ours is pretty fancy, with gold teeth and floral painting, and a chain connecting his collar to his leg so he can't get away from the coffee table! As kids, we were not allowed to watch TV in the dark, nor were we able to sit "too close." I even remember the deadly words my dad spoke when he warned us that "Renkin Units" were what was out to get us. Who is TV savvy enough to remember those and let us know if there was truly a danger? We apparently survived! Love the photo! Kathleen [I think your dad was probably saying "Roentgen units," i.e. X-rays. Color TV picture tubes did emit very small amounts of ionizing radiation. When we got our first color TV set in the late 1960s, my dad taped a dental X-ray tab to the TV screen with a penny between the film and the glass. After a week he took the film to his dental office and developed it. If the film showed a light circle (the penny) on a dark background, that would have meant there was measurable radiation. Luckily the film came out blank. - Dave] A contestAwesome photo. You and tterrace are going to have a color slide battle now here on Shorpy. I'll have to admit you both are my favorite photo posters. I'm more impressed with your contributions than my own. TV Furniture ChoicesI think you're right the TV set in the picture is a Philco. It is a mahogany cabinet. The choices were usually Mahogany or Oak. The Oak was a lighter color and the manufacturers had different names for it like honey oak, blonde oak or ash and charged about $20 more for it.. At one point, I think, RCA made a deal with Henredon and they supplied high end furniture cabinets for the RCA TVs. The TV business at that time had RCA and Zenith each with about 35% of the total sales, Philco, Admiral, Magnavox and the rest of them scrambling for the remaining 30%. Panasonic (using the name National) entered the U.S. market in 1959 followed by Sony, JVC etc. However they were only in the radio business at that time. Add one at homeI grew up in Canada and my parents has one of these panthers on the living room table. They also has a coloured tiger in their bedroom. My mom still has them! That's a black panther on the table...and they still sell reproductions. My great-grandfather had one. Jaspé LinoleumThe streaky pattern in the linoleum tiles was (and still is) called Jaspé (pronounced hasspay) by the flooring trade, and was meant to resemble marble or other grained stone. But it's a Spanish textile term originally used to describe handwoven fabrics with streaky patterns that were resist-dyed into the unwoven yarns prior to weaving the fabric. Although jaspé-patterned vinyl flooring is still available, it only comes in big rolls, and the traditional crossways laying of the streaks in the 10-inch linoleum tiles can't be done with the available product. I ran into this when I was working on the historical restoration of a 1935 exposition building in San Diego, and we had a heck of a time matching the original jaspé floor tiles in several rooms. Jaspé todayOh how I'd love that Jaspé tile for my 1950 California ranch house. Modern linoleum just doesn't have the "look" of vintage tiles. If they could make it sixty years ago, why can't they make it now? Popular GrandmaFifty Five comments. I think it is the most I've seen here. Grandma's photo struck a (many panther-related) chord with a lot of Shorpsters. Is fifty five comments a record? [It's definitely impressive but not even close to the record-holder, the OLL thread (Caution: Do not attempt to read while operating heavy machinery). Also the Beaver Letter. - Dave] Aunt Irene's ceramic shoeMy Great Aunt Irene had one of those black panthers. I always remember it sitting in her bedroom. The was an oval cutout in the top. As a child, she told me it was a shoe. I would always ask her, "How did you get your foot in there and where's the one for the other foot?" I wish I could remember her answer. I also remember wondering why it didn't break when you walked in it. One time I tried putting it on my foot and got in all kinds of trouble. Armstrong, KentileThis floor is probably not linoleum. More likely rubberized composite (Armstrong) or vinyl (Kentile). There's more info here. TV Lamp MuseumThere is an antique store in Northfield, Minnesota, that displays an incredible collection of those weird TV lamps. I'm sure they have a panther or twelve. It's a really neat place! http://www.tvlamps.net/christensen-collection.html Canadian IconThat stuffed Humpty on the floor is a cultural icon to 30-50 year olds who grew up in Ontario. He and his partner Dumpty figured prominently on a kids' TV show called "Polka Dot Door." Objet d'AshMy Nonna had one, except it had a built-in ashtray. No one in that house ever smoked, yet somehow she still felt the ceramic panther ashtray was a necessary thing to have. Humpty DumptyI love the stuffed Humpty Dumpty lying on the floor. My mother had a panther planter when I was growing up. I knew instantlywhat that "black thing" was- HERE IT IS!! IlluminatingThe panther design on the table was also popular as a TV lamp. It was felt that the ambient light generated by these lamps reduced eye strain, permitting guilt-free viewing. We had a panther TV lamp, at another time a panther planter, and one other time a panther like the one in your photo. We also had the Chinese candle holders, only ours were black. Black PantherI recently purchased a n original Black Pahtner like the one on the table. My aunt had all the Panthers; TV light, letterholder, planter, ashtray and figureine. I wanted the on in the antique story in her memory. I keep it above my desk. Ah, the 16WP4The TV set is from 1951, the first model year in which Philco used the split chassis--and the last that they used round black & white tubes. Absolutely not a color set. We had a black panther light just like that...I never quite understood why a black panther, but they were common. It is like surfing in a time machine this site! How beautiful!Your grandmother was a lovely, elegant lady. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Tonypix)
The Barge Office: 1900
... have been really cold that day. ....I P News Office = SHIP NEWS OFFICE I wonder what News Office is in there. Anyone knows? ... a similar News Office (of the New York Herald), called "SHIP NEWS OFFICE." (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/06/2014 - 7:45pm -

Circa 1900. "Barge Office, New York." Meet you at the Lunch Wagon. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Food trucksGuess the "craze" is nothing new! Although one wonders where along the Roach Coach-to-Gourmet Foodie Truck continuum the Lunch Wagons lie. Your ancestors may have arrived hereLocated in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, the Barge Office was built in 1883 as customs and immigration offices. It also held offices for the Marine Hospital Service, the predecessor of the U.S. Public Health Service. It would be forgotten today except that on two occasions it served as the main processing center for people immigrating to the United States. Its first tenure as such began in April 1890 following the closure of the nearby Castle Clinton processing center, and lasted until the end of 1891, when a huge modern facility opened on Ellis Island. Castle Clinton had to be closed while Ellis Island was still under construction because the federal government's lease from the State of New York had expired. In June 1897, a disgruntled night watchman set fire to the Ellis Island facility, causing so much damage that the Barge Office had to be pressed into service yet again for processing immigrants. It served this function until Ellis Island reopened in December 1900. The Barge Office then slipped back into obscurity as a government office building, until it was demolished in 1911. Beasts of burdenOne must pity the team of horses near the back, warming under White Star Line blankets, that will soon be called on to pull the mountain of trunks, baskets, and bundles teetering ominously atop one of the wagons. Lets hope for the horses sake that the passengers who were well-off enough to own such belongings do not have far to go. In 1898, when the number of Italian immigrants to the U.S. was about half of the number in the year of this photo, the Times would say of the Barge Office site, "Outside in the park and in special rooms the Italians of New York are constantly awaiting their friends. Express wagons stand for the bundles, bags and immigrants themselves. At the meeting there is much joy. This is for the admitted. In the meantime, in the 'pens' the 'detained' wait, eat and sleep." For Official Use OnlyThe wagon with the tallest load appears to have the nicest blankets on its team. They are emblazoned with: WHITESTARLINES U S MAIL That's the company that brought us the Titanic. I wonder if they kept the contract after 1912. Customs Service FlagOf course that lower of the two flags is the Customs Service Flag consisting of 16 alternate red and white vertical stripes with a white canton bearing the US Eagle and an arc of 13 stars all in blue. Some conspiracy theorists maintain this is the "Civil Flag" of the US that was suppressed by Lincoln, but that is incorrect. They point to a passage in Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" in which the main character, who is a Customs Service Employee, notes and describes the Customs Flag and refers to it as a "civil" rather than a "military" flag, which of course is true. But that doesn't make it "the Civil Flag" of the US, a concept we never adopted. We have always had only one flag, the good old Stars and Stripes, pictured here in the top most position, as it should be. A Page out of Equine VogueThe well dressed horse this season will have a mid calf length hem and quilting on his blanket. It must have been really cold that day. ....I P News Office = SHIP NEWS OFFICEI wonder what News Office is in there. Anyone knows? "(Manhattan?) Immigration Processing News Office" maybe? Although I seem to see the word "PRESS" on the sign left from the door, so that would make more something like "(Manhattan?) Island Press News Office." Update: I found a solution to my puzzle. On a picture of the U.S. Barge Office - foot of Whitehall Street, East River, by E. & H.T. Anthony, we can see a similar News Office (of the New York Herald), called "SHIP NEWS OFFICE." (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)
Some Assembly Required: 1906
... west of Ashtabula, in Lake Erie. Not their most famous ship Tragedy (and subsequently, Gordon Lightfoot) cemented the SS Edmund Fitzgerald's status as GLEW's most famous ship. Launched in 1958, the Fitzgerald famously went down in high ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/10/2013 - 1:16am -

1906. "Great Lakes Engineering Works, Ecorse, Michigan. Steamer James Laughlin at left." Now where'd I put that instruction sheet? View full size. [Owner name here] ChallengerHull 17 is still sailing in steam. She's had many names. Launched Feb. 7, 1906 as William P. Snyder, later Elton Hoyt II, Alex D. Chisolm, Medusa Challenger, Southdown Challenger, and St. Mary's Challenger. Built as a traditional bulker, later converted to a specialized cement carrier. She currently has a 4 cylinder Skinner Unaflow (or Uniflow) steam engine. Note that many Great Lakes freighter names were reused on several different boats, thus if you try to look up a specific boat name, you need to check the dates that a boat carried the name. On the lakes, renaming apparently had no superstitious stigma. They are bigger nowI just watched the 1014 foot long PAUL R TREGURTHA come into Duluth. Zounds, what a large ore boat! Probably early winterThis is probably early winter 1906 at Ecorse, since the James Laughlin would be launched on April 6, GLEW's hull number 16 for Pittsburgh's Jones & Laughlin Steel Company and operated by its subsidiary, the Interstate Steamship Company of Duluth. Sold Canadian in 1964 and renamed Helen Evans for Captain Norman Reoch's Hindman Transportation Co., Ltd., of Owen Sound, Ontario, she was scrapped in 1981 at Cartagena, Colombia. The vessel to the right on the ways is almost certainly the Michigan, hull number 20, being constructed for the Grand Island Steamship Company, part of the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company, which would launch on May 26. Also sold Canadian in 1965 and renamed Goudreau, she would last until 1969 when scrapped at Santander, Spain. The vessel to the far left is the Charles B. Hill of 1878, launched as the Delaware and previously featured on Shorpy, being rebuilt into a more modern appearing freight carrier for John Boland of Buffalo. Less than a year after this photograph was taken, the Hill, coal-laden and towing the barge Commodore, would be purposely run aground when her seams began to open during a gale on November 22, 1906. All crew survived. Her remains still exist in shallow water about a half mile offshore of North Madison, Ohio, west of Ashtabula, in Lake Erie. Not their most famous shipTragedy (and subsequently, Gordon Lightfoot) cemented the SS Edmund Fitzgerald's status as GLEW's most famous ship. Launched in 1958, the Fitzgerald famously went down in high [inland!] seas on Lake Superior, November 10, 1975. Here's a grim tidbit I learned only within the past decade. The lake's average temperature hovers around 40˚F. This temperature is cold enough to prevent gases from forming in corpses--gases that would, normally, cause a dead body to float to the surface. Thus, Lightfoot's lyrics are not merely poetic when they relate, "The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead." (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Industry & Public Works)
Rita + Arthur: 1907
... size. Rita to the rescue! When the passenger ship SS Eastland rolled over on the Chicago River in 1915 she was tied up at ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/01/2023 - 3:13pm -

The Chicago River circa 1907. "Canada Atlantic Transit freighter Arthur Orr passing State Street Bridge." 8x10 inch glass negative by Hans Behm, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Rita to the rescue! When the passenger ship SS Eastland rolled over on the Chicago River in 1915 she was tied up at the Clark Street bridge, two blocks behind the Arthur Orr. Little did anyone know when this picture was snapped that the tug shown here, the Rita McDonald, would play a significant role in saving the lives of those thrown into the river when the Eastland went over on her side. As one online source put it: Three people were down at the Dunham Towing and Wrecking Company plant along the Chicago River, Superintendent F. D. Fredericks, Charlie Hart, and Johnny Benson. Though they didn't have a license and none were a regular engineer, they commandeered the tug Rita McDonald. "Come on boys, I can run that old engine!" Supt. Fredericks shouted to Hart and Benson. According to Fredericks' testimony, it's estimated that they pulled approximately 50 people from the water. Fredericks was quoted as saying after the fact: “On the way upstream we got in where the people were the thickest. Then we started picking 'em up. I don't know how many. Too busy to count. I'm tickled to death to think we were able to help as many as we did." (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Chicago, DPC)
The Rest Is History: 1914
... goes, a Navy captain wanted to know every man aboard his ship and what they did. All went well until one sailor came before the Captain, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/27/2022 - 1:10am -

"Man, possibly William B. Greene, with model for a machine that appears to be designed to scoop up material." Circa 1914-1918, an inventor and invention that scarcely need introducing to anyone born in the 20th century. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. It's either It's either inspired by monkeys at the zoo, or some form of travelling fan. Such a fan might be used in orchards on cold nights, to stop a frost settling on the fruit. But, I'm going with the monkey device. Back to the drawing board"1914. George Ferris's famously unsuccessful first attempt at a carnival ride." Salt Water TaffyI agree it's a taffy puller by Peter or a peter puller by Taffy. I know what it is ...It's a waterway power generator. An advanced form of the old-fashioned waterwheel. Obviously. Unless it's a power ice cream scoop. ContraptionThe machine could never be an excavator since the buckets are located in line with the wheels. Also, because of the chain arrangement, the buckets would never tilt over to dump anything. A friend of mine who has a M. E. degree says it must have been some sort of windmill. Be nice if someone could run down the patent application. At the time of this photograph, it was not necessary to have a model of an invention with the exception of those for perpetual motion machines. Maybe as has been suggested, it was intended for removing bats from mine tunnel roofs? [No one said it was an excavator. We said it's the conveyor that follows the excavator. If the buckets were full and not in dump mode they'd be facing up, side by side. - Dave] Well of course.It's the prototype of the machine that would eventually add two scoops of raisins to Raisin Bran. This one could do two boxes at once. How longare you going to keep us guessing? It's slowly driving me crazy! You can build this!My first thought was an early Erector Set. Another way of looking at it What it isObviously (or maybe not) this is some sort of mining conveyor designed to travel on a track in the tunnel behind the excavator. The buckets are shown here in the dump position. The electric motor would be for demonstration purposes. [I think you're on the right track. So to speak. The archive caption for these is "unidentified machine model." - Dave] Wensleydale ExcavatorQuite clearly a young Wallace. But where is Gromit? He can explain everything. Drive TrainI'm still not sure of this device's intended purpose, but based on the two images, I'm pretty sure this is how it operated. Perhaps with this sketch, someone might be able to come up with the intended application. The sketch shows the chains and sprockets in bold and the electric motor at left. The "buckets" on the end of each arm are kept synchronized in the shown position relative to the floor based on the evidence supplied by the second photo. Only one of the two arms is shown in this sketch and the "phantom" arm is provided only to show the synchronized orientation of the "buckets" as the arm rotates. The chain was intentionally disconnected in the first photo so that the arm could be manually rotated to show the construction details. The second photo show both arm aligned parallel with each other. The relationship of the buckets with respect to the floor could be varied depending on how both "bucket" sprockets were initially aligned with their sprockets on the drive shaft. Based on the small number of teeth on the motor sprocket, this was a low-speed device (less than 100 RPM). My guess is that this is a working model that was submitted along with the patent application. Scoop?With the open sides of the buckets it doesn't seem that it would be a very efficient scooper of anything unless that which it was scooping was larger than the openings. I can't imagine what that would be. For that matter, I can't imagine what this is. Maybe we need to think larger scale. Perhaps this is a small scale model of what is intended to be a much larger contraption. If the sides of the buckets were closed it could scoop just about anything. I think the key here is the two sets of buckets on either side. Maybe this was for a farm for digging rows for planting. Maybe it was an early ditch witch for burying power lines - a hot and a neutral. [I'd say our 3:36 commenter pretty much nailed it. - Dave] I am the energizer bunny of waiting DaveI think Dave has gotten our expectations too high, and now he will not be able to deliver. To say that anyone born in the 20th century will instantly go "oohhh...so that's who/what he/it is" may be a promise he can't keep. Universal recognition of a piece of mining equipment, and by anyone born during anytime of a whole century? No, sad to say, I think Dave realizes his mistake, and is delaying, hoping to wait and tire us out. But I will be here Dave...waiting...waiting...waiting. [Did we not read all the comments? The answer, such as it is, is down below. - Dave] Dave cracks me upIts his witty comments that make the difference as we ply around in the dark trying to figure out some goofy photo. Its Dave who makes it such fun. What a goof! Well of course.It's a taffy stretcher. Am I warm? Car.It's simply an automobile that moves by pushing air. The scoops are obviously less practical than propellers, but perhaps the idea of a propeller wasn't as obvious then as now. Or the inventor was just dumb. That's Peabody, famous in West VirginiaExperimental model of a dragline or bucket conveyor. SprocketsI've got no idea what this is, but it's never going to work as long as the crucial middle chain remains off the sprocket. If the inventor spent less time looking fiercely proud, in his obviously used-to-ridicule way, and more time hanging all his chains, we'd have guessed what this is by now. Not Scoops or ScrapersEach pair of hoppers is facing in the same direction at all times, as controlled by the chain drives when the central shaft rotates. So it can't be intended to operate as a set of scoops for wind or water, or scrapers, or conveyor buckets. This inconvenient arrangement shot down my pet theory that the device was intended to clear roosting bats from the ceilings of railroad tunnels. Generator, tooI see it as a generator, too, but a hydro-electric one. Small scale, for use in a stream, or at a small waterfall. Wheels just for display purposes? CannibalizationI dunno what it is, but Mrs. Inventor is going to be plenty ticked off when she finds out what's happened to their baby carriage, bicycle and coal scuttles. SnowplowIt's a early electric snowplow. Not only did the electric cord do it in, but it didn't have anything attached to it to knock over roadside mailboxes or pile up snow at their driveway entrances. A flying machineThe scoops take up air at a constant aspect angle as they rotate. My guessA generator, perhaps wind-driven. Obviously"Harry Reese's early attempt at making machinery for use in combining and cupping chocolate with peanut butter." If it was intended for useIf it was intended for use in a mine, it wasn't well designed. That motor would not last more than a day or two if that in the dust of a mine. All those friction points would be dangerous in a gaseous mine environment. And if it's a miniaturized model, full size it would be too big to operate in the tight confines of a mine. Maybe it was a prototype that never went into production. [As noted below, the motor would be for demonstration purposes. As for "friction points," just about any coal conveyor would have had zillions.- Dave] You may laugh now......But just wait 'til you wake up to see an army of those things marching down your street! Following in Grandpa's Footsteps...It's Eli Whitney the Fifth, and his Patented Gin Cottoner Medical technology setback"This well-intentioned but ill-conceived invention thwarted doctors' attempts to encourage regular colonoscopies for almost fifty years." Sound effectsIt's clearly a "clip-clop" sound effects machine for the movies. Unfortunately, the inventor failed to realize that talkies were still several years away. Congressional Sanitation DevicePrototype device, designed to patrol the Congressinal aisles, scooping up massive amounts of government waste and depositing it in a trailing container for recycling. The practical Dual Scoop System permits it to work both sides of the aisle. A fleet of them were subsequently manufactured and work diligently to this day. Road Apple CleanupThis is a nice Electric Rolling Pooper Scooper. This inventor would have been a household name but for the phasing out of horse-drawn carriages. WowNicest apple peeler I've ever seen. Please, introduce us!Well, yeah, gee that thing sure does look familiar, I had one in my backyard growing up, but even then I wasn't sure if it was to rock the baby or pick the corn or thresh the wheat. I'm sure I'll slap my forehead and feel real dumb when you tell us, but what the heck is that, if not a ferris wheel with finger-removing gearwheels? It's a KlugeAs the story goes, a Navy captain wanted to know every man aboard his ship and what they did. All went well until one sailor came before the Captain, gave his name, rank, and serial number followed by "Kluge maker, first class." After some discussion among the officers, the Captain said he would certainly like to see a kluge in action. The young swabbie said he would demonstrate the next day. And sure enough, at noon sharp the sailor wheeled an ungainly object to the rail, and threw it overboard. As it hit the surface it went "Kluge." Obviously this is a prototype kluge. Another Fine Acme ProductNew! Acme Little Giant Spilz-All (Pat. Pend). Despite the helpful drawing, I'm still mystified by the orientation of the hoppers, since the very simple gearing and chain drives appear to keep them rotating to preserve the same angle (i.e. dumping only, as shown) through the full rotation around the main horizontal shaft. UNLESS the gear on each hopper is actually rotating it 360 degrees as it circles the shaft. Even with a fixed rate of rotation there might be a point in the rotational cycle in which a hopper is on the horizontal to receive loose material from one source and then, as it rises and turns, dump it onto a receiving conveyor positioned at a higher level. The device might then function as a sort of elevator from one conveyor to the next. But this still seems pretty whack, since the usual way of doing this is by ramping pairs of conveyor belts one above the other. This device may be so mysterious because the inventor offered a solution to a non-existent problem, and it never got beyond the demonstration model stage. Holy bucketsThe "buckets" can't be for holding anything because they are open at the sides. Maybe the "working" side of the bucket is the outside. Perhaps it's an automated skein for winding yarn or some other textile manufacturing process. [The buckets in this coal or ore conveyor would be closed in a working example. The near end of the bottom left bucket shows how it would look. - Dave] Maybe & Maybe NotSome seemed convinced that this is a coal or ore conveyor designed to ride behind a coal car, but I'm not convinced. If it was meant for that task, wouldn't the scooping buckets clear a wider path than just over the rails? This design would account for a lot of waste. If that is what it is, then perhaps that is why the design failed, but I don't think so. Since it is only scooping over the rails, perhaps it was designed to ride in front of the cars and was meant to clear debris off the rails to keep the cars from derailing. Perhaps it is (also) meant to run in front of a train to clear heavy snow off locomotive tracks. [It would have nothing to do with railroads or trains. The conveyor travels on a track behind the excavating machine in an underground mine to get the coal or ore out of the tunnel, moving its cargo both horizontally and vertically. Or it might move along a track in an open-pit mine. Whatever it is, it looks mining-related. Designed for carrying and dumping. - Dave] Ok I don't want to give up...Thank you for this one, it has been one of the most entertaining posts I have witnessed. You need to do more mystery objects/people often. Ok but...This will be my last comment because I'm obviously not understanding the explanation that you seem so sure of. There is a large gap between the 2 buckets. If this is the design then it would only scoop coal or ore off the two sides and leave a large gap in the center. Unless I'm missing something - which is always a possibility - that does not make sense. [I think you are confusing the excavator (the machine that does the mining) with the conveyor. Which conveys -- i.e. it is designed for carrying and dumping. Not scooping. - Dave] Ummm, no.You're grasping at straws. [Below, an electrically powered excavator. The coal is carried to the left along the conveyor belt on top and dumped or dropped or shoveled into coal cars or buckets, which are on a track. - Dave] Beating a dead horseNo, I'm not confusing anything about the terminology. This "conveyor" that you are imagining this thing to be, if it runs behind the excavator, as you claim, only conveys material that is sitting on top of the rails. There is a huge gap between the rails that is left untouched. Nothing is conveyed between the rails. This is the issue I have with the explanation being given. [The excavator fills the buckets of the conveyor from above. The coal is not "sitting on top of the rails." - Dave] Re: Ummm, no.Yikes. Nightmares! Sing along now...It went "zip" when it moved and "pop" when it stopped and "whirrr" when is stood still I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will What's the nameof the inventor? [We don't know. At least not yet. - Dave] The buckets always face the same waySo it must be a seed spreader. (A person pushes the device along and the seeds spill out of the openings in the side of the buckets as the buckets move gently up and down.) Barber-GreeneIt's a bucket loader, invented by Harry H. Barber and William B. Greene. I don't know which of the two is the guy in the picture. [I think you're onto something. Among Barber-Greene's early products were a coal conveyor and a mobile bucket loader for use in cement plants. Who are you and how'd you figure this out? - Dave] Founding Barber-Greene Barber-Greene was founded in 1916 by Harry Barber and William Greene, co-workers at Stephens-Adamson, a conveyor company. Interested in embarking on a business venture of their own, the two became partners – Barber would handle product design, while Greene would be in charge of finance and business administration. The partners were interested in mechanizing small jobs "out of the shovel and wheelbarrow stage." The First Conveyor Orders Initially, Barber and Greene operated their new company from a makeshift office in a guest room at the Barbers’ residence. They subcontracted W.S. Frazier and Co. of Aurora, Ill., to manufacture the products Barber-Greene designed. In October 1916, the partners established credit with General Electric, and ordered the supplies they would need to make their first conveyor, the "No. 1," in the Frazier workshop. Before long, the company had received an order from Lilley Coal Co. With the profits made from this order, the partners began advertising in the Retail Coalman, a Chicago-based publication. As a result, the company began to receive multiple orders, and began to grow. Harry H. Barber, William B. Greene (The Gallery, Curiosities, Harris + Ewing)
Merry Christmas: 1913
... and others stowaways or sailors and crew members jumping ship. The rest of our people we see populating SHORPY'S cities, towns and farms ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/25/2020 - 7:11am -

        The colorized Christmas tree is back, 107 years after its debut in Madison Square. Happy holidays from Shorpy! New York, December 1913. "Christmas tree, Madison Square." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Bain News Service. View full size. Beautiful!Wow, what a beautiful tree! Merry Christmas, Dave, and Merry Christmas to all in Shorpyland. Best Image Site on the InternetBest wishes for 2010. Merry Christmas!Great photo! Thanks so much Dave for this great site. I have so enjoyed it all year long and look forward to more! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Dateline Shorpyland:Merry christmas Dave and to all who visit here. Merry Christmas To YouAnd thanking you for another year of incredible photos. You have given us a view into the past that few have ever had the chance to experience. You've changed my life. Prepared and thereHow very often it is when we see a photo of an important event that Boy Scouts are present. Merry Christmas, Shorpyites. Rick MacDave, a Merry Christmas to you! And thanks for your site -this has become my favorite. I look forward to checking for new photos every day, and I'm never disappointed. It's like having my own personal time machine. It's a blast! Thank youFor all the wonderful pictures and happy holidays right back at you! Beautiful!!That is beautiful! Thanks for all the great pics and Merry Christmas to everyone!! Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas to all Shorpyites from Reading, England A Shorpy Christmas To AllAnd a huge thank you to Dave and the staff at Shorpy, you have, literally, changed my life. Merry Christmas from Puerto Rico!I join my fellow Shorpyites in thanking you for another year of wonderful photos. May you live long and prosper! TintedIs this hand colored? [Computer-colored. By me. - Dave] Merry Christmas!Beautiful picture, Dave. May I add my thanks to you for providing us with these great pictures. I feel like I understand the world a little better after seeing these great glimpses into the past. Thank YouThank for for this wonderful image. My grandfather was ten years old that Christmas, probably about the size of the shorter of the two boys in the foreground. He also lived about fifteen blocks from Madison Square, so I imagine he was able to see this very tree that Christmas. Thanks again and merry Christmas. It's been a year of fantastic backward glancesMerry Christmas to all! Pictures are, indeed, worth a thousand words and Shorpy is a regular stopover site for me. Thanks for sharing all this, Dave. Merry Christmas to alland a big thank you to Dave for the best site on the web and we can't forget tterrace and we hope he doesnt run out of photos. Ron Merry Christmas to one of my favorite web sitesThank you so much for sharing all these marvelous photos with us. EchoWhat everyone below said. A big "thank you", Dave, from Las Vegas. Merry Christmas!To Dave and staff and everyone else who visits here! Thanks so much for this wonderful site and all the memories! This is about as close to a time machine as we're likely to see.You've changed my perception of how life was all those decades ago. You've helped me to see those years come alive. Merry Christmas, and thanks for one of the most incredible sites on the web. Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas and Thank You! GratitudeI must add my sincere thank you as well Dave, and to those who aid you or add to the information, for the wonderful memories sparked by many photos here, and for the historic value of many of these pictures. Merry Christmas to all!! From Your Favorite Nittany LionTo Dave and all my fellow Shorpyites, from the mountains of Pennsylvania, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! DibsLet me be the first to wish one and all a glorious Christmas and a bodacious New Year! Merry Christmas everyone!In the background on the right is the Hoffman House located at Broadway and 24th Street. I love how the lights have been colorized! From Manitoba, CanadaEven our decorated trees aren't this big! A very Merry Christmas to all! Merry Christmas one & all from the UK!I'd like to wish everyone at Shorpy a fabulous Christmas and a healthy new year. Merry ChristmasWishing all at Shorpy a very happy Christmas and seasons greetings to my fellow Shorpyites! Holiday GreetingsTo all Shorpyites, Dave, tterrace and Stanton Square: Holiday Greetings from Bull City Boy, Bull Ciry Girl and all the Bull City Young'uns. Have a blessed Christmas A Little LateIt's 8:13pm Christmas day out here in Spokane, but I want to wish everyone who visits this wonderful site a very Merry Christmas and all the best for next year. Thanks Dave, and all who make this possible. I learn something new every day from all of you. Thanks. Happy HolidaysThank you, Dave - and thank you to all the folks who manage the site, and thanks to the contributors and commenters. The world of Shorpy is a terrific gift you share with us, every day. Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas to Dave and all the Shorpyites from an old coot in Virginia Mele Kalikimaka!Christmas greetings from Hawaii! 1913Well, my father was born in 1914 and was a wonderful man and father even after getting shot to pieces in Italy with 168th Infantry, 34th Division during WWII. I'm OK with 1913 since my Aunt Helen was born in 1912 and was a most wonderful lady with smiles and laughs and hugs for me when I was a lad. The 1912 & 1914 bracket around 1913 is OK by me. Christmas GratitudeThank you for this wonderful site Dave and a special thank you for the photos you posted this year from the glory days of my hometown, Utica, New York. You, Shorpy, and others (especially tterrace) have provided a boundless window into the past and countless hours spent away from the stresses of the day indulging in something that is neither fattening, nor bad for me. Shorpy IS however, highly addictive and wonderfully entertaining. Best wishes to all in 2012! Merry Christmas Shorpy!Another year gone by already! Merry Christmas to AllAnd a Thank You to Dave and the Shorpy Elves for all the work you put into this site. Best Wishes from Canada.Merry Christmas to Dave and all the Shorpsters !! Nothing left to sayI echo ALL the sentiments of the commenters before me. So, just a simple Merry Christmas from Minneapolis, MN to Dave, Shorpy and the Shorpyites!!! Wishing you all an awesome 2012. From Cape Breton Canada A Merry Christmas to Shorpy and all ..... Merry Christmas!Dave, I'm a relative noob, here, and truly enjoy what you do. Merry Christmas from the Left Coast. Thank you and forward, into the past! Merry Christmas Gang!Dave, the rest of the Shorpy administrators and the great member submitters, Merry Christmas and thank you very much for another year of marvelous photos and replies for my mind and mailed photos for my wall! I wish everyone a grand new year! To each and every oneFrom England, to every corner of Shorpyland and to each and every one of its inhabitants -- a Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Peaceful and Healthy New Year. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!to Dave and all the denizens of Shorpyville. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to AllMerry Christmas from Boston, Dave, and many thanks. Shorpy is a fantastic community! From here in PortlandFrom here in Portland Oregon, to every corner of Shorpyland and to each and every one of its inhabitants -- a Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Peaceful and Healthy New Year. Thank you, Dave, for giving us a glimpse back into the past. This is one of my favorite sites. Merry Christmas to allMerry Christmas to the Shorpy staff, contributors and commenters. Really appreciate all this site offers, it is one of my favorites. Madison SquareTo all at Shorpy, Merry Christmas! This is a great website and I have told many about it. This photo reminds me of a print by the American artist Martin Lewis. The picture is titled "The Orator" and is dated 1916. The scene is Madison Square. The three large buildings in the background are still standing and are located around the intersection of 5th Avenue/Madison Square North/W.26th. The photo and the Christmas tree are beautiful! Merry Christmas and a Happy New YearA bit late for me for the former, but heartfelt wishes to all for the latter Thanks so much Dave, for all of the work you put into Shorpy. Before it came along, I had to be pacified with scanning old pic collections at flea markets. Alas, no more! A very Happy New Year to you and yours! Happy New Year and for many years to come Thank you so much for the look back and to your members for giving me the chance to compare with current photos on occasion. MERRY CHRISTMASThank you all at Shorpy for another great year on one of my favourite sites. Merry Christmas to you all! Edmund Christmas wishesMerry Christmas Dave to you and all at Shorpy, another fine year and looking forward to 2017. Peace and Goodwill to AllMany thanks for the photos on this site. My father was born in northeastern Alabama around the time of Shorpy, and this alone makes the site worthwhile. To see and read about those times is very revealing. But the site is much more! Just the railroad photos alone are fantastic. Please know that you are appreciated, and Happy New Year to Shorpyland! Merry Christmas Everyone!!Merry Christmas to all out there in Shorpyland - everyone reading, everyone posting and especially to Dave and the Shorpy crew. Keep those great pics coming! Now, off to the Office Party! Merry Christmas: 2018I passed some very pleasant time in a Canadian Tire store near Toronto on Christmas Eve yesterday, an hour before closing, relaxed and unharried, with a brother-in-law and nephew, trying to figure out all the different kinds of tree lights available, to make a totally unnecessary purchase, upon command of a family member higher up than us on the boss scale. And the result was nowhere near as nice as this Madison Square tree. Merry Christmas and best of the season to Dave and tterrace and all my Shopry comrades at this bright and festive time of year. Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas from Canada !! Glad Tidings to AllMerry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Blessed Yule, and all other wishes to everyone here. May your tables be filled with good food and good conversation. See you in 2020. With gratitudeThanks to Dave and all who contribute. It's been a great trip of learning, from Mr. Higginbotham's life story to "flange bearing frogs". I thought the little amphibians were doing some heavy lifting! Wishing all a better 2021. After a full day and night Zooming Xmas Celebrations - - - After 3am realized I didn't get my daily dose of SHORPY and will complete reading and commenting around 4:50 am. Looking forward to the New Year edition to cap off another year of David's, tt's and other's massive and Artful contributions stimulating our family's memories and new insights as to our collective history as ALL our folks arrived as immigrants some as slaves or indentured workers and others stowaways or sailors and crew members jumping ship. The rest of our people we see populating SHORPY'S cities, towns and farms arrived on our shores in a wide range of financial status. However difficult it probably was for most of our descendants it's amazing how quickly, often in only one generation the new language and customs morphed into the American citizens we compare Shorpy's folks to. I as I begin my 89th year I'm the only first generation Norwegian / American male left in my NYC clan. Although l had a pleasant holiday I sorely miss our Scandinavian main roast pork meal on Xmas Eve with all the varied and distinctive cookies and other baked cakes that were baked during the week before and the house smelled like Xmas the whole tantalizing time. One of my dad's insistence that mom wasn't to speak to my sister and me in Norsk - slid into our having the American turkey and apple cyder on Xmas - wasn't that cool ! Merry Christmas!I want to wish all Shorpyites, both regular commenters and non-regular commenters alike, the happiest of holiday seasons this year. 2020 has been terrible, on almost every level a year can be terrible, and a little peace and joy over the next week shouldn't be too much to ask. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas yesterday with however many people you're allowed to have at your house. I hope the food was good, the conversation was lively, and the feelings warm. Come on 2021... (The Gallery, Christmas, G.G. Bain, NYC)
Moonliner: 1960
... are visible just to the left of the earth-bound rocket ship? A reflection? Double exposed? [Perspective. They're much closer to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2023 - 8:02am -

Circa 1960, the TWA "Moonliner" rocket at Disneyland's Tomorrowland in Anaheim, California. (With Richfield Oil's "Autopia" in the background.) At 76 feet, the Moonliner was the tallest attraction in the park. This medium format transparency is part of a recent donation to Shorpy from the family of California photographer Mary Baum (1925-2012). View full size. Fly me to the moon.I find it interesting that there is a pilot cockpit at the top of the rocket. SpaceflightI stayed up, like millions of others, to watch the first moon landing in 1969. I was 13 at the time and thought at least by the time I was 40 we would have a colony and tourism up there by then. I'll soon be 70 and still wonder why it didn't happen. The Rocket still survives!Looks like the rocket still survives but repurposed as Pizza Planet Rocket. [Not quite. That’s a 2/3 scale model made in 1998. -tterrace] Why hasn't a colony happened?Because gravity. More specifically, lack thereof. The same reason (amongst others) that there will never be a "colony" on Mars, either. Tourism maybe; colony no. The human body in its current state of evolution just can't survive it. So, time to stop wasting money, time, energy, and materials trying. Need to focus on taking care of the only habitable planet we have. OK rant over. Beautiful photo - looking forward to seeing more from the collection! [Of course there is gravity on both the moon and Mars. It’s astronauts orbiting the Earth who experience zero-G. The longest stay up there so far was well over a year. -Dave] There it isLooking at the outside of the rocket was the real 'ride'. Inside all I did was look up at a ceiling screen which projected a film of getting closer to and then further away from the moon. Even the People Mover had more nuance. Billionaire's playtoyLong before they eyed Mars, eccentric money-men eyed airlines: it was under Howard Hughes control that TWA morphed from Transcontinental and Western Air to Trans World Airlines; he was long gone when they touched down for the final time, in 2001. Some things missing from the world of tomorrowOne would be TWA, gone as of 2001. Another: Pan Am, which despite appearing as the space clipper in the movie '2001', disappeared in 1991. Attack of the fifty foot ... whateversWhat is the reason the trio of seemingly monstrous 'ghosts' are visible just to the left of the earth-bound rocket ship? A reflection? Double exposed? [Perspective. They're much closer to the camera than the rocket. - Dave] Here's How It Looked With Actual TouristsTWA Moonliner is in the background and tourists are in the foreground: (from left) Jerry Butler, Lydia Horton, Penny Butler, and, in front, Jeremy Butler (that'd be me). 35mm slide taken by my uncle Mike Horton circa 1960. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Aviation)
WAH: 1910
... tower structures on the roof radio antennas? The Wireless Ship Act of 1910 required passenger ships leaving from US ports to be equipped with ship to shore radios beginning in 1911. Could these towers have been related ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/25/2023 - 1:57pm -

New York circa 1910. "Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Antennas?Were those tower structures on the roof radio antennas? The Wireless Ship Act of 1910 required passenger ships leaving from US ports to be equipped with ship to shore radios beginning in 1911. Could these towers have been related to that? ["The output of the station is 5 k.w., and is in daily operation with Chicago and steamers far out on the Atlantic." - Dave] Magnificent!A wonderful structure and outstanding photograph. What’s there now, you ask?The hotel was torn down and replaced by a somewhat taller office building which became well known in its own right. Very top floorsAlways curious what it would be like to have walked around and explored the very tops floors in buildings like this. Private residences, offices, mechanical gear, secret passages, or faux spaces? WAH not there nowThis address is the future site of a much bigger building, the Empire State Building, which opened in 1931. Empire Suite I would have loved to have stayed there in a lavish suite. And here I was ...... thinking "WAH" was the sound Caroline Astor (the "Mrs. Astor") made when her nephew started construction on the Waldorf Hotel next to her brownstone mansion, the ballroom of which held 400 people, hence the New York 400. More on the feud: here Wah WahHad it burned (like other Shorpy hotels), I wonder if wah wah would have saved the WAH. Architecture... has devolved immensely. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Streetcars)
Just the Fax: 1927
... Photoradiogram is Sent by Admiral Eberle to Maneuvering Ship. A new experimental radio service in the Navy was opened yesterday ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2013 - 12:40pm -

Washington, D.C., 1927. No caption on this Harris & Ewing glass plate of what seems to be facsimile equipment. View full size. PhotoradiogramPhotoradiogram was one of the first facsimile devices, according to this wiki article about Richard H. Ranger, its inventor. Fax is older than you might think...Here's some of the history of fax: http://www.hffax.de/html/hauptteil_faxhistory.htm Motors, Gears and WormdrivesLet me stick my hand in there to clear that debris. How I read itHere's is my reading of the message miracle of the 20th century: 2 FBZ VLARK Msg for Comdr Le Clair When may we expect Seattle to transmit test picture. It appears to me the usefulness of further trans- mitting by us is questionable and unless you can send tests may as well be suspended. Biere [Here's a close-up. -tterrace] Thanks to stanton_square and tterrace for helping to fill in the blanks. Naval CommunicationsA curious oddity of a photo staged to demonstrate the marvel of a new widget containing a message which questions the usefulness of the same device. I guess he didn't expect the photograph to resolve the text. The February 13, 1927 Washington Post reports the imminent promotion of a Lt. Comdr. Hugh P. LeClair. Washington Post, May 24, 1927. New Radio Service Utilized by Navy Photoradiogram is Sent by Admiral Eberle to Maneuvering Ship. A new experimental radio service in the Navy was opened yesterday by Admiral E.W. Eberle, chief of naval operations, who sent the first official message over the new photoradiogram apparatus installed recently at the Navy Department to the similar one on the U.S.S. Seattle, flagship of the United Sates fleet at Newport R.I. His message to Admiral Charles F. Hughes, fleet commander, stated “this first message by photoradio transmission between the Navy Department and the flagship of the commander in chief, engaged in maneuvers off the New England coast, begins a service which it is hoped will have a far reaching effect on naval communications. ” A copy of the message as received showed that some of the words were missing due to the other radio impulses, but great hope is held for conversion of the commercial apparatus to naval use. Nervous Fountain PenI'm continually impressed by the quality of technical writing in the newspapers of the time. The box on the left with the four dials is a decade resistance box, perhaps used for tuning. Washington Post, October 18, 1925. Photoradio New RCA Development Means for Transmitting the Actual Events to Listeners-In. “Photoradio” means the sending of photographs or other pictures by means of a radio transmitter to a distance, and receiving these wherever suit suitable apparatus may by located. Thus, like broadcasting, a million persons could receive the same picture at the same time, provided only, again as in broadcasting, that they possessed suitable apparatus for this work. Now, photoradio is not by any means “tele-vision.” By the latter we mean the equivalent of “radio moving pictures,” or, more exactly, the ability to see, by radio, some distant event just as it would appear to the eye of some one near it at the moment. Photoradio is the first step toward the attainment, perhaps not so many years in the distance, of real tele-vision, but it admittedly is but a first step. In the Radio Corporation of America's system, a photograph is taken of whatever scene of person's face or printed page, or other picture one may desire to transmit. This negative is placed in a special device, and by means described in detail in later paragraphs, the lights and shades of this picture are sent, square inch by square inch, in the form of high-speed dots sent out by a radio transmitter. At the receiver, or as many receivers as may be in operation, the received dots actuate a relay, and this, in turn, causes a “nervous fountain pen” to print on a paper record, dot by dot, identical as to shade and position, the impulses sent out from the sending station. Thus, in time—it takes about twenty minutes for an ordinary photograph—the entire picture is transmitted and received. The entire process depends essentially on three factors. First, the ability to control a radio transmitter by different degrees of light passing through a negative or other screen. This is found in the “light sensitive cell,” a device which will allow electric current to pass through it when light is shining on its electrodes, and which shuts off this current the moment light ceases. Second, a method for having radio currents control a relay. The radiotron, or vacuum tube detector, does this. A relay placed in its plate circuit will respond when incoming signals affect its grid, and of course any other electric circuit that we may desire. The third requirement, and the most difficult one to attain, is the exact synchronism of the speed of the carrier for the transmitted negative and the carrier for the received record. RadiofaxRadiofax weather charts for the benefit of ships at sea are still broadcast worldwide by organizations like the NOAA and the Deutscher Wetterdienst. (Technology, The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
Bananas to Baltimore: 1905
... bananas get to America now? - Dave] Do they still ship them all the way to Baltimore? Is that a Banana in your hand Or ... (played by Julie Andrews, in the film version) is aboard ship for the gruelling journey to Hawaii. In order to keep her strength up, she ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/08/2014 - 1:03pm -

Baltimore, Maryland, circa 1905. "Unloading banana steamer." A teeming scene that calls to mind the paintings of Brueghel, if Brueghel ever did bananas. Note the damage from the Great Fire of 1904. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Big MikeThese bananas are the variety known as Gros Michel or "Big Mike." They were a larger, heartier, tastier banana than the Cavendish variety that everyone eats today, and hardly any special shipping methods were needed. Just stack them and go. Unfortunately, since cultivated bananas are genetically identical to one another, by the 1950s essentially all Gros Michel bananas were wiped out by one Panamanian fungal disease. The Cavendish was a suitable replacement as it could grow in the same soils as the Gros Michel, but it requires more delicate handling during shipping. The Cavendish itself is steadily being wiped out by a similar fungus and we may need to look for another replacement in the not too distant future. Spiders, Oh My!Mackenzie, your family history is probably not far off. I had an ex who discovered a scary-looking spider in a shipment of bananas in the middle of Nebraska of all places about ten years ago. He thought it was dead and went to poke it, and to his surprise, it was alive! Fortunately for him, he was not bitten. I would imagine the threat of spiders and other creepy crawlies would be even greater before shipments passed through inspection. I don't blame your ancestors for being a little scared one bit! Always have a spare.I like the extra anchor lashed to the railing on the lower left of the frame.I wonder how much it weighs. NabiscoThe original NBC, the National Biscuit Company, makers of Uneeda Biscuits and more importantly, Mallomars. Hey, Mister Tally ManSomeone tell the two gents with ledgers (looks like) in the small screened shed to knock one banana off the day's tally, thanks to the one guy in the bunch eating the inventory, in the foreground looking at the camera. The William Heyser seen on one building was an oyster distributor still in business in 1929, as noted by an ad in my desktop copy of a 1929 Baltimore business publication marking the city's 200th anniversary: Heyser’s Oysters Baltimore’s Leading Brand The William Heyser Co. Raw Oysters 2201-09 Boston St, Baltimore, Md. This reminds me of a road projectThree or four guys doing the heavy lifting while a hundred guys watch. NabiscoFirst known as the National Biscuit Company, makers of fine hardtack biscuits. Bananas from a boatBy the time they shipped them to Baltimore, they must have been all brown and slimy. I think the evidence supports this. [As opposed to the way bananas get to America now? - Dave] Do they still ship them all the way to Baltimore? Is that a Banana in your handOr are you just... Oh, never mind, it IS a Banana. Quality ControlNice to see the gent here on the left foreground tasting the produce to make sure that indeed it is a banana. Don't dally you men, the talleys are correct and Harry Ketler's Express boys are in a hurry. re: BrueghelDave, I'm impressed! Your comparison to Brueghel is dead on. May I suggest a novel to you: Headlong, by Michael Frayn. http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/books/80 300 accidents waiting to happenI am speaking of all those bananas and peels on the deck. A slapstick comedian's dream. Looking SouthwestThis view is looking Southwest from a pier located on Pratt Street. My guess is that it is Pier 3 which is now the location of Baltimore's Aquarium. United Fruit Company (Chiquita Brand) would later build a large Banana handling plant on the Light St. side of the harbor. On a side note, Baltimore rebuilt itself after the fire. The mayor politely but firmly declining all offers of outside help. How they get here nowThey still arrive on boats, of course, but in a carefully controlled inert atmosphere (usually nitrogen-rich, always oxygen-poor). Banana ships today are among the more specialized transport vessels. [Plain old air could be considered "nitrogen rich and oxygen poor." - Dave] Well, there is a pretty faint difference between rich and poor, as regards oxygen. The troposphere is about 21% oxygen, on average. Meanwhile, OSHA defines air below 19.5% as oxygen-deficient. It's a razor edge that we breathe on, and seldom even think about. But we are talking a sledgehammer beyond that razor. The high parameter for oxygen in modern banana transport is about 4%. If you do not follow the proper ventilation protocol, you will literally suffocate seconds after entering the hold. And look at the guy... eating a banana while the other guys do all the work! The B.B.B.W.U. (Baltimore Brotherhood of Banana Workers Union) will hear about this! All star castIs that Corey Feldman and Eddie Murphy in the wagon?! Daylight comeand me wanna go home. WatchersI think the guys "watching" are buyers. Satisfaction GuaranteedBy our Quality Control Department and On-Site QC Manager! Testing the ShipmentMan in foreground: "Gotta make sure they're really ready to eat." Banana MythA good chunk of my genealogy includes generations of Eastern Shore watermen and Baltimore stevedores. The fear among all banana handlers was that tarantulas would be hiding in the bunches. I have no idea how real or factual this fear was, but it's still talked about at family reunions. Did anyone else think of this?They guy looking at the camera, snacking on a banana, lower left. 1 Timothy 5:18 For the scripture saith, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." and "The laborer is worthy of his wages." Sampling the merchandiseGuy in the bottom left. You can always tell the accountants -- starched white shirts and ties by the gangplank, best dressed by far, and looking very pleased with themselves! James Bond?I had no idea that Pierce Brosnan (Lower Center) liked Bananas so much?! Banana "Myth"My brother-in-law, who was produce manager for many years in one of Canada's largest grocery chains, was often confronted with six- and eight-legged critters that accompanied fruit boxes, including many tropical spiders and roaches. Banana boxes produced some of the largest and scariest spiders because of the nooks and crannies that they can hide in. Many were deceased but some were not. One piece of advice from his long years of experience is NEVER, ever, EVER bring home vegetable boxes for moving or storage. You DO NOT want infestations of 4-inch flying roaches. Now & ThenI didn't know where to post this, so here it is: A neat page I found- taking old photographs from the Smithsonian's collection, and holding them so they fit into place for a current photograph. http://jasonepowell.com/ And he gives Shorpy credit for discovery of some of the photos! The BasinA back-to-front review: National Biscuit building in the distance lasted into the '70's as a rowdy saloon known as Elmer's. The ancient peak-roofed structures facing us, fronted on Light St., a major north south street. The two Bay steamers were laying over for their nearby terminals, which lined along Light Street. The mostly new-looking structures on the right, faced Pratt Street. The city has a strange, open quality about it, a result of the recent Baltimore Fire of 1904, which gutted the business district east of Light St. down to the waterfront. The brick foundation closest to the banana boat is likely remains of that conflagration. A famous Baltimore photographer, A. Aubery Bodine, took photos of banana boats being unloaded in the 1950's in nearly the same location as this, with no difference between them. A Baltimore and Ohio RR "Fruit Pier" was established in south Baltimore in the 50's, which largely replaced the practice shown here. The area in this photo was known to generations of Baltimoreans as the Basin; today it's the yuppified, allegedly upscale Inner Harbor. I can't even imagineHow that place could smell. HumorI would love to be in on the joke they're sharing. Bolgiano's Seed Store[stanton_square's contributions to Shorpy tend to be of the Joe Friday type: "All we want are the facts." On occasion this blogger stumbles across documents which have both 1) historically relevant facts and 2) overt racism or sexism. In such cases it is sometimes difficult to decide what is worth transcribing. The following 1903 Washington Post article contains such a passage. While I decided to transcribe this passage, I feel obligated to point out the back-handed anti-immigrant racism contained in the first paragraph. The second article, from the American Poultry Advocate, relates the disastrous business impact of the Baltimore fire of 1904 and contains an odd usage of the word 'wonderfully.'] J. Bolgiano & Son, founded 1818. Bolgiano's Seed Store was located at the corner of Pratt and Light. Several heirloom tomato varieties grown today are descended from Bolgiano stock including: Greater Baltimore, John Baer, and IXL Extremely Early. Washington Post, May 17 1903 English names are not the only ones that have been handed down from Revolutionary times, and often a name that seems to indicate foreign blood represents an old American family. This is illustrated in the firm name of F.W. Bolgiano & Co., of this city, an offspring of a firm of like name established in 1818 in Baltimore. It is Italian in origin, but no longer represents Italian stock more than English. The name is known throughout the country to purchasers of seeds, which the firm grows and sells in many parts of the United State and imports from Europe. … The firm grows seeds largely in Frederick County, Maryland, and supplies some of the largest seeds houses with certain varieties of seed. The firm now has business connections in more than a dozen States, and customers in nearly every State in the Union and Canada. American Poultry Advocate, 1904 It is more than probable that every reader of this paper has heard of the wonderfully disastrous fire which so recently burned the heart out of the city of Baltimore. Unless you just happened to know some one who was living or doing business in Baltimore, it is likely that you gave the fire hardly more than a passing thought. But what do you think it means to the people of Baltimore? What do you thing it means for instance, to J. Bolgiano & Sons, the seedsmen who have for eighty-seven years been doing business In the fated city? In all that long period they have never before suffered from fire. Indeed, they felt perfectly safe this time, for when the fire first started it was more than ten city squares away from them. Later, and when they thought they were endangered — though the fire was still six squares from them — they employed two hundred hands and fifty drays and began the removal of their large retail seed stock to one of their warehouses a long distance from the fire, and where they felt everything would be safe. It transpired, however, that by a shifting of the winds the fire ate relentlessly away until both retail stores, offices, packing rooms and warehouses were destroyed. Bolgianos made a brave fight to save the orders and seeds for their thousands of customers, but fate was against them. The orders already booked and the lists of names of multiplied thousands of customers all over the world were lost in the twinkle of an eye. With absolutely nothing to work with, nothing to aid them except their fair name and excellent reputation, the Bolgianos have set to work with firm hands and brave hearts to rebuild their business. They have already laid in a large stock of the very best farm and garden seeds, notwithstanding the short seed crop of the past season, and will be able to fill orders as usual. Since all their advance orders and names of customers are burned, they have very little to begin on. Will those of our readers who ordered from Bolgiano & Sons write a postal card at once, simply giving your name and postofflce address? Do this whether you are an old or new customer of theirs. Send them your name anyhow, so that they may send you their catalogue another season. Simply address the card to J. Bolgiano & Sons, Baltimore, Md. Market Growers Journal, 1915, Advertisement. Originator's stock — the world-famous Tomato "John Baer." The earliest and best Tomato on earth." Bolgiano's "Long Lost" Lettuce. Excels All Others: On the market, as a Shipper, as a Keeper, in Quality, in Sweetness, in Flavor, in Color, in Profits, in Reliability, in Hardiness. The Town, Women's Civic League, 1916, Advertisement. A rich deep velvety green lawn is assured by planting Bolgiano's Druid Hill Park Velvet Green Lawn Grass Seed Canning Age, Vol 1. 1920. Glory Tomato, yielding better than 20 tons per acre. Pittsburgh Pickle, raised by expert grower. Bolgiano Tomato. Washington Post, Oct 29, 1920. J. Bolgiano & Son Fail. Seed Firm Assents to Bankruptcy and Appointment of Receiver. J. Bolgiano & Son, wholesale and retail seed growers and distributers, today assented to proceedings in the United Sates court adjudging the firm bankrupt and placing it in the hands of receivers. The seed house was established more than 100 years ago by the great-grandfather of Charles J. Bolgiano, present head of the firm, and is engaged in marketing the seed products of more than 10,000 acres of land in Canada, as well as seeds from ten states of the American Union, Holland, France, England, the Canary Islands and other foreign countries. "Hawaii" and bananasI recall reading James Michener's "Hawaii", when the pregnant Jerusha Hale (played by Julie Andrews, in the film version) is aboard ship for the gruelling journey to Hawaii. In order to keep her strength up, she is forced to eat bananas which, by this time in the journey are nearly liquid in their black, greasy skins. She's so disgusted with them that she finally throws them overboard. When she arrives in Hawaii, she is offered bananas and doesn't realize that the yellow fruit is the same thing... Dock SmellIn response to Darnuad's comment: my childhood memories of the harbor involve the enveloping odor of SPICES. McCormick's was there, and it was the best-smelling place I've ever been. Anti-immigrant racismAs one whose name is reminiscent of English blood, I don't find the mere mention of my name as offensive, nor would I think Mr Bolgiano found anything backhanded or racist in his story. He was probably thrilled to get the free publicity. Ship NameDoes anyone know the name of this ship? Thanks james@thebeckhams.us (The Gallery, Baltimore, Boats & Bridges, DPC)
South Street Seaport: 1901
... The New York Times: July 1, 1915 The Norwegian ship Cambuskenneth which sailed from Portland, Ore. on Feb. 9 for Liverpool or ... It was ascertained that there were eight Germans among the ship's crew and these had the novel experience of being rowed to the submarine ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 7:18pm -

New York circa 1901. "South Street and Brooklyn Bridge." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. No Trucks and a lot of SailThis is a wonderful view. I didn't realize trucks, motorized wagons really, weren't invented until 1896-Just five years before this picture was taken. No cars, cargo ships with sails and a few with steam and sail. Quite a look back. We've come a long way. How times have changedAmazing, the South Street Seaport actually *was* a seaport back then, not a tourist trap filled with schlock stores and crappy restaurants. RIP CambuskennethThe New York Times: July 1, 1915 The Norwegian ship Cambuskenneth which sailed from Portland, Ore. on Feb. 9 for Liverpool or Manchester was sunk today by gunfire of the German submarine U-39. The Cambuskenneth was twenty miles south of Galley Head on the Cork coast when the submarine signaled her to halt. It was ascertained that there were eight Germans among the ship's crew and these had the novel experience of being rowed to the submarine and later disappearing under the sea with her while their mates (thirteen in all) were left floating in the ship's boats. The latter were landed at Galley Head this morning. Sailing vessel Cambuskennethat center right was built in Port Glasgow, Scotland, in 1893. The 1,924-ton vessel was sailing under Norwegian registry and carrying a cargo of wheat when was was stopped by u-boat U39 (the Walter Forstmann) on June 29, 1915. All hands were allowed to leave the Cambuskenneth unharmed before the Forstmann sank her with gunfire about 26 miles SSW of Galley Head, Ireland. Sail gives waySail just hanging on as steam takes over. Wonderful photo, thanks Shorpy, but also a little sad. Steamship AntiliaSteamship Antilia: launched 1893 at Grangemouth, Scotland. Renamed Malaita in 1905. Scuttled in Bass Strait, Australia, 1927. Marine Engineer and Naval Architect, Feb 1, 1893. Launches — Scotch. Antilia. — On January 21st the Grangemouth Dockyard Co. launched a steel screw steamer to the order of the Nassau Steamship Co., designed to carry fruit and goods between the West Indies and New York. Dimensions, 200 ft. by 30 ft. by 14⋅9 ft. moulded to main deck. She will be fitted up with all the latest improvements, including steam windlass, steam steering gear, &c. The vessel will be fitted with triple-expansion engines by Messrs. Hutson & Son, of Kelvinhaugh Engine Works, Glasgow, designed for a speed of ten knots loaded. The vessel has been constructed under the superintendence of Mr. John M'Keddie, consulting engineer, Edinburgh. As the vessel left the ways she was named the Antilia by Miss M'Keddie, daughter of the superintending engineer. Munson Steamship Line previously seen on Shorpy at their Mobile, Alabama pier: On the Waterfront: 1905. Munson Steamship LineOriginally founded in 1899 to operate cargo service to Cuba and later to Mexico and other gulf ports. First passenger ship was purchased in 1915. The last ship was sold in 1938 and the company went bankrupt. Founded in New York in 1899 to operate a cargo service to Havana and later extended to Mexico and Gulf ports. In 1915 a passenger ship was purchased for the trade to Cuba and after World War I the company commenced passenger and cargo services between New York and the east coast of South America using mainly ex-German ships which had been interned in US ports. The company suffered severely during the depression and many of it's ships were scrapped or laid up. The last ship was sold in 1938 and the company went bankrupt. The remaining passenger ships were taken over by the US Maritime Commission and laid up. Routes: New York to Bahia to Rio de Janeiro to Santos to Montevideo to Buenos Aires New York to Nassau to Miami to Havana New York to Bermuda Miami to Nassau New Orleans to Havana New York to Antilla The way war is supposed to be fought"All hands were allowed to leave the Cambuskenneth unharmed before the Forstmann sank her with gunfire about 26 miles SSW of Galley Head, Ireland." Ahh, when wars were fought civilly. The blue team will please line up on the right side of the field and the red team will take the left. Begin firing at the umpire's signal. Halfway thereThe Brooklyn tower of the Williamsburg bridge is visible behind the Brooklyn bridge. The Williamsburg is still two years away from opening at this point. Can someone explain the sail masts?The commercial steamship steam boat debuted in 1907 1807. How on earth are there still sailing ships in the harbor nearly a century after that? Were mechanically driven ships still been so expensive that sometimes made financial sense, not only to travel at, what?, one fourth the average speed but also to employ all the hands needed to sail a ship? Or am I looking at mechanically driven ships that have masts merely to get extra speed when the wind is right? I can't tell if the smokestacks and the masts belong to the same vessels or different ones. Sail hung on for many more yearsUp to WWII, steel windjammers were more effective, faster and cheaper to operate than steamships on long blue-water runs, like trade between Europe and South America, Asia and Australia. Coal was expensive and hard to get in the remoter parts of the world. The great steel sailers were reliable and could be operated with fewer than 30 men. They were quite plentiful until the war changed everything by boosting the development of propulsion technology and the building of large numbers of powered vessels. Some operated into the 1950s. Fleeting humanitarianismThe rather gentlemanly process of allowing the crew to leave didn't last long after the introduction of Q-ships - armed ships masquerading as merchantmen until the U-boat surfaced to sink the ship with gunfire - more economical than torpedoes. The first successful Q-ship attack on a U-boat came just 6 days before the Cambuskenneth was sunk. Not long thereafter U-boats began more often to stay submerged and attack from stealth with little or no warning, as they did with the Lusitania. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)
Momma's Marine: 1916
... This young man appears to be a lieutenant. Shape Up or Ship Out Gawd, a Marine without a spit shine on his Class A uniform boots. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 9:10pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1916. "Mrs. George Barnett and son." Lelia Gordon Barnett, wife of the Marine Corps commandant, and her son Basil Gordon, who in 1923 became the first person to crash an airplane in the District of Columbia. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. What an honor!Did he survive? [He did, but his passenger, 21-year-old Edwin Trusheim, was not so lucky. "Goodbye, old man, it's all over," were the pilot's parting words. - Dave] Last Flight of The Elaine Washington Post, Dec. 10, 1923 Passenger Killed, Basil Gordon Hurt As Plane Crashes Edwin Trusheim, 21 years old, of 210 B street southeast, was killed, and Basil Gordon, 29, stepson of Maj. Gen. George Barnett, was seriously injured when the airplane in which they were riding crashed to the ground on a vacant lot at Half and L streets southwest shortly after 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. Trusheim, a passenger in the machine, which is owned by Gordon, was killed almost instantly, being crushed under the heavy motor as the craft was wrecked. Gordon, who piloted the plane, was taken to Providence hospital, where , it was said last night, he has a good chance for recovery, despite the seriousness of his injuries. Yesterday's accident is the first time in history that an airplane has fallen within the city limits of the Capital, despite the great amount of flying which has been done in the vicinity during and since the war. According to witnesses, the plane was about 2,000 feet in the air when it began to flutter. As it neared the ground, and when at a height of about 700 feet, it went into a nose spin, and struck the ground first with its propeller, the heavy motor being pushed onto Trusheim, who was riding in the front seat. … So far as could be determined, the wings and struts were in good condition, and the theory was advanced that the cause of the trouble must have been in the motor. Failure of the motor at the height at which the plane was flying would have made it impossible to right it before hitting the ground, it was said. … Gordon tested his plane, and then he and Law climbed into it and took off. For fifteen minutes they circled over the field, and made a short trip over the city. "The machine ran very smoothly," Law said last night. "Though I had never been up before, I had the greatest confidence in Basil's ability to control the plane, for he has quite a reputation as an expert aviator. During the flight we talked about how well the machine was running, and what a beautiful view of the city we had. We made a perfect landing." After Gordon returned with Law, Trusheim said that we would like to make a flight, and a few minutes later "The Elaine," as Gordon had christened the plane, took off on her last trip. For a few minutes the plane flew swift and straight over toward the city. Then to the little group of relatives standing at the flying field, it was seen to hesitate, to shiver, and then, with a quick, whirling motion, descend. With realization that something had happened, Mrs. Gordon and Miss Gordon, with Law, jumped into a motor car and started for the city. It was nearly an hour before they could locate the scene of the wreck in the little hollow south of the Capitol. And by they time they arrived on the scene the victims had been removed. Will fight for foodLooks like Momma didn't feed her Basil quite enough. That is one skinny soldier. Like Mother Like SonI can see where he got his good looks - from his mom. Such a proud mother. Ooo-rah! Riding BreechesThe riding pants indicate that this guy was one of the Horse Marines. And, yes, they did exist. Focus, focus, focusWhy are the buckles on his boots and the buttons above them in perfect focus, yet the rest of the photo is a bit softly focused? [The shoes didn't move. - Dave] Wally and BasilMrs. Barnett was first cousin to the mother of Wallis Warfield, the future Duchess of Windsor. She and her son showed amusingly understated enthusiasm in 1936 when King Edward abdicated and announced his intention to marry Mrs. Simpson. Basil is quoted as saying, "I haven't seen Wally for six years. She seems to be going places." How thymes changeCan you imagine any modern-day Marine Corps commandant naming his son Basil? He must have grown to become quite a sage. [Yes, he'd be mustard right out of the military. But the General had no input into Basil's name -- he was his stepfather; Basil was named after his father. - Dave] Mrs. CommandantPolitically, Mrs. Barnett was a force to behold in WWI Washington. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels crossed her when he tried to install his favorite marine (John Lejeune) as commandant of the Marines, in place of her husband. After Daniels asked his most senior officers for resignations (effective at the end of the war) and received them from all but Barnett, he blamed Mrs. Barnett, quipping that Barnett's Indian name would have been "'the-man-who-is-afraid-of-his-wife.'" When Daniels ordered the change, Mrs. Barnett worked through the crippled president's personal physician and her allies on Capitol Hill in an unsuccessful bid to countermand it. Her son Basil, said to be one of the most undisciplined members of the Corps, asked her to help get him released when he was confined to quarters. It did not succeed. BreechesSomebody called this marine a soldier in a previous post. Marines don’t like that. Anyway I respectfully disagree about the breeches. Although horse marines did exist, I believe riding breeches were de rigueur for all officers back in 1916. This young man appears to be a lieutenant. Shape Up or Ship OutGawd, a Marine without a spit shine on his Class A uniform boots. Horrors! Not the first crashActually, the first aircraft crash in DC proper was on September 17, 1908. On the date mentioned, Orville and Wilbur Wright were demonstrating their machine for the Army at Fort Myer (also where Arlington Cemetery is), and Lt. Thomas Selfridge volunteered to be a passenger ... [Fort Myer isn't in D.C. -- it's in Arlington County, Virginia. - Dave] A Very Handsome ChapHe is one good looking young man. Must have been terrible to crash and mortally injure a friend. On a happier note I adore his mom's shoes. Commandant BarnettMy dad was in Marine training in 1917. Here is an excerpt from one of his letters dated August 5, 1917, Marine Barracks, Port Royal, South Carolina: I got to see Brigadier-General Barnett, the head of the Marine Corps, a while back. He was inspecting the training camp on this island and we were drawn up in two lines while he passed between them. I will save this picture and put it into his album just for additional background to his military history. Thanks Dave. Mum's remarriageWhat a charming photo. Enjoying all the comments here, too. Here's the announcement of his mother's remarriage to Lt. Col. George Barnett in 1907. They met at a supper dance on Dec. 9, 1906, and he immediately began wooing her. In fact, he was said to have "pursued her as if he was assaulting a military objective," according to "Commandants of the Marine Corps." They finally wed on Jan. 11, 1908. Barnett was later the 12th Commandant of the US Marine Corp., ousted by some guy named Lejeune in 1920 (joke) and died in 1930. I've found shockingly less on the Marine in the photo, though he served in the Great War and was still stationed in France for a while thereafter. The elder Basil Gordon, who had wed his mother in 1892, died in 1902, leaving her with four young children. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Portraits)
Boiler Bros: 1942
... off Staten Island, New York. Trainees aboard the training ship New York working in the boiler room." Medium format acetate negative ... 1924. She was acquired by the Coast Guard as a training ship on 19 December 1941. She was based at Hoffman Island, New York. She was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/06/2023 - 6:12pm -

July 1942. "Hoffman Island, merchant marine training center off Staten Island, New York. Trainees aboard the training ship New York working in the boiler room." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the U.S. Foreign Information Service. View full size. Boiler room thoughtsThat one guy who's looking right at the camera: "Screw this boiler room stuff -- I'm going to become a photographer!" AhoyThe New York was a 385-foot, 4,989 ton coastal cargo-passenger vessel that first entered commercial service in 1924. She was acquired by the Coast Guard as a training ship on 19 December 1941. She was based at Hoffman Island, New York. She was turned over to the Maritime Commission on 31 August 1942, as the Coast Guard transferred the responsibility for training personnel for the Merchant Marine to the Maritime Commission. More photos by John Vachon of the Hoffman Island merchant marine training center from July 1942. "Merchant Marines: An Often Overlooked Branch of Military Service" The Merchant Marine were very brave in WW2.According to the U.S. Maritime Service Veterans Association, approximately 8,300 members of the Merchant Marine were killed at sea or as a result of their service during World War II. This figure represents about 1 in 26 mariners who served in the Merchant Marine during the war, giving it a higher casualty rate compared to other branches of the military. It is important to note that casualty rates vary across different branches and units within the armed forces. For example, certain infantry units in the Army or Marines may have had higher death rates due to the nature of ground combat. The Merchant Marine, being a civilian organization operating in a combat zone, faced unique risks. Furthermore, the Merchant Marine was not officially recognized as a branch of the military during World War II, which had implications for benefits, recognition, and post-war support. It wasn't until 1988 that the U.S. government recognized the Merchant Marine's contributions during the war and granted them veteran status. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, John Vachon, NYC, WW2)
Shooting the Chutes: 1905
... Movie time And on the left Air Ship to the moon! Different Chutes If you're not from New York, you ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2015 - 2:38pm -

New York circa 1905. "Dreamland Park -- Shooting the Chutes, Coney Island." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Movie time And on the leftAir Ship to the moon! Different ChutesIf you're not from New York, you may not know that Dreamland (original post) is not the same as Luna Park (video by Malted Falcon). Both 'Shooting the Chutes' look the same, but they are not. Steeplechase was the 3rd famous park from Coney that lasted from 1897 until 1964. Dreamland from 1904 and closed in 1911. Luna Park from 1903 and closed in 1944 after a fire. High dive?Is that tall ladder-looking thing an insane high dive platform? Log RideReminds me of the Log Ride at Six Flags Over Texas when I was a kid. Perhaps Shooting the Chutes was the inspiration. Lots of ChutesShoot the Chutes were common at all the "old" parks of 100 years ago and into the 60's and 70's. I remember as a youngster in the 1950's going to Riverview Park in Chicago. Our Chutes looked identical to the one pictured. I think the coolest part was the anticipation. 8 or 10 people loaded into a wooden boat along with a park employee bumping along a narrow water corridor till we arrived under the top of the Chutes at the back. At this point, your boat would be picked up by the constantly rotating lift to take you to the top. I recall the water dripping on us from the boat above. Finally at the top, you tipped forward and raced to the pond below in just seconds, water spraying everywhere! Loved it. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Coney Island, DPC)
Life Savers: 1908
... line, called a messenger, out to a grounded or sinking ship. It was probably designed to aim high so that the weighted projectile went over the ship, draping the messenger across it in a position to be caught, without ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 5:54pm -

Charlevoix, Michigan, circa 1908. "Life saving crew practice." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Baby BoomerI wonder what that small cannon was for. I remember in Tom Sawyer (I think) that Mark Twain explained how cannon were fired either across the river or from steamboats in order to make corpses rise to the surface. Surely this little pop gun wasn't used for that. Perhaps it was used like a harpoon gun to throw line out to drowning victims? That doesn't sound all that feasible either. I'm grasping at straws here. Lyle GunThat small cannon is called a Lyle Gun - after its inventor - David A. Lyle. These line guns are used primarily for shore based rescue operations. The Lyle Gun was hauled to the shoreline usually by U.S.L.L.S. surfmen in specially made beach carts. The Surfmen would set up and fire the Lyle gun, aiming over the stranded or wreaked vessel and then pull the line within reach of the victims. Once the breeches buoy lines and the Crotch Pole(an A frame) assembled, the survivors could be removed from the vessel by hand hauling the breeches buoy lines. Lifesaving ServiceIn 1915, a little after this photo's time frame, the US Lifesaving Service was merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the US Coast Guard. In 1939, the Lighthouse Service was merged in as well. To answer Cracker's question: The cannon was used to fire a light line, called a messenger, out to a grounded or sinking ship. It was probably designed to aim high so that the weighted projectile went over the ship, draping the messenger across it in a position to be caught, without endangering the survivors. Therefore it needed a substantial range. This messenger line was used to haul out a heavier hawser that the ship's crew could tie to something on board. It could then be used as a jackline to run a breeches buoy out to the ship to bring off the crew one by one. In this photo, however, it seems that instead of a breeches buoy, which is a sort of sling you sit in that runs along the hawser on a pulley, they are practicing with a tethered mini-lifeboat. The hawser might run through the two metal rings on top of the boat to keep it on course. The men at the right of the photo are pulling in the boat using one of the control lines; the other would go out to the disabled ship to bring the boat back for repeated runs. A breeches buoy could only rescue one person at a time. It might be that two could fit in this tethered boat, but probably not. The rescue process would therefore go on for a substantial time and depended entirely on the ship holding together long enough for the entire crew to escape one at a time. In the big waves that could be expected in storms, it might be that survivors needed to batten themselves into the rescue boat to avoid either drowning themselves or sinking it. That's why it has a hatch, closed in the photo. Rescue CannonI believe it was to shoot a thin line out to a stranded ship, in order to rig a "breeches bouy" rescue (a large rope with a sling that looks like underwear or "breeches" hanging from it). Because of the lake's shallow beaches, a ship might ground a hundred yards offshore. On the right edge of the photo is the remains of a ship's ribs, washed up on the beach. Line cannon It looks like a line cannon. They were used on ships to cast lines to one another. I suppose it would work for casting lines to drowning victims as well. Cannon before radios?Perhaps the cannon was used as a signal to alert others that a rescue was happening. A sonic SOS asking for help. The cannonYou have it right, and I was actually able to correctly remember the name of the thing from a distant childhood memory is "Lyle gun." It was used for line throwing to enable the rigging of rescue lines and such. Google it thus and you will find plenty of information and images of the style shown and one mounted on a Civil-War looking carriage. Thrown LinesThe cannon was indeed for getting the line out to a stranded boat. There's a photo of the same equipment here. The cannon was used to start a lifelineThe lifesaving crew would fire a small bolt trailing a cable, using the grounded vessel's rigging as a target. With help from the vessel's crew, they'd bring tackle across and set up a bosun's chair to shore. At least one lifesaving station that used this technique, Chicamacomico in North Carolina, still gives regular demonstrations. Unfortunately they're out of action until further notice in the wake of Irene, but I hope they'll recover. The demo is always a highlight of my Outer Banks vacations. LifelineThat's exactly what the small cannon is for, shooting a line out to the victim. It was also used to place a line on board a ship that had run aground, which was more common a century ago than one might expect today. Once the light line was secured a heavier line could be pulled aboard and a breeches buoy used to evacuate the crew. These life savers are the fore runner of the current Coast Guard. "Life Car"The cigar-like object bobbing offshore is a "life car" which was used as an alternative method for removing victims from a stranded ship. It could make repeated trips between ship and shore, carrying multiple passengers in its watertight interior. According to one source, the car held enough air for eleven (!) passengers for three minutes, although in practice it appears four to six people was the more common load. Clumsy and hard to handle, life cars eventually fell out of favor while the breeches buoy served on. Surf Rescue BoatThere is an identical surf rescue boat on display in front of the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse Museum (Ohio), along with a slightly different Lyle gun. The boat is built like a mini submarine, much safer than a breeches buoy. It was run out along the rescue line to the ship in distress. The Lyle gun fired a light line, that was used to haul out the main rescue line. The lighthouse is a beauty, and the museum is jam packed with artifacts, pictures, and models, and you can go up the spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse. My recollection is that Brennan's Fish House over on the Grand River side has a Lyle gun like this one, along with a museum quality collection of marine artifacts collected by the owner. (Great food too). Throw him a line!Here's an example of the Lyle Gun at work: "The firing of Lyle Gun to the freighter J.R. Sensibar grounded in Lake Michigan December 1939 by the surf men of the U.S. Coast Guard, The projectiles with line attached is fired over the stricken vessel, so it is possible to effect a rescue without putting a rescue craft in the water and needlessly risking the lives of the rescuers." Breeches Buoy RescueHow it's done, explained in great detail. Love this site! Can't get enough!! Life CarThe small covered "boat" is a life car intended to haul up to 4 or victims ashore at a time from a wreck. The only instance of it's use on the lakes was the Hartzell wreck off Frankfort, MI. The greater use on on the Atlantic coast where wrecks sometimes had hundreds of victims aboard. Regardless of actual use frequency LSS regulations required weekly drill in its use. The shotline was used to haul a once inch whip line out (block fast to wreck and two running ends ashore) which in turn hauled a two inch hawser to the wreck where it was made fast and became actual over head rope for the breaches buoy or life car, the whip becoming the method of hauling the breaches buoy etc, back and forth. It was a far safer method of rescue when conditions permitted, namely if the wreck was within 400 yards or so of shore. If not it was into the surfboat or big lifeboat and the life-savers earned their motto - "regulations say we have to go out; they say nothing about coming back." In 1915 the LSS and Revenue Marine consolidated into the new Coast Guard. Crotch Pole?Um, no thanks. I think I'll swim to shore. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC)
Mustang in Flight: 1942
... AAF first applied a designation of F-6A—as a photo ship—but that idea was tossed out. There is some thought that it was to be ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/29/2022 - 12:08pm -

October 1942. P-51 "Mustang" fighter in flight near the Inglewood, California, plant of North American Aviation. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. View full size. Paint?Did planes like these leave the plant unpainted? [It is painted. Compare with unpainted. - Dave] Alfred Palmer: 1906-1993Alfred Palmer's obituary from Feb. 2, 1993: (San Francisco Chronicle) Alfred Palmer, a career photographer who got his first camera from Ansel Adams and who had his first public show at the age of 84, died Sunday. Mr. Palmer, a longtime Bay Area resident who most recently lived in Larkspur, died in San Rafael after a long illness. He was 86. A staff photographer and film maker for such shipping companies as Dollar, Matson and American President Lines, Mr. Palmer had his debut exhibition in 1990. "It's about time," he said during the two-part show at the Bank of America Concourse Gallery. The first exhibition included World War II photographs taken when he worked for the Office of War Information. The second included pictures from his travels during the 1920s and 1930s and featured such photographs as an untouchable in Bombay, an old man in Beijing and temple dancers in Bali. Mr. Palmer estimated that he traveled half a million miles at sea during his career and circumnavigated the globe "more times than I can remember." In 1917, he helped a young Ansel Adams carry his heavy tripod and camera around the Yosemite Valley, where Adams took some of his most famous and striking photographs. At the end of the expedition, Adams presented Mr. Palmer with a $1 Box Brownie camera. "He made me a photographer," Mr. Palmer later told an interviewer. A former merchant seaman, Mr. Palmer also produced films about the American Merchant Marine. Mr. Palmer is survived by his wife, Alexa, of San Rafael; three children, Julia Gennert of Bolinas, Donald Palmer of Stinson Beach and David Palmer of Los Altos; and nine grandchildren. Memorial services are pending. Beautiful aircraft!Looks to be a P-51B IIRC, which was made specifically for ground attack. This was with the Allison engines, and was considered underpowered until incorporation with the Merlin engine that enabled it to (later) establish itself as one of the top fighters of WWII. Thanks for sharing this :) Also known as the ApacheThis model was also known by the name "Apache." MustangMy records show this aircraft as being built for the RAF, but retained by the USAAC for testing. Serial number of the aircraft is 41-37416. Aircraft was destroyed during shipment to Europe in 1943. Early vs. Late P-51 MustangsThe Brits were not impressed with the first P51s we sent them, but some bright fellow thought to put an engine from the Spitfire in one. We started making that Rolls-Royce Merlin engine over here (in a Packard plant?) to put in the later Mustang, turning it into a world-beater. "Mustang I"This is a Mustang I, the original version built for the Brits before the US put in their order. The primary clue is in the guns -- all US versions were armed with Browning 50 caliber machine guns, which have barrels short enough to almost fit in the wings. Only stubs will show for 50 calibers. On the other hand, the Mustang I was ordered with four Hispano 20 mm cannons instead of machine guns. The long gun fairings conclusively identify this as an Allison engined, 20mm cannon armed, Mustang I. (The British gave their aircraft a snappy name, like "Spitfire" or "mustang", and identified models by roman numerals. On the other hand, the US relied on familiar type and model numbers, like "P" (for Pursuit)- 51. In the US system, versions were identified by letters, and minor modifications by "block numbers." For example, "P-47D-25") Apache? Not.While basically the same airframe it's not an Apache. A-36's had dive brakes on the wings. MustangThis is a P-51 (no suffix), RAF equivalent is Mustang IA. Only this version had the four 20mm Hispano guns. Mustang Mk. I's had two chin-mounted .50 caliber machine guns and one .50 caliber and two .303's in each wing for a total of eight. The Mk. I's were exported for use by the RAF and RCAF. A-36 was the Invader, not ApacheIf the the P-51A (cannon armed) also was in the AAF Apache era I can't say for certain, but the reply below restricting the Apache appellation to the A-36 is in error. Later the A-26 assumed the Invader name, but that p[lane did not reach operational combat units until months after Overlord. Philip C. Marchese, Jr. P-51It did have an unique official designation of P-51-1 for 57 planes for AAF use withdrawn from an RAF Defense Aid (Lend-Lease) contract for 150 as their Mustang 1A. Serials for that contract were 41-11981 to -11980, but there is no found record of exactly which ones went to AAF. Confusion arises in that all were similar to Mustang I but for wing cannon; however, Mustang 1 was factory Model 83, and Mustang 1A in this contract was Model 91 with no new model number assigned. To muddy the waters moreso, AAF first applied a designation of F-6A—as a photo ship—but that idea was tossed out. There is some thought that it was to be Model 92, but that had already been assigned to a Boeing B-29 contract which was canceled, so cooler minds took the easy way out by simply adding a dash 1 and moved on to other things. This is either an I/P-51 or a P-51AThe inlet scoop over the engine behind the prop is indicative of the Allison powered versions of the Mustang. These were the very first models produced and saw limited service as attack aircraft due to their poor performance above 20,000 feet. The big change for the Mustang came with the addition of the British Merlin engine..... the rest is history. Hello, www.shorpy.comHello, I can't understand how to add your blog ( www.shorpy.com ) in my rss reader [Click the "Shorpy RSS" link at the top of the homepage. - Dave] Apache!When North American designed the NA73-X, the factory named the entire project "Apache." The P51/Mustang IA was designed without British involvement and still had the original factory label. The P51, after production, was slated for half USAAF training units and half British deployment. The British commonly renamed American aircraft but in the case of the P51 (no A,B,C or D/K) the Americans had always referred to the planes as Apache. The Army echelon did not like the name and they were more than happy to change it to Mustang later. "Invader" is what US Army theater personnel called the A36 Apache, but it was never an official designation. Packard MerlinsAt the beginning of the war, 1939, the British air ministry sent a buying team to the USA to source a fighter superior to the british spitfire and a supply of Merlin engines. It appears that Rolls-Royce feared they would not be able to supply Merlins in sufficient quantity for the number of aircraft projected to use them, among them Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster bomber and others, so they contracted Packard to produce Merlins under licence. When the US found itself at war after Pearl Harbour, it checked around it's its armament inventory and found Mustangs awaiting shipment to us British, these were immediately impounded, re-gunned and and impressed into USAAF service. They also discovered a ready supply of Merlin engines being built in their own backyard. The aircraft proved to be a disappointment in British service and was relegated to ground attack. It was only when a Merlin was fitted that it's its laminar flow wing came into it's its own. By the way it's its bubble canopy and drop tanks were also fitted by us first. The US never managed to fit a cannon of US design in it's its fighters and even in Korea the North American Sabre still had to rely on 0.5 machine guns against the Russian Mig-15 cannons. Mustangs were not much used by us British after that, we preferred to rely on the constantly improving Spitfire. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
BFF: 1922
... gone amok. Not quite twins The Ellis Island Ship Database shows a a 6-year-old Veronica Gracie and a 5-year-old Miriam ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 7:12pm -

May 20, 1922. Washington, D.C. "Veronica & Miriam de Gracie," daughters of Mr. and Mrs. S. Lonsade de Gracie. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size. What A PairI assume they're twins. They are delightful. Forget a bad hair DAY, this is a bad hair life. Their parents sure gave those girls a stupid hairstyle. It is kind of a Kewpie doll meets Mohawk gone amok. Not quite twinsThe Ellis Island Ship Database shows a a 6-year-old Veronica Gracie and a 5-year-old Miriam Gracie arriving from Rio on the Aeolus in March 1922, accompanied by a 30-year-old Samuel Gracie and 27-year-old Miriam Gracie. Veronica does have that older-sister look. [Samuel de Sousa Leao Gracie was the charge d'affaires (first secretary) of the Brazilian Embassy. - Dave] Charlie Brown's Sister SallyI always wondered what inspired that character's hairstyle. I will wonder no more! (The Gallery, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, Portraits)
« first‹ prev…3 [4]5…next ›last »
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.