Circa 1908. "Seeing Chicago, auto at Monroe near State." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative by Hans Behm, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Saratoga Springs, New York, circa 1895. "Hathorn Spring." Our second visit to the flag-bedecked facilities at this bottler of mineral water. View full size.

Saratoga, New York, circa 1895: "Hathorn Spring." BlackBerrys off, please. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Pamplona, Spain in the summer of 1935, one year before the start of the Civil War.

My dad, the smiling one, with his brothers and friends having fun.

At the seminary of Pamplona: Firts days of the Opus Dei with Monseñor Escrivá de Balaguer founder of the "Obra" trying to catch rich familys sons.

After war to get out of prision you need someone of the Franco regimen to inter yield for you to be free. Balaguer do nothing for my father to get out of prisión.

Agur! View full size.

Ocean Grove, New Jersey, circa 1905. "Tent life." Looks relaxing, doesn't it? 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Continuing our trip to Atlantic City circa 1906. "Islesworth Gardens Hotel, Virginia Avenue." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

Our family poses for our first ever color photo in July 1951. We're joined by my godmother's son Alfred at the far left; his father is taking the picture and it's their green 1941 Cadillac on whose bumper I'm perched. Another thing that's not ours is the house; our own just-purchased summer place here in East Guernewood, California is out of range to the right next door. The only bad thing about this photo is that it was shot on Kodacolor; by now the negative, if it even exists, would be totally opaque. All we have is this 3½ x 5-inch print and, like all Kodacolor prints of that period, it's faded and acquired a predominant yellow cast. Over the years I've tinkered with it several times, and this is my latest restoration effort. For reference, my father is 49 here, my brother almost 14, my mother about to turn 43, my sister 17, and I'm a month away from 5. I didn't have to say "cheese" for the camera; summers at our place at the Russian River were just about the happiest days of my life. View full size.

The Jersey shore circa 1906. "Rolling chair on the Boardwalk, Atlantic City." In the distance, the giant safety razor seen on the Gillette sign in the previous post. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

New Jersey, April 1905. "The Boardwalk parade, Atlantic City." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Circa 1904. "Old Orchard, Maine, from pier." Surf, sand, and Lady Zamora. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1905. "Rolling chairs on the Boardwalk." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Old Orchard, Maine, circa 1904. "Photographer at Old Orchard House." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

That's my brother at the right, just teleported in from The Land of Grayscale, beholding The Wonderful World of Color, where even garments have hues. Actually, he's making a fashion statement, otherwise it would be a black tie with a white shirt. If you don't know that, you don't know the early 60s.

Captured on Montgomery Ward slide film, specially formulated to make your vacation memories look like they came from same people who printed those free postcards of the motel available from the rack on the check-in counter.

Eventually, the little boys in tee shirts and shorts grew up to spawn an entire generation of grown men who go around everywhere dressed like that.

I assume everybody knows it's Disneyland. August 1963. View full size.

January 1941. Sarasota, Florida. "Guest of Sarasota trailer park with his family, picnicking at the beach." Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.

March 1940. "Skiers from Boston relaxing in lodge at North Conway, New Hampshire." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.