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The Post Office: 1907
... at his desk, and I'll guess three supervisors. The spittoon Although I'm sure there must be other examples here, I can't recall seeing a spittoon before. It's apparently exclusively for the one guy actually working. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 5:58pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1907. "Post Office." Must be where the coughdrop-box tryouts are. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Postal efficiency.One man working at his desk, and I'll guess three supervisors. The spittoonAlthough I'm sure there must be other examples here, I can't recall seeing a spittoon before. It's apparently exclusively for the one guy actually working. Another working stiff(As opposed to the two-and-a-half stiffs facing us) There is at least one other gent working there. He's the blur behind the cage. Probably sorting, judging from the speed he's moving. Cornelius muttered under his breath..."Young people today, allowing the Postal Service to grind to a halt just to primp for a newspaperman. "Well I'll have none to do with this foolishness -- NONE TO DO, I SAY!" spit -- (ding) Pinkie RingsAll three men seem to be wearing pinkie rings - but no wedding rings? Great Site Dave. One of my favorites. Trade & MarkWhen I was a kid, I actually thought the Smith Bros. names were "Trade" and "Mark" like it said by each of their portraits on the box. 6 LoafersIt looks like all three are wearing exactly the same shoes. Spittoon floor two?Why is there a gutter and scuppper in the upper right hand corner? Second floor flush? Two workersDon't forget the person (lady?) in the cage, apparently sorting mail. Also, I wonder what they had in that file cabinet that made it worth an iron bar and padlock? Sorry, next window pleaseWe're on break. Rebellious sortThere's always that one guy that refuses NOT to stare right into the camera. Quel gauche. WinnersI wish this was clear enough to get a better look at the "list of winners and their states" hanging up. I wonder what they won! Cough drops, perhaps. [It's "Members." Of Congress, probably. - Dave] As far as the cough drop gig goesI think the job should go to the man in the middle. LockboxIn the past, and at least up until the mid-50's, registered letters had to be stored in the postmaster's safe. That may explain the locked chest of drawers. Either that or it's where Cornelius keeps his tobacco. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, The Office)
Bowery Flophouse: 1903
... considered rude to put out your cigar/cigarette out in a spittoon? I'd think if you did then the tobacco juice would completely extinguish the butt. "You put your ashes in my spittoon! You put your spit in my ashtray!" A Priest? I'm wondering ... that round thing to his left on the floor? An Art Deco spittoon? "How do I get to the Susquehanna Hat Company?" ack! That ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 12:35pm -

Reading room of 10 cent Bowery lodging house circa 1903. Headline in newspaper: "San Domingo Falls After Big Battle." View full size. 8x10 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. I found it....Here is a snippet: Baez was succeeded by Gonzalez (1873-1879), under whom the country enjoyed a period of tranquillity. Great political agitation followed, which terminated in 1882 with the election of Ulises Heureaux, a negro, and capable statesman. Under his despotic rule of nearly 17 years, the republic enjoyed greater prosperity and tranquillity than it had ever known. He was assassinated in July 1899, and was succeeded by Jiminez, who was driven out by General Vasquez in 1902. Vasquez, in turn, was deposed by a revolution headed by General Wos y Gil, who became president in 1903, but was overthrown by Jiminez in November of that year. In 1904 Jiminez was expelled and C. F. Morales became president. Ramon Caceres was installed in 1906, and in 1908 a new constitution was proclaimed and Caceres was elected for the term 1908-1914. San Domingo???I've looked around, and I don't see any reference to "San Domingo" falling in a big battle anywhere near 1903....Who might know what they are referring to? Re: San DomingoCapital of the Dominican Republic. Below: Headline from November 25, 1903. Ashtray?If it IS an ashtray, it's interesting to think that tobacco waste was segregated like that. Or was it considered rude to put out your cigar/cigarette out in a spittoon? I'd think if you did then the tobacco juice would completely extinguish the butt. "You put your ashes in my spittoon! You put your spit in my ashtray!" A Priest?I'm wondering about the fellw on the far right, if he might not be a man of the cloth. He's the only one without a hat, the only one with a beard, and it almost looks like he has a white collar peeking above his shirt. There just seems to be an overall feeling of something about his that doesn't quite fit in with the rest. Just supposin'. And what's that round thing to his left on the floor? An Art Deco spittoon? "How do I get to the Susquehanna Hat Company?" ack!That looks like a smelly, smelly, stench filled room. Spittoon(?)!Is that a finger-hole for easy lifting? 'Cause there's no way I'm sticking a finger or thumb in that nasty receptacle! (Love the potbelly stove, though...wish I had one again.) You may be right about the gentleman on the right, too. (And what's up with that one guy's foot? The one two people away from the preacher...is his shoe on the wrong foot? Is it just bent at an odd angle? Huge?) Re: Spittoon?Seems to be an ashtray. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC)
TICKETS: 1943
... of coal smoke, stale cigar smoke, and the faint aroma of a spittoon in the corner. In the late 1940s Midwest, I remember taking the train ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/19/2024 - 6:37pm -

April 1943. "San Augustine, Texas. Story of a small town. The waiting room in the railroad station." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size. $100 RewardAs best I can read the sign, the city of San Augustine is offering a $100 reward ($1,805 today) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone guilty of arson. It's signed by the mayor of San Augustine. Dave -- how close did I get? San Augustine is in East Texas, home of large tracts of piney woods. Arson is serious business there. Click to embiggen If I were a blindfolded time traveler ... and placed in this station, I'd be able to identify where I was by the way it smelled: a mixture of coal smoke, stale cigar smoke, and the faint aroma of a spittoon in the corner. In the late 1940s Midwest, I remember taking the train with my grandmother 15 miles into the local "big town" (population 20,000) for a day of shopping. Every small town had a train station. Gone forever, sadly. What?!?"Are you telling me there is no separate ladies waiting room?" Possibly still there? This old building on Google Maps has small-town-train-station characteristics, anyway. Oh that stove!My maternal grandparents had a stove just like that in Crosby, Mississippi -- it did a fine job keeping the farmhouse warm and even toasty. I was too young to have to chop the wood, but loved making a fire in the mornings. That waiting room is about the size of their entire house, or maybe half the size. Memories ... Smoke Consumer Also CooksIf you have one of these buried in your barn, pull it out and eBay it. Depending on condition and age it could be worth anywhere from $1,000 to $4,250. On top were plates to keep your coffee hot and maybe toast that sandwich Mom packed for you. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Railroads, Small Towns, WW2)
The Phantom Stroller: 1910
... and the light ribbons just happened to line up towards the spittoon (that he kicked closer to the column). Near the second column from the ... for a while if you hadn't pointed it out! The Great Spittoon Mystery This shot prompts two questions: What was the phantom ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:43pm -

New York circa 1910. "Suburban concourse, Grand Central Terminal, New York Central Railroad." Note the light trail left by a lantern-carrying phantom stroller in this time exposure. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Only one lanternTo me it looks like he was only holding one lantern, and the light ribbons just happened to line up towards the spittoon (that he kicked closer to the column). Near the second column from the left, you can see the two ribbons diverge as he moved closer towards the information booth. The Third LevelThis makes me think of Jack Finney's "The Third Level." The corridor I was in began angling left and slanting downward and I thought that was wrong, but I kept on walking. All I could hear was the empty sound of my own footsteps and I didn't pass a soul. Then I heard that sort of hollow roar ahead that means open space and people talking. The tunnel turned sharp left; I went down a short flight of stairs and came out on the third level at Grand Central Station. For just a moment I thought I was back on the second level, but I saw the room was smaller, there were fewer ticket windows and train gates, and the information booth in the center was wood and old-looking. And the man in the booth wore a green eyeshade and long black sleeve protectors. The lights were dim and sort of flickering. Then I saw why; they were open-flame gaslights. There were brass spittoons on the floor, and across the station a glint of light caught my eye. This is great!I probably wouldn't have noticed that for a while if you hadn't pointed it out! The Great Spittoon MysteryThis shot prompts two questions: What was the phantom stroller's direction of travel, and why his attention to the spittoons? My answers: toward the camera, and he was a spittoon attendant. First he stops at the drinking fountain to wet his whistle. The first ones he comes to may be one in two positions; the left one is much lighter, possibly indicating it was in that spot for a briefer period during the exposure. But there seems to be only one light trail, so that part's still a mystery. The next two he approaches from this side of the pillars; they'd be out of sight from his direction of travel. He determined that the nearer one didn't need emptying; the light trail indicates he approached it just enough to eyeball it. The farther one was either the same, or he managed to get it back close to its original spot. The last one, closest to the camera, he emptied, but replaced it in a different spot. One in each hand?The light tracks aren't just parallel, the up-and-down jiggles match, too. UnseenSure the phantom stroller is a great find, but I'm amazed because I don't think I've ever seen a picture of the old Suburban Concourse. It's much different today as restaurants have replaced the ticket windows, and that room in the back was completely replaced with a new staircase during the recent restoration. I've always loved the Lower Level's straight lines, and it looks even better without all the clutter of today. IlluminatingThe night porter is making his rounds here, ghostly legs fleetingly visible. A monochrome, indoor version of Jack Delano's nocturnal light trails. Why light?My question is what is making the light streaks? Flashlight? Candle? Reflection? Why would he/she need a light when the place is already lit up? [Janitors may have carried lanterns for the darker parts of Grand Central, where the tracks were all underground. - Dave] 1910!!Keep in mind that this remarkable scene dates from 100 years ago, when most homes in America had no electricity, indoor plumbing or telephones. The traffic at Park Avenue and 42nd Street would have been mostly horse-drawn. The world beyond the gleaming marble of Grand Central Terminal was largely constructed of wood and brick. There was no radio or TV. I'm not sure "computer" was even a word. If you wanted to go to Europe, you took a boat and spent the next week or so of your life heaving over the side rails. Once you crossed over into the wilds of Yonkers and Westchester County, there were more dirt roads than paved. This building simply took people's breath away. Baby is safeHarder to see in this photo are Kevin Costner and Andy Garcia (poised behind columns and ready to come out shooting). As we know now, the baby in the stroller was unharmed, although mom was terribly frightened. LovelyAs a somewhat serious photographer, I can't help noticing that in 1910, they had wide angle lenses without barrel distortion. Today, after your lens renders the scene shaped like a pillow, you have to straighten it in Photoshop. Baggage, telegraph and womenall kept out of sight. The Great Exposure MysteryThis scene is chock full of light fixtures blazing, reflections and glare off the polished walls and floor, especially at the ticket counter closest to the camera. How could the exposure have lasted long enough for the "stroller" to have covered all that distance without the shot being a complete washout? Just curious. [The light fixtures etc. look as bright as they do because it's a long exposure. - Dave] A thing of beautyHow sad that we seem to have lost our penchant for aesthetic beauty. Junior'sJunior's restaurant is in this space now, in front of the ticket windows. This is one case where I actually think it looks better now. In the photo, the place looks (obviously) empty and a bit scary. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)
Amalgamated Thingamabob: 1915
... like this before. I'm pretty sure they're locks. Spittoon I love the nifty spittoon on the floor next to the guy, right foreground. We all should have ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 11:53am -

An uncaptioned circa 1915 photo showing the assembly of what look like locks or latches inscribed "U.S. MAIL." Like any progressive workplace, it's equipped with spittoons. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Update: These are "L.A. locks" being assembled at the Post Office Department's Mail Equipment Shops, 2135 Fifth Street N.E. See the comments for details. Another technological advanceAnd that's an excellent example of an early 20th century comb-over in the foreground. StoolsInteresting how they rigged backs for the stools. A good thing too. I can't imagine sitting on a stool all day without back support - it aches right now just thinking about it. Early Ergonomic DesignLove the ergonomic (not!) design touch with back boards attached to the stools. In the deep crevaces of my mind...That looks like the padlocks used on what we called drop-boxes. Here in the suburbs the mailmen would walk the routes on foot. There were these boxes that were shaped like a regular mailbox with a solid top and were painted green. Another mailman would drive around in the Jeep, putting the deliveries for the routes in the drop-boxes so the walking mailman could just stop and pick up the next batch. [Crevices? Crevasses? - Dave] LocksI've seen things like this before. I'm pretty sure they're locks. SpittoonI love the nifty spittoon on the floor next to the guy, right foreground. We all should have one at work. I propose that when the ergonomic analysis team comes around, they should replace it with an attachable Drool Cup. That would avoid the potentially-injurious repetitive motions of leaning and straining, not to mention the hazards of poor aim. Workspace lightingNotice how some of the workers get light in their eyes, and others get light over their shoulders (sort of). Them locksThose are called "L.A. locks," and are still in use in postal operations, though not to the extent as in the past. They're used to lock pouches containing First Class Mail. You shove the notch against the hasp or other closure device and the mechanism inside snaps a gizmo over it. Sorry for the technical terminology. They were used by the zillion in pre-automation days, when mail was transported in canvas pouches and sacks and consigned to the railway system. There's a story behind the monicker "L.A.," which I've forgotten of course. It may be the initials of the guy who invented them. Early SkateboardsToss some wheels on those stoolbacks! More on locksUnless the Post Office Department back then contracted for the manufacture of postal locks, this shot very possibly could be the Mail Equipment Shops, which to this day manages the supply and distribution of mail processing locks and keys from their D.C. office. Drop-box locksThe locks Joe is talking about looked more like regular padlocks, and were generally referred to as street letterbox locks. They've long since been replaced by internal locks. The "drop-boxes" are more properly termed "relay boxes" and do serve the purpose Joe described. L.A. locksThese are L.A .locks being assembled at the Mail Equipment Shops, 2135 Fifth Street N.E., Washington, in 1915. L.A. locks are named for their inventor, Burton L. Andrus; according to Bryant Alden Long in "Mail by Rail," it stands for "Lock - Andrus." They were primarily used on pouches carrying first class mail. -- Frank R. Scheer, Railway Mail Service Library Relay boxesI was a mailman during summers in college, and my dad was a mailman for 40 years, and yes those boxes are called relay boxes and they're still used. I never saw any with locks like those though. Each morning, we would have to sign out a set of keys for these boxes, and a can of dog spray. If you ever lost the keys, I think they would have to change all the locks on the relay boxes. I'm not sure why you had to sign out the dog spray though. Maybe they didn't want us spraying each other in the office, you know how unstable mailmen are. Combovers Through the AgesThe comment on the early 20th century comb-over gives rise to a question as to what is earliest example of a comb-over in photo and painting? Robert E. Lee was an obvious practitioner, so that nails your mid 19th century. Napoleon seems to have used a comb-forward, which if you allow that to count is the beginning of the 19th century. Mail Equipment Shops, Cont'd.Regarding the photo, John Worth, former plant manager, tells me: That is the top floor of the MES, facing Fifth Street. It remained the lock shop until the closing of the bag shop and the upper floor of the building in 2002. The machines to put the pins in the LA Lock cases have components I traced to the 1930's, and we used them to assemble LA Locks well into the 1990's. Metal bins that appear in the photo are still used in the shop for parts and finished locks. Regrettably, the pulley system and spittoons are long gone. -- Frank R. Scheer, Railway Mail Service Library Combover and SonThe two guys nearest to the camera look to be related (father and son). Look at their noses, hair lines, wrist bones, ears. (They even have the same shirt on!) Registered Mail BagsI retired from the USPS five years ago and we were still using those on Registered Mail pouches. They could lock any pouch, but we don't use pouches for much else anymore. (The Gallery, D.C., Factories, Harris + Ewing)
Spruce Street: 1912
... Wickes Hine. View full size. Where's the spittoon? Do they expect people to walk around with a cheek full of spit and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/14/2011 - 6:22pm -

November 1912. Providence, Rhode Island. "Spruce Street. Tiny girl with big bag she is carrying home." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Where's the spittoon?Do they expect people to walk around with a cheek full of spit and resist the urge? I tell ya, things have not changed a bit--except we don't have signs pleading with spitters to zip it. Sack it to me!I like to think that the sack is full of hair clippings from the barbershop they're in front of. That'd be easier of her than coal or potatoes. I promiseI will not spit on the sidewalk.I will not spit on the sidewalk. I will not spit on the sidewalk ... I Heart This PhotoAt first glance, I thought the little girl was carrying a giant "Heart" or some festive decoration. This photograph has great tonalities, in addition to the social documentation originally intended. Do Not Spit...on the sidewalk. Can't make out how much the fine is. Cool sign. Damn shameI don't know when they did away with fines for spitting (or maybe they haven't and just don't enforce them), but too bad. It's disgusting both to encounter the end product and to witness the doing of. The reasons began as a prevention of the spread of TB, of course, but with the rise in new and resistant strains, I wonder if a return of the spitting ban might not be a good idea. Someone should do a study about teens and spitting. Judging from the fact that some teens seem to spit about as often as they take a breath, there must be some puberty/saliva production correlation. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, Providence)
Work, Read, Wash: 1943
... https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/sfe.htm Spittoon These had to be high on my list of disgusting things seen in my ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2016 - 8:13pm -

March 1943. Barstow, California. "Railroad worker in the washroom of the reading room in the Santa Fe yard." Medium-format negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Santa Fe Depot and Reading RoomOh, the Santa Fe reading room. not the Reading Railroad reading room. The Santa Fe Reading Rooms were hotelish facilities for engineers and employees on break between runs. The Waynoka, Oklahoma, Depot and Reading Room: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/sfe.htm SpittoonThese had to be high on my list of disgusting things seen in my childhood. Never envied the people who had to clean them or around them. WaynokaI have never been to the Barstow area but I have been to the Waynoka Santa Fe depot. It was several years ago that my sister, a friend, and I , mainly, went to eat at the Harvey House Restaurant there. At the time, I had no idea that Waynoka had played such a role in the history of transportation. The restored depot and the restaurant were very interesting and well worth the trip if you are in the area. As an occasional home plumberI have to admire the sheer, brutal functionality of the plumbing; not only is it designed not to clog, but if it does clog it's designed to be unclogged easily. And you can get at the feed lines and cutoff valves, too. Mystery fixtureCan anyone identify the fluted ceramic column at far right, raised up off the floor? Pedestal sink, drinking fountain? Fluted ColumnI'll say that the fancy tile on the right is the edge of a floor length men's urinary convenience. The concrete step probably holds the shallow basin at its base. That mystery fixtureI encountered a row of these frightening floor length fixtures many years ago in a historic hotel, I believe in Wellsville W.Va, or thereabouts. Not just similar, but apparently identical. Each unit includes 1 column, and there is an extra column tacked on at the free end. There is a separate cap at the top. Our ancestors sure had a taste for the grandiose in bathroom fixtures. As for the sink, this "S Trap" drain configuration far below the sink is generally illegal now, as it can siphon the trap dry. The vent pipe connection must be only a foot or so below the sink, with the "J Trap" in between. We ate a fine lunch in the grand dining room, but did not stay. I looked on Google Earth and didn't find the hotel, may not have survived. At the time, it was in the guidebook of historic hotels, along with such places as the wonderful Lafayette in Marietta OH. I may have pix somewhere, but probably wouldn't want to post them. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Ghost Convention: 1909
... clock in the view to give a clue. Hey! Who moved my spittoon? Spitting Images I believe that the cuspidors in the photograph ... appearance in literature of Ghosts that could spit. Spittoon City There are at least 10 spittoons visible in this lobby, which ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 6:14pm -

June 1909. Toledo, Ohio. "The lobby, Hotel Secor." I cackled with glee upon realizing that this empty-looking time exposure was in fact crowded with spectral hotel guests. Are they still there? 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. Why haunt with these stuffed shades?I could be joy riding out to Calvary Cemetery in that streetcar on the previous photo, or heading down to the waterfront to look for that nifty little Toledo and Ohio Central switch engine we saw a few weeks back. And since this is 1909, the tort lawyers haven't caused everyone to be so uptight; maybe I could get a cab ride with the train crew! I Wonder if the photographer was using this as technique to empty out the lobby or if the extremely long exposure was the only way to shoot a large interior space with the equipment at the time. Cackled?Ha! It's interesting that the photographer didn't have to clear the space to get a fairly people-free view of this wonderful lobby. What worries me most, though, is how the space has been "modernized" since the building is no longer a hotel. I hate to imagine that beautiful skylight is no longer visible. "Anybody see a ghost?"Dave, why would they need such a long exposure, I thought the plates were a lot faster by 1908. Also, was the original very washed out? [The commenter below speculates that a long time exposure may have been used to "empty out the lobby." This does seem to be the case, if the finished product -- a chrome postcard -- is any indication (click to enlarge). As for the original being washed out, the "original" is a negative -- for what we're looking at, there is no print. The positive reference image is obtained by "inverting" the negative; its appearance depends a lot on the equipment and settings used to image the plate. The goal is to extract maximum information in both shadows and highlights. Below we see the negative and the inverted positive that I used as the starting point for the Shorpy image. - Dave] Hotel CaliforniaYou can never leave. Heck you will never WANT to leave with all the comfy chairs and complimentary newspapers. How Long ?Any guess on just how long a time exposure would have to be to render a bunch of mostly very sedentary (some almost apparently snoozing) gents as "ghosts"? Most other examples seem to have been when folks were more animated and strolling about. Too bad there isn't a large-handed clock in the view to give a clue. Hey!Who moved my spittoon? Spitting ImagesI believe that the cuspidors in the photograph buttress my theory of this being the first appearance in literature of Ghosts that could spit. Spittoon CityThere are at least 10 spittoons visible in this lobby, which says something about the clientele and the times. It would be interesting to see if the Plaza Hotel in New York City provided spittoons in 1909. If it did, it would probably refer to them as cuspidors! The man who wasn't thereI need to run (I have places to go and people to see) and don't have time to do my research, but in elementary school we had a strange teacher who used to recite the poem similar to the following (paraphrased): "Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today, oh how I wish he'd go away." (It definitely scared me as a third grader). They're real ghostsThey have to be -- nobody's walking, they're just sitting there. Spooky. [A time exposure this long (probably measured in minutes, from the look of things) might not show anything that's not fairly motionless for at least several seconds -- it would register standers (of which there is one, toward the rear) and sitters more than walkers. (Theoretically at least, the sitters could all be the same person.) As we know from the many examples of "ghost pedestrians" on these pages, the telltales of walkers in a time exposure are wavy trails for head and torso, and "centipede legs" for footfalls; there's no evidence of that here, so we might conclude that this was a fairly sedentary bunch. On the other hand, you can make the case that, if the sitters had been seated for the duration of the exposure (i.e., not walking to or from their chairs), they would have registered more substantially. My hunch is that this was such a long exposure (ten minutes or half an hour, say) that any walking around would not leave any traces, and that the ghostliest sitters were seated for less than half the duration of the exposure. - Dave] Is this seat taken?Be advised: the potential for inadvertent lap-sitting is unusually high at the Hotel Secor. Recline with caution. Ptui.I really feel sorry for the hotel personnel who had to clean those spittoons! What about now?Would love to know if all the architectural elements are still in place in the lobby today. Hotel TelcoFrom the Toledo Blade: After the old Hotel Secor closed in 1969, the building housed Ohio Bell Telephone Co., which tore out much of the original interior of marble columns and decorative plaster, and covered marble flooring with office carpeting by affixing harsh, damaging glue, Mr. Zaleski said. With the Secor's best features long gone, Mr. Zaleski went about remodeling the ground floor and a few upper levels by stripping the building to its core, exposing concrete-encased walls and structural beams for a raw industrial look. The work was inexpensive to do, and the decor worked fine for his tenant mix of artists, media creators, and Internet start-ups. It also shortened the time he had to wait for the building to generate positive cash flow, he said. (The Gallery, DPC, Toledo)
Dear Sirs (Colorized): 1902
... to say the least, you are truly an artist. Even the Spittoon looks good. Great Knowledge of Color & Light A rare ... be, so I'm probably being stupid and just missing it. Spittoon Fabulous work. I like the spittoon by his chair! No electronics, ... 
 
Posted by Sébastien - 03/26/2016 - 10:39am -

My colorized version of this beautiful Shorpy image. View full size. Can you do some of Philly ?This is beautiful work you've done, Sebastien! It looks very real! I live in Philadelphia, and it would be great to see you colorize some of the pics of old Philly from the same era I've seen on Shorpy. Please consider it. My grandma (101) would love them! BeautifulThis reminds me of a Norman Rockwell painting with the color. Unbridled TalentIncredibly detailed colorization. A lot of work went into this and we Shorpy aficionados thank you. StunningBeautiful choice of colors, unbelievable detail. Thank you. Superb!That has to be one of the most beautifully rendered colorizations I have ever seen. Great work. Art of Light and ShadowStunning job on the colorization. I can sense every flyaway hair on her Gibson Girl head. Makes me feel like this happened earlier today. Great work!I believe we're looking out the windows at the corner of Congress and Woodward. A modern view would be mostly of One Detroit Center and a bit of the Vinton Building. The Richmond & Backus building was replaced by the National Bank of Detroit (now Chase) building. Color me appreciativeThe subtle, yet beautifully chosen and perfectly appropriate colors used in this impression have brought this 114 year old scene of a typical day in the office (back then) to real life today. I especially like the glowing light tones on the wooden furniture pieces and the livening up of the peoples' skin, hair and clothing. Obviously very painstaking and beautiful work Sebastien. Thank you. Outstanding ColorizationOutstanding to say the least, you are truly an artist. Even the Spittoon looks good. Great Knowledge of Color & LightA rare colorization showing a great understanding of the subtleties, the mutedness of the color spectrum in the real world. Magnificent. Nice officeThat.....is astounding! I've played around with colorizing and can appreciate the painstaking work on this photo. Incredible Colorization!I'm not a fan of colorization by any stretch of the imagination, but this is one of the best in the genre I've ever had the pleasure of viewing. My congratulations! Thomas Eakins would have approved. So do I. Well done You! SuperbWe're in your debt for this. Thank you. Oh, my ... sit and spinThe rotating bookcase is the dead spit of the one my local public library had in the early 1970s, which contained the library poetry collection (Dewey 811). As if we just stepped into the office from a time machine.Just amazing. Makes me feel like I am right there in the room with those people. One incredible job. Thanks much! Beautiful rendering!I wonder if she's taking this down in Gregg or Pitman? I learned Gregg 50 years ago in high school. Now it's pretty much a lost skill. Some years ago I was the secretary for our union local, and had to attend our convention in Chicago. I was taking notes as our president (Clinton) gave an address. A man behind me tapped me on the shoulder and asked "Are you writing in Arabic?" Funny at the time. Wood wood woodAll that wood--walls, floors, furnishings--looks so luscious. So different from the sterile look of offices today. I believe my mother-in-law has the twin to the chair on the left (with the cane seat) in her home (furnished by her grandparents in the 19th century). KudosI have seen many a fine colorization, but this one is just magnificant...looks like a modern movie set recreating 1902...bravo Absolutely beautiful.This is the best colourisation I have seen, by far. Absolutely stunning. Thank you. WowTastefully and intelligently done colorization. How transforming; looks "new" despite the century or so gap. Just PERFECT Totally convincing and incredibly lifelike. Just awesome. Thanks for doing it. SpectacularIf you listen real close you can hear the wooden floor creak under those chairs. This is just nice. OutstandingI generally despise colorized photos but now I see that's because they're so poorly done. You've done an outstanding job. Congratulations. You've converted an old curmudgeon. What is this?First, this is a beautiful job. Second, what is this? I thought it was an error in the colorization, but it's obviously in the original. I have no idea what it could be, so I'm probably being stupid and just missing it. SpittoonFabulous work. I like the spittoon by his chair! No electronics, just pencils, pens and paper. Like a Caillebotte paintingThe decor, color, and composition some how remind me of a Caillebotte painting. What a beautiful color realization - bravo. Even Homer noddedmarccarlson, What you see there is a metal rod and some sort of (electrical?) cord running into it. The triangular area inside it is what the view out the window looks like in the original LOC negative. When the Shorpy wizards tweaked the image contrast to reduce the glare & improve the view out the window, they overlooked this region. [That appears to be the case. -tterrace] Like standing in the officeThis was instantly promoted to my background. One of, if not the nicest colorized photo I have ever seen or used as a computer background. Love Her Hair! This may be the best colorized image I have seen. Amazing choices for the color of everything here. The bright red hair of the woman was a bold choice but it works and is totally believable. Her skin tone perfectly matches someone with that bright red hair. It makes me wonder if there is someway to look at b&w images and decipher what the true colors were. I have the feeling that someone with the skill to pull this off could probably conjure the image just as well onto a blank sheet of paper (or photoshop document) without starting with a photo. Absolutely StunningNot only does the interior look like the picture might have been taken this morning, the scene through the windows is so subtlety colored that it is perfectly realistic. Very well done. Thank you all!Thank you so much for this avalanche of nice comments about my colorisation, This image was like a dream to work with, the result is way beyond my expectations, the double windows impose themselves for a double color treatment cold and warm, and it work so well that it give an impression of sunset lighting. I put all my knowledges and my heart in it and the way you react about it is a real achievement for me. As BdgBill guesses my background is a mix of drawing, painting and photography and I work as a photoretoucher now, but my interest is also in History and the opportunity to travel in time exploring beautiful images of the past is what I love in Shorpy. I will continue to colorize photos from this site so thank you again and see you soon. (Colorized Photos, The Office)
Woman's Bureau: 1922
... she had to moonlight as a cafeteria lady. What, no spittoon? Not fair. Immaculate Perception Of course, this young ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 11:17pm -

November 1922. Washington, D.C. "Woman's Bureau, Metropolitan Police Dep't. Telephone calls bring prompt attention." National Photo Co. View full size. Cold OfficeI just noticed that she is on the exterior side of that double hung window. That really makes this office uninviting! Behind BarCan't decide if that bar is to keep her in or others out. In either case, it appears one would have to crawl under it. At least she has the keys. Hey! Fish!If this was NY's 12th Precinct, I would expect Wojo and Fish were out on a call. Obviously they modeled the set of "Barney Miller" on this. ErgonomicsThat particular arrangement is my personal idea of hell. So spatious and invitingNo expense was spared to accommodate the WB. [It was an extra-spatial kind of spatiousness. - Dave] Nothin' like a hairnetTo take away any semblance of sex appeal. Call indicator boxI have an oak call box in my kitchen the same as the one to the right of the light fixture; it was once used to summon the servants to different rooms by pushing doorbell buttons. The DC police must have used this one as an intercom of some kind. Washington "And Nearby Places"What a quaint expression, that! Not a negative commentDingy, and a lot of it doesn't seem the fault of an old negative. Cell, PhoneIf this is typical of an office in the DC Police Department, I'd hate to see what the cells in the DC Jail looked like. One Ringy Dingy, Two Ringy DingyIs this the party to whom I am speaking? 911 What's your emergency?We'll have a car out there sometime this week. Hello CentralGive me Dr. Jazz. Ruth Buzzi the elderly Lily Tomlin?The large purse is absent! Giant fingerprint faux finishMaybe Martha Stewart will have a special on how to achieve that in your own police station. Also, funny how this photo makes even the pencil sharpener look old-fashioned, even though hand-cranked ones are still fairly common. Everything within easy reach... except the pencil sharpener! That chair will swivel so she can easily use the books on the other table, and the typewriter is well out of the way of the writing surfaces. I've worked in worse. Security Fire AlarmI love the little iron hammer on the short chain. Break the glass to get to the fire alarm button. If a prankster sounds the alarm, just follow the blood trail. If the fire is real, well, decisions, decisions. Nearby PlacesGreetings from Bethesda, Maryland, one of those "nearby places." Which unfortunately can now take an hour or more to drive to during rush hour from downtown D.C. Guess it's not as nearby as it used to be! The dark side of the BureauMs. Mina Van Winkle, director of the D.C. Police Women's Bureau, provided this explanation to an audience in Boston in 1920: The Bureau was organized to enforce "the District's war-time legislation," but "proved so valuable as an emergency measure that it has been made permanent." In 1928 Ms. Van Winkle told a reporter that "Washington is the mecca for all psychopathic women of the nation." The feature story explained that one of the Bureau's functions was protecting lawmakers "from psychopathic women who flock to the city while Congress is in session with wild and utterly unfounded tales of wrongs done them by prominent men. ... Due to the vigilance of the policewomen, the government officials and other well-known Washingtonians accused of serious misdemeanors often do not even know they have been involved," because the Bureau's policewomen intercept such women, sending some to "some insane asylum" and others home to their husbands, fathers, or brothers. Depressing dimensionsWhen your office is taller than it is wide, that's not good. Fish on bun, Jello and milkShe must not have been paid much. From the looks of that sassy hairnet, she had to moonlight as a cafeteria lady. What, no spittoon?Not fair. Immaculate PerceptionOf course, this young lady's hairnet was quite common in those days. The cleansers and hair treatments of the day were unsophisticated, which made hairstyling a challenge. Mass production made the fine mesh solution to runaway or frizzy hair available to all women, at a cost most could afford. The hairnets were sold at accessory stores in individual boxes and put out on display, along with the fine gloves and stockings. A great many women, from Bonnie Parker to Eleanor Roosevelt, wore hairnets when they were considered a neat, clean, and feminine beauty product. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, The Office)
Weller's Pharmacy: 1915
... the things for sale in the curved glass case above the spittoon? The carved display cases are a thing of beauty. [Sponges. ... Of course, I probably wouldn't have imagined an ornate spittoon. [That's an apothecary jar. The spittoon is on the floor in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 1:13pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1915. "Weller's drug store, Eighth & I streets S.E." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Hmmmm chocolate!I love the Lowney's chocolate display advert in the back. It reminds me about 30 years ago of the Lowneys factory that was about half a mile from my house. They made the "Oh Henry" candybar and when the wind blew just right the air smelled of peanuts. Are those postcards to the right of the Lowney's display? It's a Wonderful StoreThe only things missing are a distracted Mr. Gower (behind the counter), Violet Bick (at the candy counter), young George Bailey helping out, and the future Mrs. Bailey ordering a chocolate sundae with no coconut. Label LustThe drugstore photos are among my favorites. They show what everyday life was like through the products people were using. That makes this photo one of the best and one of the most frustrating. There is so much just out of sight. I could spend a day in this store just reading labels. And thanks, Dave, for the sponge closeup. My point exactly. Two convenient locationsEventually Frank Weller had two pharmacies, at 755 Eighth Street SE and 3534 M Street NW. Click to embiggen. The folding seatsI would offer a suggestion that these unique seats, considering their height and location, may have been part of an actual fountain alluded to below in the comments, especially if one imagines that when the seats were originally installed there was no glass cabinetry on the underlying countertops. Rather, this may have been a true counter for enjoying the assorted delights one would find in a drugstore of the time. Without the glass display cases and the built up corner edging, these seats would have been at a more convenient height for patrons indulging in chocolate sundaes, egg creams and banana splits. This is one of those Shorpy photos when one wishes for turbo zoom feature on one's mouse. So much detail just beyond visual reach. Mystery MerchandiseCan anyone identify the things for sale in the curved glass case above the spittoon? The carved display cases are a thing of beauty. [Sponges. "Best bath, sponge bath." - Dave] 4:05 PM, I need a Carbello.I think if one was to ask me to describe what a classic drug store looked like, I wouldn't imagine being far off from this image. The tin ceilings, elaborate casework, patterned tile floor, paper-wrapped goods behind glass cases, it's all here. Of course, I probably wouldn't have imagined an ornate spittoon. [That's an apothecary jar. The spittoon is on the floor in the corner. And it's 12:54. - Dave] 12:54? Am I not clearly seeing minute hand on the 5, hour hand on the 4? [You are not. - Dave] FlooredAll quite beautiful, except for the dizzying floor. Any product put in such display cases instantly looks better. Washington EliteSomething tells me this is where the rich and fabulous Washington Elite shopped for their sundries, notions, lotions and potions. It is kind of near K Street. OutstandingMagnificent casework and displays! I can't guess what they would cost to replace in today's market, but it would really be a pretty penny! I love the folding stools for clients along the left side. All the detailsLove the retractable stools on the left. Very clever! Your Parents' Drug StoreWhat a great contrast to drug stores of today. Sometimes its hard to tell if you're in a drug store or a convienience store. Seems our town has a Walgreen's or CVS on every major block, not to mention the pharmacies in Wal-Mart, K-Mart and all the grocery stores. Waterman PensAh yes, Waterman's Fountain Pens, the fountain pen of my youth! Once, in Delaware in 1951, mine managed to spit out a blob of Schaeffer's Skrip blue-black ink onto the sports jacket cuff of Boston Braves' Manager Billy Southworth while he was signing my autograph book. That was sweet revenge for me, those Braves having beaten my Brooklyn Dodgers to the National League pennant in a tight race back in 1948. What goes around, comes around. The dirty look Billy gave me was priceless. Frank P. WellerThe 1900 and 1910 census records show Frank P. Weller and family living above his store at 753 8th st S.E. In the 1920s Weller teamed with druggist Thomas A. Moskey and the business began to be advertised as "Weller & Moskey Pharmacy." F.P. Weller is buried several blocks east of his pharmacy at the Congressional Cemetery (link to PDF of Congressional Cemetery record). I don't know what kind of store $350 could have built in 1890. The Capitol Hill Restoration Society database of building permits lists an August 31, 1892 permit for a $16,000 brick dwelling at 753 8th st SE. Washington Post, Sep 3, 1890 Building Permits The following building permits were issued yesterday: F.P. Weller, one brick store, at No. 753 Eighth street southeast, to cost $350. Washington Post, Mar 28, 1933 Franklin P. Weller Services Are Today Retired Pharmacist, Native of Maryland, Was Once in U.S. Navy Funeral services for Franklin Pierce Weller, pioneer Washington druggist, who died Sunday night at the residence of his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Hynson, 3435 Thirty-fourth place, will be held today at 2:30 p.m. at the Hynson home. Interment will be in the Congressional Cemetery. ... Mr. Weller, 78, was born in Thurmont, Frederick County, Md., December 21, 1854, of Revolutionary ancestry. He came to Washington 70 years ago. During the early eighties he served as a pharmacist in the United States Navy on board the U.S.S. Galena. Upon his retirement from the Navy he engaged in private practice and opened a drug store in Washington at Eighth and I streets southeast which has been a landmark for a generation. he retired from business last October. He served in the hospital corps of the District National Guard for 27 years. He was a member of the Metropolitan Presbyterian Church, of the De Molay Commandery, Knights Templar, and St. John's Lodge, F.A.A.M. ... 755 Eighth Street SEIf this is the right corner, the building is still in fairly authentic condition: View Larger Map And if this is the same building, it is also where 200 WWI veterans stayed during the Bonus March in 1932. Gas lamps, no electricityEdison didn't get his hands in this store's cash till yet! Look at the details in the ceiling lamp in front. No electrical anything in this store. The Great Time DebateI have to say that it looks like 4:05 to me. With the inset small face showing seconds, the only hands on the main face should be the minute and hour, and the hand pointing at the digit one seems clearly longer than the one pointing at the four. [As we can see below, this is an approximately 60-second time exposure taken from 12:53 to 12:54. - Dave] Thanks Dave, I can see it in your detailed image, couldn't see it in my blowup from the on line image. Granddad's PharmacyWhere's the soda fountain? My granddad had a pharmacy like this from about 1914 to 1964. He worked there another 6 years or so after he sold it. It was located on the square of Piggott, Arkansas and it was the most popular place right after school let out each day. The soda fountain was the main draw for the kids. The display cabinets in this potograph look more ornate than the ones at my granddad's store. The clock does say 4:05 and those items in the curved case might be bath sponges of some kind. I also noticed a clock through the far left window of the pharmacy area. What happens at Weller's, stays at Weller'sAn amazing place. I'm sure I see the words "Sub Rosa" on a box in the central case, behind the jar that looks like a giant Faberge egg, indicating secrecy to "all ye who look in here"? Folding stools on the display case/counter at the left. Did ladies get cosmetic makeovers there? Did people wait for their prescriptions on a fold-out stool? And is that a rotary greeting card holder in the center right rear? Precursor of Hallmark? Postcards to the right? Those cases are more ornate than any drugstore I've ever even seen photos of. A place where money is no object, and the things in the center case are secret!? And I'll bet someone MIGHT have spit secretly in that Faberge egg jar. Apothecary globesSome examples from the Drugstore Museum and the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. CountersThe "carved" sections look more like painted cast iron or plaster, not wood. Woodcarvings and moreThe woodcarvings are a delight, I wouldn't have imagined such beauty into a store. Those days the things were thought to last and therefore they wanted good stuff I guess. Make such a thing today would require a little fortune. And I'm not sure if you can easily find the skilled woodcarvers to do it properly. Amd the stained glass on the door! I may have four of those stoolsThis is exciting! I have four similarly spring-loaded stools, which were described to me as being trolley seats at the time I purchased them. The era of the casting looks about right. (The wooden seats on mine appear to have been replaced.) Anyone got a guess, or (gasp) knowledge? Are these something like jump seats for a trolley, or more likely to be for sitting at the counter having a soda? Even if I learn nothing else, I've now got an image that confirms how/where to install these things! re: I may have four of those stoolsHere are the patents for Linda's folding stools. They are a little different than the ones in the photo, which have a single, s-curved support pedestal and what looks like a different spring-loaded locking mechanism. Yours are described in the patent specifications as being "particularly designed for use in connection with store counters", not trolley cars. http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=_uE_AAAAEBAJ&dq=644,789 http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=gZpFAAAAEBAJ&dq=596,931 (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Mystery Coach: 1910
... electrical stuff on the left side. Amenities The spittoon is a nice touch. And the Answer Is ... ... I don't know for ... Part of the instruction could be how to hit the spittoon. The whisk broom is a nice, dainty touch. So are the hanger straps. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/28/2014 - 2:37pm -

From around 1910 comes this 5x7 glass negative showing a rail car fitted with ... what? Post your informed supposition in the comments. View full size. Instruction car.I'm assuming that this is an instruction car for either an interurban railway or an elevated transit line. In either case you can see the master controller just to the right of the end door. Along the right side is a bank of air compressors while above those are what look like framed study guides or instructions. Edit, after reading the other post I have to agree. Along the right side are are brake cylinders. You Brake ItI'm going to guess this is an Air Brake Instruction Car. I know such cars existed, I've seen references to them on various RR rosters. The contraptions on the right hand side are brake cylinders (air reservoirs and triple valve, Westinghouse K or equivalent.) The problem with my guess is I can't directly account for the electrical stuff on the left side. AmenitiesThe spittoon is a nice touch. And the Answer Is ...... I don't know for sure. But I have a hunch. And I think braking is (so to speak) on the wrong track. Maybe the rectangular objects, radiator-like fixtures and light bulbs on the left are clues. Motorman's Instruction CarI'm thinking motorman's instruction car -- teaching both brakes and electrics. New York subway had one in 1904, interior shot here, and the exterior here. The window configuration of the latter is very similar, including the larger front left window. InstructionsPart of the instruction could be how to hit the spittoon. The whisk broom is a nice, dainty touch. So are the hanger straps. My guess is that it's a transit car converted hastily to a dynamometer car, with plenty of heavy wiring and large resistors to dissipate heat. My dad worked on one in the late '30s to test diesel locomotives for the Milwaukee Road. Another trackThose may well be air brake assemblies but I suspect they're doing other work, the labeled electrical gear with hefty looking trunking on the opposite side argues against this being a very mobile installation even if the motorman's station is still in place, what we can see of those display boards above the pneumatic gear looks rather maplike. All this added together with the seven bulb light board, the desk, chair, and spittoon leads me to suspect we are looking at an interurban car repurposed as a switch and signal house either in a small hump yard or on a factory premises. Certainly InstructionThe equipment on the right side is railroad brake equipment, as deemery said. There is equipment for several cars, so the propagation of the braking commands can be seen. The equipment on the left is for propulsion control for (as Pudgyv said) an interurban or transit car. On the left, in the foreground (and a bit out of focus) is a jumper connection, used between cars for multiple unit control. The equipment hanging from the ceiling seems to be contactors for motor control. The metal housings near the floor are heaters which may serve as resistors to limit motor current for low speed/slow acceleration. The white "pipes" between the contactors and the floor may be cables between the contactors and the motors mounted on the trucks below the floor. I suspect the white stuff is asbestos insulation; these cables would carry the traction current at around 600 to 750 volts, and hundreds of amps. Instruction Car.Yes, this most certainly is an instruction car and there are several interesting features: The metal boxes on the left wall next to the floor are electric heaters - as are the same on the right. The cylinder with the arm attached, above, is most certainly a carbon-pile Voltage regulator. The white things I suppose are insulators. The seven glass tubes on the wall I suspect are load or indicator lamps. Hard to tell if this was a 32-Volt (steam line) car or an electric line (600+ Volt) car. The very curious thing about both sides is the standee straps - guess part of the instruction was carried out while the car was moving. It appears that this was an open-platform car (looking through the windows). Another curious feature is the controller to the right of the door. It does not appear to be an engineer's/motorman's brake stand - but could be - maybe. It is too small to control traction motors. Moving around the right side, yes, those are most certainly K Brakes. Have considerable Westinghouse, Pullman, etc. reference material on this era equipment. Note the framed posters above each station. These appear to be valve air channel diagrams. But in addition to the other curiosities, it seems odd that there are no air pressure gauges included with the stations. Just an observationIt seems that every "break unit" on the right is separated by flexible line like between cars and there's a small reservoir like what would be much larger under each coach car. So I think this might be a mechanical model of a train of coaches to demonstrate what? Same with the electrics on the left with all the electric heater units that are all over the break side also. [Another observation: BRAKE, not "break." - Dave] Thanks Dave. I'll never screw up there their they're but otherwise we're free ranging. IRT Instruction CarThis looks like the New York Subway (IRT) instruction car. There are slight differences between the two cars pictured but this could be due to modifications over the years, or possibly there was more than one instruction car in the fleet. Railroad_Sparky is right that the controller appears small. Streetcar controllers usually had bigger cabinets but this one is actually pretty typical of multiple-unit controllers used in rapid transit cars. Mobile Hot-SpotThis one was easy. You've got your bank of Wi-Fi routers and access points on the left, and your uninterruptible power supplies on the right. Looks like they've opted for the air-cooling option center-right. New York Is On The Move! Controller sizeis indeed small. To amplify comments from Railroad_Sparky and SteveLexington, streetcar controllers actually controlled the motors directly, and so had to carry the 600 volts (or so) and the heavy motor currents. Thus, the contactors inside the controller had to be large to carry the large currents, and had to have large separation to extinguish the high voltage arc (spark). "Multiple Unit" (MU) control was introduced to allow one motorman to control several cars (multiple units) from one controller at the front of the train. Air brakes had been developed already to do this for the brakes, but it took a while longer to control this mysterious 'electricity'. MU controls typically used low voltage control circuits. These were coupled between cars using a multi conductor (7? 14?) plug-in cable. The low voltage would operate heavy duty contactors on each car, which in turn controlled the traction current and voltage. Since the current and voltage are both (relatively) small, a controller can be made much smaller. You're all wrong.It's the inside of a TARDIS. I See the LightMaybe the light bulbs came on in a sequence from left to right or right to left to indicate how the brakes engaged in a sequence? Or perhaps they indicated the cleanness and accuracy of the shot of tobacco juice aimed at the spittoon? Car 824, no doubt It is indeed the interior of IRT Instruction Car 824 - you can barely make out '824' right over the door. I've been in this car - it's at the trolley museum in Branford, Connecticut. Sister CarsA pair of lovingly preserved (but more conventional) ex-IRT coaches are at home at the Western Railway Museum at Rio Vista Jct. (Suisun City/Fairfield, California). In their "last gasp" service lives, the were WWII-era "Shipyard Railway" cars running between East Bay (Berkeley, Oakland and Richmond) communities hauling war-workers. https://www.facebook.com/WesternRailwayMuseum (Technology, The Gallery, Found Photos, Railroads)
Washington Union Station: 1912
... see recessed areas at the end of each bench for placing a spittoon where it can be used but not accidentally kicked. And the station ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/10/2022 - 9:24pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1912. "Union Station plaza and Columbus fountain." 8x6 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size. A beautiful and functional place todayBelow is the original ground floorplan for Union Station. Here are some photographs of the original interiors. Like nearly all train stations, Union Station went through a decline. The two events which stand out in my memory both involve the main waiting room. Around 1967, in an effort to look more modern and deter transient sleepers the mahogany benches were removed, thrown on the depot's scrap pile, and replaced with individual plastic seats mounted on rails on posts bolted to the floor (similar to what you see in bus stations). Around the same time the station was repurposed as a Washington visitors center and in the early 1970s a giant hole, nicknamed The Pit, was dug in the waiting room floor to create a sort of amphitheater. The floor was restored during restoration of the station, which concluded in 1988. Unfortunately, the benches are long gone. Click to embiggen RentalsRental vehicles are returnable around the right corner of the building. I remember the other hole in the floor.The 1953 Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 sized one, that resulted from one of said locomotive class (PRR 4876) overrunning the platform area, entering the concourse and coming to rest in the basement. The entrance on the far right in the frontal and floor plan views used to be called the "President's and Ambassadors Entrance", good thing the GG1 didn't try to go in there. The only private citizen ever officially privileged to use it was supposedly Kate Smith. SoThat building held like, what, 5 people? A more perfect UnionOne of the earliest and most visible examples of the District's transformation from a slow Southern town to a City Beautiful, the Station - which is both a terminal and thru-station (see plan below) - replaced an earlier one situated on the Mall. Although picturesque and conveniently located, it became unpopular - President Garfield particularly disliked it - with the movement to restore the capital along the lines of the L'Enfant Plan. Horses to the left of me, autos to the rightI'm wondering about the horse/horseless divide. Could it have been designed to: > keep the horses calm? > make it easier for passengers to chose their preferred mode of transportation? > protect, in some small way, a dying trade? More 1908 PhotosI remember once seeing a photo of a table set in a private dining room in Union Station. It had something like seven stemmed glasses of various sizes lined up for different beverages and I don't remember how many different forks. I didn't find it again, but I did find a labeled floor plan, below, so you can see where the lunch room was, and a photo of the lunch room. Also, another photo of the main waiting room, where you can see recessed areas at the end of each bench for placing a spittoon where it can be used but not accidentally kicked. And the station under construction. Click to embiggen Blueprints aplentyHundreds of these on the LOC website. If you're into that sort of thing. Rocking chairs -- "Pay closets" -- ColumbiaNice to see that cultural Marxism has not destroyed this historical landmark yet. Bouncy!Back 25 years, when I was a communications consultant in the DC area, my partner and I would meet with clients in Union Station for meetings or working meals. It was a beautiful place, no doubt, but after years of being in rock bands and almost daily scuba diving, my hearing was shot. All the hard surfaces in that joint caused the worst reverb I ever experienced. Hearing aids couldn't help. I had to really be on my toes to understand what was being said. Finally, I put my foot down and insisted on meetings at the Post Pub or Sign of the Whale or Ben's Chili Bowl or anywhere other than Union Station. Bicentennial EmbarrassmentI worked for the National Park Service for 25 years, including the Bicentennial era, and remember the National Visitor Center with great embarrassment and remorse. What happened to Union Station in 1976 is still a blemish on the NPS' image. Planning for a National VC began in the late 1960s, but construction didn't really begin until 1974, which was too late to pull off many of the planned attractions in Union Station. The worst feature was an infamous multimedia theater excavated into the floor of the Great Hall -- a literal pit with stand-up "seating" where a bank of 100 Kodak Carousels projected a continuous slide show about DC and its monuments and attractions. I watched the show several times, or rather tried too, but a sizable number of projectors always seemed to be out of sync. And the clacking sound of a hundred 35mm slides being changed simultaneously was hugely distracting. I'm attaching views of the original Great Hall and the Bicentennial "Pit." Thank god the multimedia pit was removed during subsequent restorations of the Station. D.H. Burnham & Co.At the bottom right on the plan provided by Doug Floor Plan is the name of the architectural firm that designed this building. This Chicago-based company also happened to design the 1893 Columbian Exhibition that I happened to read about in the book, "Devil in the White City." Burnham was not the devil. (Panoramas, D.C., Natl Photo, Railroads)
Dakota Clipper: 1942
... have been a good name. [Or maybe Harry. That's a spittoon and a pile of hair. - Dave] Barber needs a shave? But does ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/25/2021 - 11:43am -

February 1942. "Timber Lake, Dewey County, South Dakota. Barber shop." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size. Two Chairs - No WaitingI'm guessing that the second chair didn't get much use. Timber Lake had a population of 512 in 1940. If half of those (256) were men, I figure that's about enough to keep one barber employed. Or two barbers in poverty. PerfectedIt's interesting how few of the implements around that shop would be out of place today. Step into that barber shop today you'd maybe just see an added hair dryer. It's like the barber shop reached perfection about 100 years ago and can't be improved upon! Few other professions seem to have changed so little. Clipper?Is the Dakota Clipper related to the Spruce Goose? And the barber needs a shave. The building across the street is a real architectural showpiece! South Dakota for sure!It wouldn't be South Dakota without the rooster pheasant on the clock! That state is rich in pheasant. Vachon the virtuosoImpressive how he managed to avoid getting his flash, camera or himself in any of the multitude of reflections possible, what with the mirrors and windows and windows reflected in mirrors. [The reflections are there in the negative but I got rid of 'em. - Dave] Good Exposure Inside and OutJohn Vachon certainly knew how to use flash or a large photo-flood. The edges of both the barber and customer are quite hard, which gives me pause. But notice the car in the window, and its reflection in the mirror. Worth a look: https://mastersofphotography.blogspot.com/2011/08/john-vachon.html Not an Alberta Clipper... but cutting it pretty close. Searching the 1930 and '40 US Census, I find a barber in Timber Lake named Henry Perron. But wait, there's more! His son William is also listed as a barber, and Henry Jr. is listed as an Apprentice at the barber shop. The 1940 Census indicates Henry Jr. has moved to Illinois, but William is still in business with his father. In 1942, William would have turned 34 years old. As father Henry would have been 67 in '42, it seems likely we see William in this photo. Henry's parents were born in Canada, and with the surname of Perron, you'd be correct in supposing he's of French Canadian stock. (Henry's page at Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/121638292/henry-peter-perron ) Below is an edited capture from the 1930 Census. Surprisingly, there is also a Dane named Arlo L. Jensen Sr. who is listed as a barber in Timber Lake in the 1940 Census. However, he is in his mid-50's in 1942, and our man here appears a bit younger. Apparently many a mane was to be shorn in the Timber Lake demesne! Saturday Evening Post?I swear this looks just like something done by Norman Rockwell. Especially the expressions on the men's faces. That's weirdI can smell this photo. Not just for menThere are some barbers who work on both men's & women's hair. I know, because I go to one. In fact he advertises that on his calendars. This barbershop had a mascotIn the shadow underneath the window is a small dog and what appears to be a food bowl. Clipper would have been a good name. [Or maybe Harry. That's a spittoon and a pile of hair. - Dave] Barber needs a shave?But does he shave himself? Great Pheasant!Great area for pheasant hunting as noted by the clock bird. I assume this is why Alfalfa's father is getting a trim. The good life Being a barber in that area and era (or any era) would seem to be a pretty comfortable life, other then the cuts and nicks in the beginning. But once you become a competent barber you're always warm & clean. especially considering the weather beaten guy in the chair is only 40. '20s styleThe man in the chair who appears to be close to 50 is still wearing his hair in the parted-in-the-middle style of the 1920s! Pa Kettle, Is that you?The customer is a dead ringer for Percy Kilbride, aka Pa Kettle (although the part down the middle looks more like Alfalfa). Keep it glassyI'd love to add those old glass bottles to my (small but significant) collection. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Small Towns)
Dept. of Charts: 1919
... size. A couple things you don't see today Spittoon and phone ringer boxes. My antique 1926 Western Union phone still uses ... to date today. Administrating like a Boss Even the spittoon is polished. And all trends are positive. Bureau of Desks To ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/29/2015 - 12:16pm -

March 1919. Washington, D.C. "U.S. Fuel Administration." One of the Administrators in his office. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. A couple things you don't see todaySpittoon and phone ringer boxes. My antique 1926 Western Union phone still uses a ringer box. YIKES!On first glance I thought perhaps that chap's co-worker was hanging in the corner! AmazingThat ceiling at least is about 30 years ahead of its time--all it needs are the fluorescent fixtures to look up to date today. Administrating like a BossEven the spittoon is polished. And all trends are positive. Bureau of DesksTo save money instead of buying a desk for each of us we'll just get a really wide one for two. Hold on while I spit. I love those shiny new phonesThis looks so typically bureaucratic (even the shade on the lamp matches the walls!) that that spittoon sticks out as an oddity. He does not look like the type who would partake in a bit of the ol' Mail Pouch. Statistics In the Dawn of the Age of BureaucracyAll those spiffy charts, and generated 70 years before Power Point! Liberty Loan PosterFour months after the armistice, and we still have a war poster up ridiculing the Kaiser! Come on, smile!All the graphs are pointing upwards! 4-drawer HONMy, how file cabinets have changed over the last hundred years!! (That's a joke) That filing cabinet looks timeless.Looks just like one you could buy today. But the phone boxes attached to the desk are huge. Wonder why they were so large. Believe the bureaucrat looked unhappy because with the war over, his job would no longer be needed. Re: Bureau of DesksThe wide desk with two kneeholes is known as a "Partners' Desk". Great opportunity to contemplate your partner all day. WhyWhy does each phone need such a large box connected to it? [It's called a ringer box. -tterrace] A jaunty angleI love the way the desk is not squared in the room; it reflects the odd bit in the corner. Having the basic layout "unsquare"in this way bodes well for the artistic integrity of the team's charts! I can't believe it -- New office furniture!After viewing hundreds of interior shots on Shorpy over the past several years, the majority of interiors look like the floors were polished with gravel and the furniture with chains. Nice to see a decent wood floor and new furniture. WW1 Temporary BuildingsThe office seems to be rapidly built and outfitted space intended for temporary use. Washington went from a sleepy Southern town to a metropolis overnight as a result of World War One. The half silvered light bulb is an interesting touch. We still use one in our kitchen. Office designOffice design by Piet Mondrian. Those ChairsThey may not be the most comfortable in the world, but they're about as solid as they come. I'd be willing to bet they're still around! We actually had a dining room set composed of chairs my dad had beautifully refinished with chairs that look very similar to the one on the far right. They came from a law office many, many years ago. We thought they were great! Wiring messWiring for all of our electronic devices is still a problem today in the office environment. Re: WWI Temporary BuildingsThat was my first thought. Amazingly, some of those buildings lasted into the 1960s - much of the then-called War Department as well as the Navy brass were housed in them until the Pentagon was built at the start of WWII. I believe the CIA used a number of them until Langley was built in the early 60s. Why are the phone boxes so large?Simple explanation: Because the phones are so small. Complex explanation: There's magic done inside a Western Electric phone, which allows what you say and what the person you're talking to says, to travel over the same set of wires. It's done with a special kind of transformer, called a "hybrid coil". In modern phones, it's called a "network." Those candlesticks contain only what's in the handset of a "normal" dial phone: a microphone and a speaker. And the hookswitch. Everything else is in that box. And they've been able to make it smaller over the years. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, The Office, WWI)
Ofty's: 1926
... booth with calendars on the back wall, the polished spittoon and bottle cap on the floor. The hair styles of the day, much neater ... I guess. Kicking the Bucket It cracks me up how the spittoon is placed right in the middle of the store like that. I'm such a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 1:15pm -

1926. Another view of the Offterdinger cigar store and soda fountain in Washington, D.C. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size. Soda and a smokeI wonder if they sold candy cigarettes and bubble gum cigars for the younger consumers? Ms. Spitcurl Comes DownShe should have stayed upstairs, so that I might admire her from afar. In her case it's the best way to admire. And what is that getup she's wearing? A Lasting ViewEvidently GeezerNYC has never seen aprons, or, at least smock style aprons. Just to see her with a cup of coffee from the shining coffee urn makes you want a cup. The wonderful old telephone booth with calendars on the back wall, the polished spittoon and bottle cap on the floor. The hair styles of the day, much neater looking than the frizzy unkept look seen today. The "natty" attire of the clerks and "Soda Jerk", which would be call "associates" today and not nearly as well dressed. La Anita must have been the prefered cigar of the day, judging on the quantity stocked. Whether you were a smoker or not, the scent of cured tobacco that met you when you walked into one of the old style tobacco stores was a sensory treat, not smoky at all. Her getupJust a guess: maybe they rolled some of their own cigars. That could be an apron to protect clothing from the tobacco leaves. Both pictures mergedClick to enlarge. Offterdinger Cigar FactoryFound a reference to this shop in a 1918 edition of the Cigar Makers' Official Journal. Offterdinger had his own cigar factory in the District of Columbia: The shop normally employs about 125 persons mostly women and girls and la the only cigar factory of any size In the District of Columbia Its output includes among its best known brands Meditation, La Anita, Deerhead, Bouquet, Ofty, After Dinner, and Army and Navy. You can see these brands (especially La Anita) on the shelves. The Journal records that there was a strike where 88 workers (82 women and girls, six men) walked out because of unsanitary conditions and low wages. It also seems that Mr. Offterdinger refused to recognize the right of the union to represent his workers. Ah, the aromaThis photo somehow reminds me of the great smell of the local drug store aisle that held the all the differt kinds of pipe tobacco. Very nice. Far From DeadThe traditional brass cuspidor is far from dead. Just minutes ago I shoved mine back to its "off-duty" location beneath my computer desk. The cigar store photo brings to mind a scene from an old "Amos & Andy" radio episode in which Andy and the Kingfish are attempting to curry favor with Calhoun the lawyer by supplying him with what they are trying to pass off as a fine cigar, saying it is a "two for fifty cents" cigar. After a puff on the vile rope presented to him Calhoun asks, "Tell me.....who got the 48 cent one?" A Splendid Cigar A Little Talk to Women About Christmas Cigar Buying The Season of the Christmas Cigar joke is with us again. The woman who buys cigars according to the beauty of the label has furnished material for many a professional humorist — but there is nothing funny about it for the man who has to smoke them. ... "La Anita" is a splendid cigar, made from selected leaves of the best Havana Tobacco, in nine sizes, ... The "Ofty" Cigar — a remarkably good seed-and-Havana cigar [A mixture of domestic and Cuban tobacco] — made in one size only - 5 cents each, $2.00 for a box of 50. ... Henry T. Offterdinger Manufacturer of La Anita and Ofty Cigars 508 Ninth Street Northwest 1912 Advertisement CuspidorI remember as a child in the early 1950s our local First National Bank building still having the polished brass cuspidors prominently in place, likely there since the elegant, tile-floored Spanish Colonial Revival building was constructed in 1928. Even at that age, they struck my brother and me as quite a contrast from the palatial atmosphere of the bank, likely built to inspire confidence and project solvency. Spitooey! Both the bank building and presumably the cuspidors were gone by 1970. Progress, I guess. Kicking the BucketIt cracks me up how the spittoon is placed right in the middle of the store like that. I'm such a klutz, if I worked there I'd be constantly kicking it, knocking it over, getting my foot stuck in it. Heck, I'd probably get fired on my first day. Just in time for HalloweenI had no idea Gomez Addams did a stint behind the counter at Offterdinger's. Peripatetic OffterdingerThe ad below gives Offterdinger's address as 508 Ninth Street in 1912. However, in 1920 the Washington Post reported the sale of their building at 504 9th Street (1/25/20, p. 32). By the time these pictures were taken, the street number seems to have been 833, based on the reflection in image 6996. Tobacco smellI used to work in a bookstore where both the owner and the manager smoked pipes. The manager smoked a particularly vile concoction which hung about him like.... a bad smell. Worse, after he talked on the phone we all dreaded having to answer it because the mouthpiece reeked of tobacco-mouth. One day, I was sitting in his office and I answered the phone. Looking for a pen to write a message down for him, I opened one of the drawers and spotted a new package of his tobacco le choix. It had a very large label stating that it was "The tobacco that women will go wild over." Obviously no one had done any market research before coming up with THAT tagline. Spit curl and a cup of JoeI had to pan in to check out the lady's hair do and clothing and noticed the accountant (?) upstairs sitting under the naked light bulb. A charming, charming photo. Just a trip back in time. Is that a spittoon or a depository for matches on the floor? I can smell my grandfather's sweet cherry pipe tobacco as I look. When is a gaboon not? Since classier establishments like this seldom dealt in chew or snuff, the spittoon is most likely for those customers who preferred to bite the end off their cigars, as opposed to the fancy folks who could afford a cutter. Although some of the high class shops would have a device on the counter that combined a punch, tip cutter and a continuously burning alcohol lamp wick for the man who couldn't wait to try out his purchase. Wax lipsNot sure what commenter Kenny meant with: "La Anita must have been the prefered cigar of the day, judging on the quantity stocked." It was, in that store, not elsewhere. In the 20s PHILLIES and WHITE OWL were the preferred (biggest selling) cigars. LA ANITA is a brand made in their factory and possibly unknown outside that store. Most cigar stores of any substance, and even many small one man ops, had one or more house brands, especially if they had a factory on premises. Ofty is another of their house brands. I don't know about the others listed. In answer to Wax Mustache...Yes, if they had a candy counter, candy cigarettes and chocolate cigars would be there, along with wax lips. Hersheys and others were making chocolate cigars (foil wrapped) in the late 1800s. Bubble gum wasn't invented when these pictures were taken. The earliest bubble gum cigar box I've seen is from the 1950's but I "smoked" candy cigarettes in the 1940s. The United Cigar Store chain (founded 1901) carried so many sundries that other cigar stores were forced to expand to meet their overwhelming competition. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Snappy Stories: 1926
... January 1926 Watch your step. Don't kick over the spittoon. Proven wrong Two decades earlier, Henry Offterdinger was the ... apparently they supply chewers also, judging from the spittoon in front of the showcase. And what are the people upstairs doing? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 2:30pm -

Washington, D.C., 1926. "Offterdinger Cigar factory." T.T. Offterdinger & Co. offered "Smokers' articles, Magazines, Greeting Cards and Soda Fountain Luncheon." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Popular ScienceFebruary 1926 Popular RadioJanuary 1926 Watch your step.Don't kick over the spittoon. Proven wrongTwo decades earlier, Henry Offterdinger was the last cigar manufacturer in D.C. to agree to the demands of the cigarmakers' union local for a wage increase. One day before he gave in, he warned that the higher wages would drive the company out of business. Apparently not. Use the Cuspidor-ayBesides smokers' articles, apparently they supply chewers also, judging from the spittoon in front of the showcase. And what are the people upstairs doing? Rolling cigars? Weird TalesHere's the cover of the Weird Tales from the bottom shelf. Nice RackInteresting group of magazines, but do they have the National Police Gazette? Spitcurl StoriesCheck out the do on the lady up top. She looks like she might have been involved in a couple of snappy stories of her own. Ace HighHere's the Ace-High western magazine that appears on the rack a few times. American Golfer magazineThis looks like the cover from American Golfer: CosmopolitanI would love to compare the Cosmo of 1926 with a current issue. [It started out as a family magazine with general-interest articles and short stories. - Dave] Still going strongA real time capsule photo and yet…I count 15 magazines still available today including Weird Tales on the bottom shelf; and not counting House & Garden, gone from the U.S. but still around in the UK. Change of LifeInteresting, Life Magazine started out as a literary magazine. In its second incarnation it became the great photo publication. Larger sizes?Dave, would it be possible to make all new photo posts to open as large as this one does? It makes seeing the smaller details a lot easier. [They already are -- this big or bigger. - Dave] Sans SEPI'm surprised that there are no copies of this magazine on display. It had been around for quite some time and by 1926 Norman Rockwell was doing the covers. Oh, Coffee JerkOne espresso; extra sugar. A box of Have-a-Tampa jewel cigars. And the latest issue of PC Magazine. Do you have change for a dime? I'd like to make a local call. Mary Astoris on the cover of the February 1926 issue of Motion Picture magazine: 15 years later, she would play the part of Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon opposite Humphrey Bogart. Period periodicalsA lot of these old magazines can still be found at your local library either the real thing bound in books or on microfilm. I've whiled away more than one afternoon reading stuff meant for young ladies in the early 1900s. it's kind of trippy. And I love the advertisements! Your Money's WorthI bought some copies of Field & Stream from the mid-1930's and was amazed at the number and length of the articles. Quite a lot of reading for the money; even the advertisements were short on illustrations but long on text. Snappy StoriesGreat stuff! There are some Snappy Stories covers (and much else of interest) on the Ellis Parker Butler site. American MercuryJust for fun I googled one of the mags on the shelf, American Mercury, and found that it went through several amazing incarnations over the years. The contoversial H. L. Mencken was the original editor. Wall Street: What's Ahead?That's kind of an ironic cover story considering that the crash was only a few years away. (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Colonial Arcade: 1900
... and this? Great photos on Shorpy. [I think it's a spittoon. - Dave] When in Cleveland, see the arcades I echo ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 11:08pm -

Circa 1900. "Colonial Arcade, Cleveland." Retail arcade in the Colonial Hotel. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. That other ArcadeWhile the Colonial Arcade is a beautiful place (very glad that it wasn't a victim of Cleveland's downturn) the Arcade pretty much right across the street shown here is far more ornate (and far more lively during the day). Both of these sites are "must see's" during a visit to Cleveland. Things you don't see anymoreSpittoons and mouldings with a swastika motif. Not an orphaned shoeClean, but for an orphaned hat. Is there symbolism here between the conditions of the orphaned shoe pictures and this? Great photos on Shorpy. [I think it's a spittoon. - Dave] When in Cleveland, see the arcadesI echo cnik70--the "other" arcade is the grander one, but both are well worth a peek when you're in Cleveland to, say, see the Rock Hall. Yay Cleveland! +116Below is the same view from July of 2016. (The Gallery, Cleveland, DPC, Stores & Markets)
Hot Lead: 1942
... etaoin shrdlu 'nuff said... The Spitoon The spittoon adds a nice, personal touch to the workplace. Interesting Comment ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/20/2013 - 10:48am -

September 1942. "Linotype operators in composing room of the New York Times newspaper." These machines cast lines of type (Linotype) from molten lead prior to their assembly by compositors into the printing plates that go on the presses. Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size. WorkplaceProbably wasn't noisy. If a Linotype makes a noise and nobody hears it...Deaf people were found in the ranks of Linotype Operators in greater numbers than many other careers. Many deaf schools offered Linotype training. I wouldn't be surprised if some operators started to go deaf after they started their careers. What fun they wereI had the privilege of using one of these in the late '60's while working part time at my Dad's print shop, and they were a hoot to run and work with. Belts, levers, hot lead, and a host of unique sounds..and it sure beat setting type by hand. Familiar look and smellI grew up in a small-town newspaper family in the early 1950s, and we had two Linotype machines, operated five or more days every week by any of the four men (all heads of their households) who put together our weekly editions, of perhaps 8 or 12 pages. These amazingly-engineered machines operated with a hot molten metal smell and some smoke, but they were huge improvements over the hand-set type used previously, letter by letter and piece by piece. When I left the newspaper business 15 years ago, everything was done silently on color computer screens in bright, clean work spaces. Most of the staff were part-timers, almost none were heads of their households, and they could produce 8 or 12 pages ready to print in a few hours. Then they'd press a button to send the screen image directly to a printing press, perhaps 100 miles away. But I can still smell that molten metal aroma, and while I don't miss it, I certainly remember it well. Wow!That's a LOT of exposed belts and pulleys in a crowded, noisy space. Still in use in the 1970'sI went on a field trip to the Chicago Tribune around 1970 and they were using the same machines as in the picture. I don't recall it being too noisy. Lead mule for the yearbookDuring my 1964-65 stint on the Salesian High School yearbook in Detroit, one of my jobs was to take copy to a local printing company to have the captions for photographs printed via a linotype. In those ancient times each photograph had to be trimmed and pasted on special grid paper with rubber cement and likewise for the printed captions. The teacher in charge of the yearbook operation required that all captions be right and left justified with the edges of the photograph and all lines be of equal length. The linotype could make small adjustments of letter and word spacing, but sometimes one or more rewrites were required to get a perfect fit. At the beginning of the yearbook season I had to take several long bars of linotype lead to the printer. These bars had a hole in one end and where automatically lowered by a chain into a lead melting unit attached to the linotype. I assume the lead was some sort of special alloy and not recycled auto wheel weight lead. I never inquired why the yearbook had its own lead. Perhaps I was a lead mule for the yearbook. etaoin shrdlu'nuff said... The SpitoonThe spittoon adds a nice, personal touch to the workplace. Interesting Comment...about deaf operators of Linotypes, Max. I had never heard that before, but that would explain my deaf uncle's involvement with them. He not only operated one, but in later years, when they were becoming extinct, he would buy old Linotypes and re-sell them. Now I know why! Read any magazines?Each machine has three selectable magazines. They are the large trapezoidal top objects at a 45 degree slant. Each font face, size, and style required a 90 character matrix loaded into a magazine. With three per machine, to have the all the type selections that come with MS Word you would need 500 linotype machines or just one machine and a stack of 1500 loaded magazines and a lot of time and labor to change them out! Needless to say, most periodical publications had their signature font faces and they didn't change much. What impressive machinesThe printer I use still has one running in the letter press dept. His grandfather started the business in the 1890's and has another seven purchased over the decades in the basement for parts. I've never heard a roomful of them but a single machine is pretty quiet. The Minnesota state fair runs one in a newspaper office demonstration during the fair every year. Thanks for the memory jog MikeK that the printers jargon for matrices is mats. I had to learn to use one of theseI learned to operate a linotype machine in my high school print shop class in the mid-1970s. I admit I was never very good at it, but since this skill very quickly became obsolete, I guess that was no great loss. Now I see these dinosaurs on display in museums ... and boy, do I feel old! Re: etaoin shrdlubeing the 12 most common letters in the English language, in descending order of appearance, seen by me many years ago on the transom of a pricey yacht/cabin cruiser. Guess the owner was in printing or publishing. In earlier pre-Linotype days, when the characters were kept in font cabinets and set up in rack for the presses this order of appearance governed the quantity of these characters and their location in the font drawers and cabinet. Had them at Lane Tech in 1980Lane Tech hs in Chicago was still teaching with these in 1980. They also had a Ludlow machine that made headline type out of hot lead. Would love to see a shot of one of those. Hot metal to cold typeWorked for Mergenthaler Linotype in the late 70s early 80s. While there we converted the NY Daily News from hot metal to a phototypesetter based editorial and classified system. Remember walking around the typesetting area with dozens of the old behemoth machines clanking away. An odd side effect of the conversion that few expected was that the quality of the product due to spelling, grammar and factual content went down. Seems that beside setting type the operators also acted as proofreaders. Vintage insightIn the late 1980s I was on a service call in a printing company on a Saturday. The firm had one of the last Linotype machines in active use. I had the privilege of observing this supremely complex machine in operation for ≈ 45 minutes. One thought kept crossing my gear-head mind: Ottmar Mergenthaler's opium dream. fwiw, an OSHA inspector was monitoring the lead vapor content of the air in the machine's vicinity. Sic transit gloria mundi. From One Behemoth System to AnotherI was in the newspaper business in the last days of Linotype and through the transition to electronic typesetting. These old machines were large and noisy, but some components of the early days of computerized electronic typesetting would dwarf them. When I first used electronic typesetting, the computer terminals were tied to a mainframe computer where those of us who were editors could edit copy before it went to final plate-making. The copy we worked from had been typed by reporters on special forms requiring a very specific format of typing. Those typed forms were then fed into a scanner that filled a room the equivalent of a two-story six-car garage. Any errors by the reporter ended up in the scanned data. Once all the text and photos were scanned by that huge machine, it was a very tedious job with no WYSIWYG in sight to code all that data into page layout. Amid all that visually-confusing code, it was too common to miss typos. Truly, I missed Linotype and the old pasteup and lithographic plate-making process that seemed simpler by comparison. Thank goodness for desktop computers and publishing software for making the process less unwieldy. Evenafter thirty years working with linotypes i am still amazed at how they worked. Air quality?from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9334482 "Twenty of 38 workers of a printing press were studied. ... The environmental lead in the linotype room was 25% over the accepted values. Twelve of the 20 workers were poisoned and three were highly exposed. Poisoned workers were working in areas with high environmental lead concentrations, were in direct contact with the metal, had plasma lead concentrations over 70 micrograms/dl and an average exposure time of over 17 years." But that was in Chile. California Job CaseAh, memories of long ago. Junior High School 43 Manhattan, N.Y. It was 1940 and I was 13 years old. We had a printing Class once a week. Real printing presses, real ink and, most of all, California Job Cases. We were taught to set type by hand, operate a printing press and learned the origin of the terms Upper and Lower Case Letters. Ten minutes before the class ended, all the kids had to put the PI (Mixed type) back into their correct compartments. We then tried to clean the ink from our hands before the next class. slugsHere's some of the finished product ("slugs") from a Lino. Then they would be locked up in a form (on a reeaalllyy flat table) to make a "plate" for the press. Lino operators, correct/augment where needed! Pin UpsAnybody notice the photos of FDR and Gen. MacArthur on the wall (top/center of photo)? Clackity ClackityIn the 1960's and 1970's, my parents operated a small letterpress printing company as a retirement business. Through use the slugs would wear down. So, when we needed replacements or needed copy set for a new job, I would take them to the company we used in the Caxton Building (get it?) in downtown Cleveland (the building was specifically constructed for printing industry firms. It had extra thick concrete floors to support the weight of presses, etc.). Anyhow, each customer had a "lead" account. The weight of returned slugs and outgoing slugs was tallied. The object was to keep the account reasonably close to zero. If you owed too much lead, they insisted some be returned in exchange for continuing to fill new orders. A room full of these operating machines made its own distinctive metallic music: the small metal pieces traveling from their spot in the magazine down to where the slug was cast, and then being whisked back to the top of the magazine, where they self sorted and fell back into the correct holding spots. Molten lead and a typewriter keyboard in one machine - they are amazing! And you never forget the smell of molten lead. They aren't that noisyand I still operate one almost every week. I have been doing so for 50 years. I have handled the lead alloy in proper conditions, and my last test showed NO exposure to lead. Fascinating technologyA few years ago, I found an interesting (to me, anyhow) educational film on youtube showing how a linotype machine worked. I was quite impressed by the gizmo that sorted the letter matrices back into the magazine after they had been used to generate a slug. Link: http://youtu.be/6wHiddZOfa8 (Technology, The Gallery, Marjory Collins, NYC)
The Artist in His Studio: 1902
... miss something! Ugh! He seems to have missed his spittoon a lot. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 10:43pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1902. "Artist for Richmond & Backus, printers and binders." A bohemian lair with lots of flair. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. I enjoy looking at this pictureI enjoy looking at all the objects, art and details in this picture. I especially like the contented expression on the artist's face while doing his work. Horseshoe statusI guess he is down on his luck. Kitty in the cageSee the little white kitten caged on the lower left? And why is it in a cage, do you think. Or, is that a rodent? I'd say this is an opulent studio for the times, and this work appears to be work product rather than personal art. Or, could be he is freelance and works and lives in this one room. Interesting photo in any event. [Maybe you mean lower right, not left. That's a wastebasket. - Dave] I understandMy cabin home which is also my workshop is indeed a variation on this theme. It may appear a mess to you, but to me it's just right. QuestionWhat creature is in the cage? [Wild paper. That's a wastebasket. - Dave] AhoyThat's the old Detroit Yacht Club burgee on the pillow. Death by tchotchkeI have a case of the vapours just looking at all this dusty bric-a-brac. Quite a collection. Nary a space left blank on the room canvas. I like the Less is More school of thought these days, although this room is quite typical of the time period. I like the lighting in this photo. Quasi-symbolic of the artist's inspiration. Ladies ManHe does seem to have a special focus to his art: lady faces with hats and lady faces without hats. We got us a regular Howard Pyle here.Is that an articulated skeleton from a human fetus or merely a convincing puppet hanging there with the opium pipe and luck-draining horseshoe? Those little touches really make a studio feel like home. Looks like he's ready to paint Trilby in the "altogether." Trompe l'oeilI love the little skeleton hung on the wall on the right. I wonder what the framed scrap of paper directly in front him is? Is that lamp diffuser made from glass or paper? [The framed scrap of paper is an illustration of a woman; the "paper" is a reflection of the window. The "lamp" is a parasol. - Dave] "Mucha Girl"He was influenced by art nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha, as he has one of his posters on the wall, plus his work is in the same general style. Dorm decorMexican blanket thrown over a chest -- hey, that's my old dorm room. All it needs is a mini fridge. In my roomWhen I still lived at home and my room started looking like this my late mom used to say "clean up your room or else I will" so I always knew when I was slipping into serious hoarding behaviors. LuckI guess the horseshoe is for good luck, but the snake and skeleton is anyone's guess. He certainly had flair and talent, do we have a name? What a room!Wish I could go back there and visit for a while. Pennies From HeavenAt first I thought that was a remarkably modern ceiling lamp for 1902, but now I see it's a twirling parasol. You've gotta look at these shots three or four times to see it all, and even then you can miss something! Ugh!He seems to have missed his spittoon a lot. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Print Shop: 1922
... pictures on the wall and the other guy has girls. I see a spittoon on the floor. Sports section, women's section Sports on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/29/2021 - 4:51pm -

January 1922. Washington, D.C. "Machinists' Association -- printers." Activities relating to the International Association of Machinists. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size. Before WordPerfect or even Atari Writer ...I am reminded that my junior high school industrial-arts class (boys only, in those dark ages) included a month of weekly sessions on manual typesetting (in addition to wiring, woodworking, and metalworking). It started off with a hand-held composing stick onto which you placed letters from the wooden type case, upside down and backwards. You advanced to setting a whole page in a metal frame, inserting lead spacers between paragraphs and locking the whole thing solid with key-tightened springs around the border. The irascible instructor, Mr. L______, who seemed vaguely disgruntled with life, would walk around, tilting the frames upright and rapping your typeset assemblage in the middle. If the type collapsed into chaos on the bench, he'd smirk and say "Better sort it out and try again, tighter," then walk off. Oddly, despite the abundance of sharp or heavy tools in the area, he was never murdered. The uplifting part of the experience was that none of us had ever heard of a single alumnus who had ever made a living as a typesetter, or wished to. But I do not begrudge the experience: it taught me to respect the craftwork mastered by folks like the guys in the photo. A Century AgoI'm no where near 100 years old, but my mind still has difficulty processing the fact that 1922 was already 100 years ago. Grand Lodge, International Association of MachinistsJust in case anyone was curious about the building on the calendar. Built in 1919, it sat across from the AFL-CIO building at 9th Street and Mount Vernon Place NW in DC. The new female supervisor ...has just advised the chap on the left that his choices for wall display in front of his press are inappropriate, and need to be removed. Moving on upLooks like one of them has traded in his cards and bubble gum for something more adventurous. Manual LaborI operated presses like that in high school, even had one in my garage for years. The pressmen are interesting, two have baseball pictures on the wall and the other guy has girls. I see a spittoon on the floor. Sports section, women's sectionSports on the right, women's on the left, judging from the "halftones" on the wall in each location. Model ModelsMightn't the images on the wall (models; baseball players) be samples of what the artisans are printing at their respective presses? Upside upside down, but not backwardis actually the way to set type, and also from bottom to top, rather than top to bottom. It still works, and there are a few hundred of us who still on occasion set type by hand. Pay AttentionLotsa ways to lose a finger or limb in this picture. Horological Accuracy -Provided by the Naval Observatory, via Western Union. Stop the Presses!I also ran a letter press such as these in Industrial Arts class. The one we had was probably older than these. I also worked as printer for a few years in a check printing plant which used letter presses well into the 1980's. I ran Intertype Machines which were automatic type setters that cast the lead slugs used in the big presses. I'm sure I am one of the last people to ever have been trained on such machines, they were phased out about 2 years afterward. I was trying to figure out what the tall structure on the center press was. The operator is hand-feeding the paper into the press. His right hand is on the unprinted stock. The press on the left has an auto-feeder (meaning the press is "sheet-fed"). You can see the vacuum lines which provide suction to lift the sheets of paper and draw them into the press. It dawned on me that the two presses, left and center, are identical. The center press is also sheet-fed, but the mechanism has been swung up, out of the way (the vertical structure) and is being hand-fed. Hand feeding a letter press means you have to remove the freshly printed sheet with your left hand and put in a fresh sheet with your right hand as the press cycles open, and do so before it closes again. Meaning, BOTH of your hands are inside a running machine each cycle. Thats why the guys in the photo are concentrating so hard on what they're doing. The machine in the fore-ground: my guess is that it's a folding machine. Platen pressesAs a former employee of a Dutch Company, Bührmann-Tetterode, that used to be an important player in Europe on the market for Platen Presses, I am delighted with pictures like this, showing print shops, like you may see them nowadays still frequently in Asian countries like Indonesia (the country where my wife was born when it was called Dutch East Indies). My firm represented the, rather famous, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Gesellschaft in Europe, except for Germany and the U.K. The Original Heidelberg Platen Press was often referred to as the Heidelberg Windmill, which is a rather curious name for me as a Dutchman. The platen presses we see here may well be Chandler & Price platen presses. Dang Near Cut My Finger Off!Years ago my father owned a boutique printing company and an advertising agency. One of the printing presses was a letterpress, with moveable type. I remember watching him set type. My brothers and I had the job of busting up the type and putting it back in the type drawers which were called 'cases'. The trade term for the kids who busted up the type was "printer's devil". Each font went into a different case and each letter went to a specific bin in the case. Woe to the devil who put a sort (pieces of type) in the wrong space! Now you know where the term 'out of sorts' originated! I can still remember the layout of the cases and where each sort belonged. The type was made out of lead. I remember how amazed I was the first time I saw a linotype machine. This press was at a junk store. The press and all the type for $850. Years ago. One day I was talking to my dad while he was running the press. I stumbled and laid my hand on the press for balance. The press was running and I about cut my index finger off. The finger, my right index finger, is crooked and shorter than my other fingers. I don't have much feeling in it and I don't use the finger much. I was maybe eleven or twelve years old. (Technology, The Gallery, D.C., Industry & Public Works, Natl Photo)
Postcards Aplenty: 1910
... of that floor in the foreground, I think I know where the spittoon was previously! [Those would be from the fountain. - Dave] ... beverage dispenser. I wonder if there was another for the spittoon-using clientele: "Have a Chaw with the Post Card Man." I'd ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/12/2012 - 3:07pm -

Circa 1910. "Cincinnati Arcade. James K. Stewart's post card shop." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. You missed !From the looks of that floor in the foreground, I think I know where the spittoon was previously! [Those would be from the fountain. - Dave] DispenserI downloaded the full LOC tiff to get a better look at that beverage dispenser. I wonder if there was another for the spittoon-using clientele: "Have a Chaw with the Post Card Man." I'd say. A plethora of postcards indeed, my good man!It would have taken at least a couple of hours for me to choose one. Needle in a haystackGeez, where's Waldo?? BeadworkI wonder if the beadwork on the wall was for sale, too. It looks like a very nice piece. It looks "sort of" authentic and only slightly tacky (unlike the other "handicrafts"). You have ten minutesOkay, find all the postcards with images from Detroit Publishing that were previously shown on Shorpy. 1,2,3 -- Go! Social Networking circa 1910This would be the equivalent of today's internet cafe. Hallmark MomentI think today's equivalent would be a greeting card store. Occasionally, I find myself browsing through the funny ones. It's a good way to kill some time while my wife is searching for a birthday card with a meaningful message. I'll take one of each, pleaseI'm guessing there are about 2000 slots on the walls. I have to remember to slip a twenty in my pocket before I get in my time machine and visit this shop. More than just to send to a friendBesides the obvious way to tell a friend about where you were on vacation (or brag about it), postcards were also a reasonably priced souvenir or collectible, especially for young people. Even some adults collected postcards with a certain theme, such as waterfalls, monuments, or trains, and some collections numbered in the hundreds of cards. [This photo documents the peak of the picture-postcard craze of the early 20th century. Over half a billion postcards were mailed in America in 1907, when the U.S. population was only 88 million. Not to mention many more millions of cards that were collected but never mailed. - Dave] Buy it NowEvery last one of them are on eBay now. Do You Like Kipling?The "Do You Like Kipling?" postcard was in the Guinness Book as the most popular postcard of all time - it is from this era. Young Man to Lass: Do you like Kipling? Lass: I don't know, you naughty boy, I've never Kipled It's gotta be in there somewhere. 1910 Specialty Printer American Printer and Lithographer, 1917. Printing Plant to Be Sold. The printing plant of the late James K. Stewart of Cincinnati is being offered for sale by the widow and the executors of the estate. Mr. Stewart made a specialty of card, invitation and small job work in connection with his post-card and rubber-stamp business, and since his death it has been continued under the supervision of the widow, who is now desirous of disposing of it. I want that fountain!Also I just wonder which drawer had the "French" postcards hidden in it? Amazing Selection!!I am fascinated by this photo - probably because I have been collecting wonderful old postcards for years! Talk about a kid in a candy store!!!!! Wow!! Oh boyWhat I wouldn't give to have a BUNCH of those postcards! (The Gallery, Cincinnati Photos, DPC, Stores & Markets)
Albany: 1905
... quite up to the job. And, now in color... Minus the spittoon. The height of workmanship This photo represents the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/25/2012 - 6:51pm -

Albany, New York, circa 1905. "Staircase in the Capitol." A glimpse into the corridors of power. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. A clean sweep in AlbanyThe mops are a nice touch, but not quite up to the job. And, now in color...Minus the spittoon. The height of workmanshipThis photo represents the epitome of American workmanship, craftsmanship, and pride, which I believe will never be equaled again. Today's attitude is 'you can't see it from my house'. Amazing. In more ways than one. These walls have facesIt sure seems like there's a head poking out of every corner in this photo. Great Western StaircaseThis staircase is magnificent, and the photo captures the scale of the room well. The glass above was painted over during WWII to prevent Axis bombers from seeing the lights of the capitol from the air. It was recently restored to what you see above, and the stairway has been meticulously cleaned and brought back to its former glory. http://www.nearchitecture.com/buildings/ny/the_great_western_staircase.h... Oh...So that's what "ornate detail" means! That's some incredible workmanship. ComplexThis is a marvelously complex and interesting stair! Not a square foot of the overall space is left untouched! Wonderful! Thanks. I hope there is a matching stair at the other end of the space, behind the photographer. I'm Kicking MyselfAs many times as I've been in or through Albany I never bothered to block out that awful flying-saucer thing and go visit the "boring" old buildings. "Height of workmanship" below is dead on the money. And money is what it's all about, isn't it? We now build on the cheap and call it "progress." And, what's really amazing: we the people buy it! To be fair to Albany, though, the old D&H Railroad-Canal headquarters down the hill is worth the trip. HydrophilicIf it was in Florida, they'd have filled it with water. Bee-you-tee-fullWhat more is there to say? The "Million Dollar Staircase"The Great Western Staircase cost over a million (1897) dollars to build and took over 14 years to complete. http://63.118.56.3/sws/aboutsenate/f1_gwstaircase.html The Million Dollar StaircaseI remember going on a class trip, maybe when I was in 5th grade, to the State Capitol. That would have been around 1959. (Fort Hunter Elementary School, in Guilderland.) I recall the beauty of this staircase, Lo! these many years later. Million Dollar StaircaseI've been to Albany a number of times to lobby with the UAW, and have been at this staircase so many times. Each time, its beauty just astounds me! I love to see the faces of people who have never seen it before-jaws drop open all over the place. The Million Dollar Staircase is also a popular setting for various speakers protesting or supporting various legislation. If you are in Albany, you really owe it to yourself to stop in, and take a look around. Access is easy, but there are security checkpoints to go through. These can take some time, around 8am, noon, 1pm, so you might want to visit the Capitol at off times. Also, there are neighborhoods near to the Capitol buildings, that date from the 1700's. Many have been saved from ruin. One street I had the time to walk down, had plaques fixed to each rowhouse, listing the name of the person who'd built it, the year, and what that person did for a living. Many were fur trappers. (The Gallery, Albany, Harris + Ewing, Politics)
Dial D for Danger: 1919
... Ding Very hi-tech stuff I'm sure, with the obligatory spittoon. The vacuum tubes in the amplifiers probably had 700 volts on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 5:59pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1919. "Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. equipment." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Pre-miniaturization!Fascinating glimpse onto transitional technology. I wonder if a higher resolution scan would allow the label to be read and some of the functions determined? Lots of selector switches, several knife switches (looking like telegraph keys), some mics and one big honking speaker. And some lovely woodwork! Knife switches and quarter-inch jacksI'm just amazed at the number of porcelain-based knife switches that were used in the operation of the equipment. In looking closer you can see quarter-inch jack plugs, commonly called "phone" jacks. Which went on to become the standard for broadcast patch panels and guitar amplifiers and cables. DingVery hi-tech stuff I'm sure, with the obligatory spittoon. The vacuum tubesin the amplifiers probably had 700 volts on their plate circuits. My father's first ham (amateur radio) license was issued to him in 1919 and I remember components in our home that looked similar to those pictured. Details, detailsClick to enlarge. Then click the resulting image to expand it. Under the Capitol?Looks like a temp facility in the same general location as this.. https://www.shorpy.com/node/5384 Maybe under the East Front? The columns give it away.. Spit-ding"Leave your message at the tone"? But seriously, an odd device, with "speaker and long lines cct" (circuit), "phonograph input" and "700 volt fuse" markings. I hope someone can explain the function of this setup. Perhaps used to feed a radio station live "remote" broadcasts over telephone lines and the high voltage & power amplifiers are used to drive the transmitter? [Not in 1919! - Dave] Essential equipmentA fire extinguisher, and what seems to be a cuspidor. Furniture by Flintstone and Rubble. The latest equipmentOf course it wouldn't be complete without a cuspidor. Danger!Shocking, isn't it? Danger: Yes!Watch out for the carbon tetrachloride fire extinguisher; it's poisonous. Phonograph circuitSo why is there a "Phonograph cct"? re: Phonograph circuitFor making a transcription of whatever they are getting via the telephone circuit. Note that it has an 'output potentiometer.' As Dave hinted previously, 1919 was a few years ahead of regular broadcast radio (although not some experimental stations) but perhaps this was so audio from entertainment or political events could be sent cross-continent and preserved or distributed. Having that 700 volt plate voltage (if that's indeed the case) still puzzles me. Something in the range of 150 to 200 volts is more like it for 'normal' amplification circuits. There surely would not be a vacuum tube circuit with 700 volts on the plate circuits unless it was producing several hundred watts of output. If not an exciter stage for a broadcast transmitter, then next most likely would be a massive public address system. Were there public gatherings back in that era where they'd commonly need such power AND this telephone equipment? Perhaps political conventions? I am very intrigued by this device. Public Address SystemThat appears to be an old public address system with the capability to attach and simulcast over the "long lines" of the phone system. "Loud Speaking Receivers" would be bullhorns. Both consoles are nearly identical. Each console has four tubes with inputs to drive 1&2 and 3&4 separately. This appears to be a system operator position, and not the position one would speak from. A microphone and a headset earpiece are between the consoles and are connected to the small box between them, not to either console. If I'm right, then the mic and headset would be to coordinate with the other half of this contraption -- probably near the speaker position and/or the other side of that "phonograph circuit." ModularizedInteresting to see the modularization of that panel so early in the game. Very logical. Each module with a tube inside has associated jacks so that a meter box can be used to quickly check operating conditions. The PA idea makes sense considering the connections for "long line" and "phonograph." Four tubes that size might realize a 1000-watt system. (Technology, The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
Cozy Shack: 1951
... thing the can on the floor reminded me of was a makeshift spittoon, just like the large Folger's can my grandfather kept on the floor ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2015 - 2:46pm -

Columbus, Georgia. "Housing 1-18-51." First in a series from the News Archive showing slums supposedly in need of clearance. 4x5 negative. View full size. A woman ahead of her timeThe caption says it's January, but all four calendars say February. [Not everyone can afford all 12 months. - Dave] Clearance.Starbucks needs this land for Gentrification. Clean & NeatYou could probably eat off this lady's floors. She's proud of her small home and her son serving in Korea. What month is it?Interesting that she has four calendars hanging behind her, all showing February 1951. Where Do I Go?What we see here is the American Spirit. A smiling Senior, apparently happy in her home, proud of her (I'm guessing) son who served. The Government considered her home a slum, but what's the alternative? Slum clearance is old-fashionedThat's why it's called urban renewal nowadays. In China there is a community that has lived in caves on the side of a hill for generations. Instead of moving the people into "modern" housing, the government modernized the caves with electricity. I thought it was smart but the story was written with a tone of ridicule. Alternate titleCalendar Girl All those 1951 calendarsBright, decorative and most importantly free, I can see how a householder of modest means might want more than one of them hanging on her walls. When I was in college in the 1960s, I had posters depicting all the visiting rock bands and surfing movies hanging on my San Diego apartment's walls for much the same reasons. We always got them free at the local head shops and coffee houses; I may still have a few of them rolled up on the closet shelf. Lawyers' Lane?If that's the street this place was on, I may have rented it for a few months in 1965. While I was enjoying the salubrious outdoor activities of the Infantry School's Ranger and airborne courses, my then wife was ensconced in a place very like this, down to the bead board walls (though minus the calendars and furniture), enduring the lack of air conditioning and the hordes of cockroaches -- excuse me, June bugs. Municipal projects in the South in the last century often followed a deliberative, even leisurely, schedule, so it's quite possible that such places, though long viewed as something substandard to be replaced, would have continued to exist in that state for several decades after they had first been considered for demolition. I suspect, however, that by the mid-60s, the lady pictured had taken up residence in her cabin in the sky. Making DoA lovely photo of a woman who is grateful for what she has. After raising a family during the Depression, she probably feels cause for gratitude. There certainly are lots of chairs. Visitors welcome. Looks homeyThis looks a lot like my Grandmother's house on the Monarch Mill Hill in SC. Lovingly maintained and still standing after nearly 100 years. Flower linoleumI had aunts and uncles with that same painted linoleum on their floors. Mississippi, 1960s. And every sitting room had at least one rocker! SnowdropTrying to make out what's in that can by the gas heater, but zooming in blurs the words. Anyone know what it is? At first I thought it was lard, but that's "Snowcap", not "Snowdrop". ;-) [Snowdrift shortening - "It's emulsified" -tterrace] Ouch.She's hurt her hand. Perhaps she scalded her hand spilling water from the top of the heater. My grandmother (born 1902) used to keep water on the heater to increase humidity. One of the most famous 50s commercialsAnd very short too. Simply one woman saying "John" and he replying "Marsha" - then came the closer "Snowdrift". [I remember it well. And here it is. -tterrace] Snowdrift and the space heaterThe Snowdrift can likely holds water for replenishing the pan on top of the space heater. Without this early day humidifier the house would be very dry and cause skin and dry throat problems. The heater itself is a piece that would call out a hazmat team today. The white fluffy material above the burner is asbestos. When in use the asbestos would glow in various colors as the temperature varied. Reminds me of someone...This lady and her home reminds me of one of my great-aunts and the house she lived in. Born in 1905 into a poor farming family, and married a farmer who had to make their living through the Great Depression years. By the time I was a youngster in the 1980's, she was still living in the same home, with worn furniture and fixtures, and religious paintings and family photos in old frames that hung away from the wall a little. She was thrifty; she would wear clothes until they were threads and if anything could be fixed, she would fix it (or have it fixed). No waste for her! I always was intrigued by her home, and of course even though it was old, it was CLEAN. Sure, it could have used a coat of paint here or a new board there, but still as clean as a whistle. And I can remember her making a big breakfast in old-school cast iron skillets that she probably had her entire life. Poor but happy and sweet! I noticed she still hangs a portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt...obviously someone who appreciated the New Deal during the 30's. A spittin' and a scratchin'?The first thing the can on the floor reminded me of was a makeshift spittoon, just like the large Folger's can my grandfather kept on the floor near his stove in which to deposit his Day's Work tobacco remnants. I would say that an elderly southern lady who imbibed in chewing tobacco was probably not all that unusual at the time. I also noticed that she has a stick or hanger wired stuck up inside the cast on her arm, no doubt to relieve the inevitable itching. (The Gallery, Columbus, Ga., News Photo Archive)
Time to Fly: 1943
... as to what that can is for? My uninformed guesses include spittoon, ashtray, fire-dousing sand, chamberpot. Lt. Fir Tree Methinks ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/18/2011 - 9:51am -

1943. "South America. U.S. Army Air Transport Command pilot being awakened to receive orders." No rest for the weary, including Lt. Sidney Tannenbaum. 4x5 acetate negative by David Eisendrath, Office of War Information. View full size. Sweet dreams"Hey, why'd ya hafta wake me up? I was just about to kiss Betty Grable!" Survived the war, he did.Died June 20, 2002, 81 years old. Buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix. The Lieutenant's CanAny informed guesses as to what that can is for? My uninformed guesses include spittoon, ashtray, fire-dousing sand, chamberpot. Lt. Fir Tree Methinks he doth play possum! His face looks like he is wide awake, and trying to look cute. He's not doing too bad a job of it, either! And then, I'll get the other pup.The one that gets the bugler up. Thanks RDown3657For the information on Lt. Tannenbaum. I know right where that cemetery is on Cave Creek Road in Phoenix. The Lieutenant must have flown a lot during the war as his hat indicates a strong "50 mission crush." God bless him and all the other guys who fought in WWII for us. [Not sure how much fighting a pilot in South America would have done. - Dave] Brotherly LoveWe owe so much to the folks who served to protect our freedom that it is almost impossible to put into words of how we should feel now. A Fitting TributeOn this first night of Passover. re: The Lieutenant's CanIt is a butt can, an ash tray of sorts. It was about half full of water and you used it to douse cigarettes in. Sometimes sand was used, most of the time it was water. Crude, but effective for a raw wood barracks. This was still in use in the 50's. Butt CanUnder the bunk. Maybe no fighting but a lot of flyingThe Air Transport Command was the supply line during the war. Replacement combat aircraft and supplies were flown south to bases in South America, then across the Atlantic to Africa and from there to the Far East. U.S. airlines, Eastern, American, Pan Am, etc., also provided transport aircraft, crews and base personnel. My father was with Eastern Airlines at Natal and Belem, Brazil. (The Gallery, Aviation, WW2)
Spit and Polish: 1923
... Unlamented I can recall when banks had a cuspidor (or "spittoon") at each teller's window and they punctuated the rows of benches in ... on the right. The small building containing the spittoon-festooned office at the time was only two stories tall. Around 1990, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/15/2014 - 7:59am -

Washington, D.C., circa 1923. "Traffic World office." Tobacco-friendly on both the left and the right. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. 1923 TechA vintage 1923 word processor was in use as well. I wonder, is that a stapler toward the right side on the unused desk? If not does anyone know what that contraption is? [It's a postal scale. -tterrace] By golly it is. Thank you. BalancedA tip of the hat to the photographer who has balanced his indoor lighting perfectly with the exterior seen through the windows. Not an easy task today, let alone in 1923. Late, But UnlamentedI can recall when banks had a cuspidor (or "spittoon") at each teller's window and they punctuated the rows of benches in train stations, usually brimming with their attractive contents: phlegm, cigar butts, and many, many microbes. Their care and cleaning must have brought a feeling of great personal fulfillment to their custodians. WillardThat building beyond the lovely young lady's head is the Willard Hotel. I've never stayed there, but I hear that it's nice. When did spittoons disappear from offices?I would have guessed they'd be gone by 1923, but apparently not. Chaw ProtectionInteresting how the spittoons each have their own little mat underneath to protect the carpet from bad aim. I wonder what they are made of? They almost look like the plastic you would find today in a chair mat, but I don't know if that type of material was available then. In fact, the chairs don't even have any type of mat underneath. A little too cozyI remember many years ago when I first started in the business I'm still in today (long after this photo was taken I'm happy to report), we had desks with an arrangement similar to these old "partner" desks. Management had pushed them against each other, front to front, so that I sat looking at my co-worker all day. One particular character that sat across from me for a while, sported a moustache that quite resembled a cow catcher on the front of an old steam locomotive. Each day he would return to the office about 1 o'clock with a goodly portion of his lunch embedded in it. I was most productive in the afternoons, never looking up from what was on my desk, and keeping my nose to the proverbial grindstone. For better or worse, cubicles have their advantages. Who's whoI'll bet he just can't wait for Who's Who in America 1923-1924 Quality File Cabinets.I love that cabinet on the back wall with 5 little drawers at the top. They don't make them like that anymore, or with that level of quality. The folks in Sandusky prefer pressed steel. Colorado BuildingIt appears that the office is on the south wall in the southwest corner of the Colorado Building located at 14th and G Streets, NW. The northeast corner of the Willard Hotel located at 14th and F Streets can be seen through the window down 14th. Shut those windowsIf a cold evening is expected. That looks like a brass monkey on the desk. Old meets newPicked up the same desk lamp on the book case in the upper right hand side of the picture at thrift shop 40 years ago for a couple dollars. Now used on my computer table. Spitoons in the Office?My boss was using one when he retired in 1978.... 14th and F Street NWI think the view out the window is looking south on 14th Street NW from the northwest corner of F and 14th Street NW. The Willard Hotel is visible down the street on the right. The small building containing the spittoon-festooned office at the time was only two stories tall. Around 1990, the building was renovated and only the stone facade was saved. Seven more stories were added, and several adjoining small buildings were totally demolished. The architectural motif of the building on the corner was extended north and east to clad all the hulking new construction. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, The Office)
Cigarette Girl: 1911
... too, since they had them then. I'm thinking now it is a spittoon or a place to dispose of cigarette/cigar butts. This was the era you ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/10/2010 - 7:14am -

June 1911. Ethel Shumate. Has been rolling cigarettes in Danville (Virginia) factory for six months. Lives at 614 Upper Street. Said she was 13 years old, but it is doubtful. View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. BillboardWhat does the bottom of the Coca-Cola billboard say? [5¢ relieves fatigue sold everywhere - Dave] Ethel's ageThe 1910 census lists Ethel as 12. She's listed as the first child of James C. and Lucy L. Shumate living at 614 Upper St. Horse Trough?What is that next to the fire hydrant? A public trough for horses maybe? Horse TroughIt's awfully shallow for a trough, at least from this angle, but that's what I thought it was, too, since they had them then. I'm thinking now it is a spittoon or a place to dispose of cigarette/cigar butts. This was the era you would see "Don't spit" signs on the streetcars; not only was it dirty, but it spread tuberculosis. [It's a cast-iron horse waterer, with plumbing. Somewhere around here I have a picture showing it being used. - Dave] Ethel Shumate 1898-1981The Social Security Death Index shows an Ethel Shumate, born on 28, Jan 1898, which would have been this girl's birth year according to the 1910 census, who died January 1981 in Flint, Michigan. There are only nine Ethel Shumates listed so it is likely her. Perhaps she never married or was divorced. She Was Telling The Truth All Along.So, while the photo's caption sat around for 100 years with Hine's proclaiming Ethel's age of 13 was "doubtful", we know now that she was telling the truth all along! Rest in peace Ethel! [Lewis Hine was frequently "doubtful" in his caption notes as to whether these kids were as old as they said they were. But for every name we or our readers have been able to check in the Social Security Death Index, the "doubtfuls" all turn out to have been telling the truth, Shorpy himself among them. - Dave] (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
New York Central: 1900
... much trouble for one of you posers to tell me this is a spittoon? Ho Hum- - are we there yet? Gas or Oil at Night? Julius ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 11:01pm -

Circa 1900. "New York Central R.R. photographic car." Possibly one of the "specials" reserved by DPC for the use of its photographers as they traveled around the Northeast. Detroit Photographic Co. glass negative. View full size. Dapper danThe dude standing must be a bulk purchaser of moustache wax. Squeeze BulbI'm sure others have noticed the man, center at the table, making an effort to look nonchalant. The deflated pneumatic squeeze bulb in his hand tells us it is a posed photo and he is keeping the shutter open. The air pushed through the tube, causes a piston to push a pin into the shutter and hold it open. If you have ever noticed a "B" for bulb on a camera, that is how the setting came to be named. Useful for those times that the shutter needed to be open for longer than normal, such as low light rooms, night-time fireworks, etc. The Light at NightDoes anybody know if those are oil or gas lamps in the car? Seems either would be dangerous but they don't look like they're electric. The thirsty railroad cat saidYuck! Would it have been too much trouble for one of you posers to tell me this is a spittoon? Ho Hum- -are we there yet? Gas or Oil at Night?Julius Pintsch's gas compressed from distilled naphtha was common in railroad cars before fire and other fears led to the use of electric lights. Cat? I can't find a cat, butlooking for one made me notice something else. Is that kid wearing panty hose? About those lamps, if they are oil, kerosene is pretty safe. It's not volatile, like gasoline or other lighter fuels. It needs a wick (or something to spread out on, wood will work) so it can mix with air to burn. It will vaporize, but you have to spray it or heat it to get it to. You could take a bucket of kerosene and drop matches in it, and, unless they floated and acted as a wick, they'd just go out. That cord under the lampsIs a communicating cord. In pre-radio days (actually, well into the Amtrak era), this was a way for the conductor to communicate with the engineer. You can tell if a passenger car is equipped with it if it has a second, slightly smaller air hose alongside the brake system hose. It operated on a reverse-air principle, that is, when you pulled it, it opened a valve on the car and let air out of the line (you could hear it hiss), and caused a shrill little whistle that sounded much like a boatswain's whistle to sound in the engine cab. Many people think this cord is the emergency brake, but it's not. Railroads would never make the emergency brake so readily accessible. Doing so would cause too many "false" emergency applications when it was erroneously pulled by passengers. The emergency brake was always located on the bulkhead wall just inside the end doors of a car. In the modern era, the communicating cord was only available in the vestibules (the enclosure at the end of the car with steps), usually as a small overhead chain. In the first generation of new Amtrak cars, the system was electrified, and the conductor used it to signal by pressing a button. Socks, but not the Socks the cat.In early twentieth-century America it was common to find young boys wearing "over the knee" socks with their short pants. I think the trend even lasted longer in Europe. Just a guessSo, that wooden structure in the middle of the car must be a darkroom? Or a port-a-potty. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads)
A Clean Sweep: 1914
... back in 1914, I'm taking the kids to the U.S. Capitol on Spittoon Cleaning Day. Even though this is elected expectorant, special spit, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 1:18pm -

1914. "U.S. Capitol. Cleaning interior." Harris & Ewing glass neg. View full size. I prefer the word CuspidorIt sounds much classier! Cough, hack, wheeze...What is that they're cleaning? Looks like old ashtray covers, 22 of them? [Dog dishes? Velvet-rope-post holders? - Dave] SpittoonsThey're cleaning out spittoons. DreamsIn their wildest 1914 dreams, could they have imagined a black man becoming the President of the United States? Re: DreamsSo true, Mr. Mel. Heck, they probably couldn't vote themselves. DC might have been different, but I doubt it. ProgressAwesome picture, and amazing quality for a 1914 shot. [Poke around this site a little and you'll find that photographs taken back then were generally sharper than ones taken today. - Dave] Study Hard In School, Or Else...I used to show my kids a grimy factory, field work, or some such thing to demonstrate the true value of an education, aka, the true escape from the drudgery of labor. If our family finds wakes up one fine morning back in 1914, I'm taking the kids to the U.S. Capitol on Spittoon Cleaning Day. Even though this is elected expectorant, special spit, my point will be quite powerful. Quite. Nobody in DC could vote back then.When my Mom turned 21 in 1954, she was a resident of the District of Columbia and she said they had no vote. It only came later that residents of D.C. were able to vote. They still have no voting representation in Congress. DC Voting Representative - Yes and NoThe people of DC do vote for a member in the House of Representatives. That person is not allowed to vote on final passage of bills. However, the DC rep is allowed to sit on committees, define legislation, and vote for bills out of committee. So, in some sense, DC voters can influence House legislation. In their dreamsWOW, Mr Mel, that's what I was thinking! They probably thought that they were as close to the President of the United States as a black man could get. Self-respectThe men in this picture might not have been able to get any better job than cleaning out cuspidors in 1914, But they clearly take their job and themselves seriously. Suits and a tie for what is essentially a janitorial job. Even considering that it is the White House, that's amazing. I know Executive Vice presidents who can't bring themselves to make it past polo shirts and khakis. [This is the Capitol, not the White House. - Dave] Senate SpittoonsThere are still two spittoons on the floor of the U.S. Senate, even though the rules now prohibit chewing/spitting in the chamber. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing)
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