MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
Home

Search Shorpy

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

Search results -- 30 results per page

Theta Pi: 1910
Washington, D.C., circa 1910. "Theta Pi girls." A couple more pix and then it's off to Daytona Beach! Harris & ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 12:09pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1910. "Theta Pi girls." A couple more pix and then it's off to Daytona Beach! Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Not wastedI wouldn't say that they "wasted" their education by getting married. These are the mothers of the people who came of age in the Great Depression and fought World War II. A lot bigger accomplishment than any lawyer/ad executive/magazine editor who didn't "waste" her education today. A Sorority?But where are the UGG boots, black tights and oversize Hanes tees? Middle girl, back rowBe still my beating heart. Oh for the day I could've met her ... sigh I give upWhat is that bowl for? Certainly not alms! Just wait 15 years...and they'll all have bobbed hair and wear short, straight dresses. And their figures will magically disappear. I know this one too wellToday's version of Right Rear Gal at 30: Jogs w/stroller, shops at Trader Joe's, drives Volvo XC90, has personal Pilates instructor, buys her two-and-that's-enough offspring only those toys made from sustainably harvested Scandinavian birch. And she's gorgeous enough to make other women curse. Wishing for colorAs entrancing as this photograph is, it's one of those scenes I wish I could see in its original natural color — for the variety in the ladies' hair, their skin tone, their eyes and maybe even their dresses (although most appear to be basically white). Sorority Pins . . . .pearl necklaces, tiny brooches, crisp white dresses, and upswept hair a little frizzy (no hairspray, y'know). Your grandpa, hunky stud that he was, could've mowed a wide swath through this garden of good girls, Dave. [Something tells me you're thinking of Tony W's grandpa. Who was born long after this photo was taken. - Dave] Natural Beauty rocks!Yet another fine Shorpy example of natural beauty, no makeup or artificial enhancements needed here. Although the girl seated on the left could use a couple of pounds of makeup. That cupWould be used as part of a ritual. In our sorority back in the 1940s we had a big china cup we'd fill with coke (or wine, if we were feeling adventurous) and pass around during initiation. Everyone would take a sip and we'd sing a song. MusingI wonder of the frat boys ever referred to these lovelies as "the girls from Pet-a Thigh." With CheeseA professional portrait: Everyone in their best white dress. The sorority's prized treasures, the cup and the banner. A patterned carpet easy to set a scene on. A painted backdrop, patched in places. Benches to be arranged on. A cheesy comment from the picture man trying to get the girls to smile. Some like it, some didn't, and others ignored it. Wow, another...group of incredible lovelies. Keep 'em coming Dave, and thank you. I'll take the blonde center row leftIf she is already taken and you give me a few beers I'll make do with Miss Chesty on the middle row. LeanerThanks to the middle girl, middle row, for leaning right so she would fit into my window without me having to scroll. Quite the forward thinking one. My initial thoughtWho got married and wasted their education and who didn't? Then I thought who got married (or didn't) and was able to use their education that they worked so hard to get? Beautiful girls in a natural state which makes me wonder when did cosmetics enter the picture? I bet these girls would have had fun with a kit full of makeup! [These girls were no strangers to makeup. Even in 1910, cosmetics was big business. - Dave] At first glance, I'd have chosen her as well.But for the long haul, I'll take the one standing behind her on the left. Kind of a Mona Lisa smile, and looks like she'd be good fun. Did they have to tie up Miss Angry Face sitting on the far left, or is she mad because she didn't get to hold the sacred bowl? PearlsI doubt a picture of a sorority now would show so many similarities. I wonder if the girl on the second row with the square neckline and the pearls was considered greatly daring for stepping out from the high-necked collars? Nana...Nana??? OMGJust once I would love to see a posting from someone having traced their ancestors and found that they were 'lusting' after their own Great Grandmother!! AgelessHigh school grads? College? Or, very probably, Finishing School. Some seem too young for college and others too old for high school. [Theta Pi was a sorority at Eastern High School. - Dave] Heathers...The Early Years. The Evil Face Of DeathThat gargoyle in the middle of the picture is completely creeping me out. It's leering directly at the girl with the slightly frizzy hair in front of it in a manner that suggests, "Beware my dear, for today might be your last." Life forceAmazing how feminine beauty transcends time, despite the differences in dress, style, and convention. Never mind the fact that all of these women are now dust, for this moment frozen in time in the full bloom of their youth, they still project many aspects of personality and life force, and obviously stir some basic emotions as evidenced by some of the other comments. And yes, the blonde is quite attractive, and the woman in the middle has a Mona Lisa smile that hints of many things. My favorite fashion eraI could go on about these dresses all day. The elaborate trims and ruffles of the past are still present, but the silhouette and structure are moving to a more natural form, allowing girls greater physical activity. These gowns are the heirs of the Gibson Girl confections, and the precursors to the practical tailoring of the WWI days. YowzahBack row, far left. Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! She has that look that only wish the wife could do when I came in the door after work. Those crazy Theta Pi girlsThey just can't wait to get to wild Daytona Beach and get in on the Hottest Ankle contest. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Portraits)
Theta Pi Pastels: 1910
... this Shorpy original : Washington, D.C., circa 1910. "Theta Pi girls." 8x10 inch glass negative, Harris & Ewing Collection. View full ... 
 
Posted by booboogbs - 02/22/2015 - 5:03pm -

Colorized from this Shorpy original: Washington, D.C., circa 1910. "Theta Pi girls." 8x10 inch glass negative, Harris & Ewing Collection. View full size. Shirtwaists 11 - dresses 3Shirtwaists were winning the battle in women's fashions at the turn of the last century. The following year (1911), some of he girls who made those shirtwaists (aka "blouses") would die in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. Be Still My Heart!That is an impressive display of Edwardian pulchritude, fetchingly enhanced by skillful "polychromizing." One wonders what the item being held by the woman in the front row might be: is it a very large teacup or a very small chamber pot? No perma press!Those are gorgeous blouses, and skirts, but I'd sure hate to have to iron them! Eastern High School !The Washington Post - Washington, D.C. Date: Mar 29, 1931 Eastern Theta Pi Alumni Meet for Spring Luncheon "The Alumni Chapter of the Theta Pi Sorority of Eastern High School held their spring luncheon meeting at the Shoreham Hotel yesterday. The gathering took place in the hotel's palm court, with an afternoon of bridge following the luncheon. About 40 alumni and their guests were present." (ShorpyBlog, Colorized Photos)
Eastern High: 1910
... ratio here. Just sayin'. How many girls here also in Theta Pi photo? This is fun. At first I was trying to see if anybody wore the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 2:56pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1910. "Eastern High School." Points of interest in this unusually detailed portrait include caps and insignia of the High School Cadet Corps, Company F, and a cat. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size. That catNot just "a" cat but "my" cat. Where the hell did he get a Time Machine ? GREAT picture BTW. Who goes there?Who are the live wires? Thirty or forty years down the road, who will be good for a beer, a meal, a chat? Fast, or not so fast?Some of the girls are wearing the boys' cadet caps. Does that mean they're fast girls, you know, the kind that would hold hands on the first date? Statistically SignificantThere's a 2:1 Girl/Boy ratio here. Just sayin'. How many girls here also in Theta Pi photo?This is fun. At first I was trying to see if anybody wore the same blouse, but I think the Theta Pi sorority photo has the girls wearing dressier tops. Here are my matches: Girl with Cat is Girl with Cup in Theta photo (TP) Girl 3rd from left front row is front left in TP. Same necklace and take no guff expression. Girl 4th from left in front row is 2nd from right in middle row of TP. Same mouth and chesticular regions. Girl in 2nd row above with bow is just as beautiful in TP center left. (I noted my desire in the TP comments) A couple of other maybes. I am assuming that the girl above on the left almost mixed into the boys was not invited to join Theta Pi. Thanks Dave for these great photos. [Blurry gal, far right in the second row from the bottom, is also a Theta Pi (far right, seated). - Dave] Discarded HeadgearNote the two hats on the ground. Somehow, I cannot picture that fedora on any of the boys, but can easily imagine that oddly shaped thing with the feather situated on any of those girls. AbbreviationsThe military-style caps say "HSC" with "F" below. The girls' ribbons say "EHS" (or possibly "EIS") with F below. OK, "High School Cadets" and "Eastern High School"--but what does the "F" signify? I mean in 1910, not 2009. [As noted in the caption, Company F of the Cadet Corps. - Dave] The ironing! The ironing!One of the pleasures of a picture this clear is the tactile sense you get of the clothing. All those girls in crisp white blouses, that had been hung out to dry on the line. But then--the ironing it took to get them to look so neat! With a sad iron heated on the stove, no less. Second girl from the left, front row, I'm looking at you. Highly skilled labor is clearly involved. CholericDid they all have the overly warm three-day old tuna fish for lunch, or what? Almost all seem a bit, uh, bad-tempered at the moment and ready to return to the cafeteria for a refund. Guys in TiesLove this photo! The girl with the black bow is lovely, the girl front and center has a rather unfortunate expression, and I'd love to get to know the three boys in ties in the back left. "High School Cadets"John Philip Sousa wrote "The High School Cadets" march in 1890, when he was head of the Marine Band in Washington. Sousa is buried in Congressional Cemetery, which is just a few blocks from the still-existing Eastern High School. Miss BlurryYou are right Dave. Blurry gal has the same medallion in both photos. Theta Pi gal 3rd from left is the hands on the hip girl in the front row above. CorrectionMeant to say the girl who is third from left, not right. [Shorpy Tip #3425: Registered users can edit their own comments at any time. Just click the "edit" link at the bottom of the comment box. - Dave] Some hit songs of the day.These kids would have been listening to these hit songs of the day. "Any Little Girl, That's a Nice Little Girl, Is the Right Little Girl for Me" "Chicken Reel" "Chinatown, My Chinatown" "Cloud-Chief" "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine "Down by the Old Mill Stream" "Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning All Its Own)" "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" "Silver Star (1910 song)" "Some of These Days" "Washington and Lee Swing" Sheet Music Top 10Most likely they would be playing them on the piano, or put a roll in the player piano. Someone would accompany on a guitar, or a banjo, and the rest would stand around and sing. At least this is how it was in my mother's family. Oh yes, they had the Victrola too, but home entertainment was do-it-yourself for most folks. Children took piano lessons, and later were expected to play for family gatherings. Egg IronsNot only did these ladies have to iron every inch of these dresses using irons heated over a fire, they probably also used egg irons for the puffy sleeves. These were egg-shaped pieces of iron of varying sizes attached to long handles and used to iron curved items which would have been inaccessible using a flat iron. I know, since I used two of them to keep my young daughter's puffy sleeves nicely unwrinkled. I would love to have kept them as an antique curiosity but had to return to the friend who loaned them to me. Bless her heart. That ThingWhat is the thing near the middle of the doors? Obviously not a damper, because the door already has a hydraulic damper. Looks sort of solenoidish ... an electrically controlled lock? A trigger for a burglar alarm? Sass and BrassThe young lass wearing the boy's cap and holding her chin in her hand ... wow! She looks like she would be a great gal to buy a drink or three. Egg Iron, Tailor's Ham 'n' Sleeve RollFashions loaded with intricate trims and curved seams needed a whole smorgy of special devices for pressing, and some are still available from specialty sewing shops. Here's a 1912 engraving of an egg iron, and another image of a tailor's ham and a sleeve roll, both still very useful for taming curved seams on uncreased things like men's suit coats. As for the goffering iron, used to press ruffs and millstone collars, I have the illustration but the device maybe looks too, er-ah, scary for the genteel crowd here. Pinkie RingThe ring that the young man, top row, third from the right not including "Blurry Boy," is wearing is most likely a signet ring, simple and gold with his engraved initial. Just Under the SurfacePerhaps a dedicated newspaper detective could tell us whether this was the Company F at Eastern High in 1905 that, after winning a drill competition, mutinied against the principal, who would not let them celebrate the next day. From a quick scan of the Post I gather that, against explicit orders, the cadets and their girlfriends left the campus (marched?) and went around to some of their former grade schools in a kind of rowdy triumph. When they returned, they made an effigy of their principal (out of a cabbage and a sack) and wrote a "round-robin" to demand his removal. Even if this group is a "later generation" of Company F, 1905 was part of their lore. PleatsOh, the pleats on Catwoman's skirt! If I'd been her I would have lobbied for just that position in the group photo, to show them off. Special PleatingThose a hip-stitched pleats. Sewn down along the hips and then they become normal pleats. Those were still around in the 60s. (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Portraits)
Facebook: 1910
... Ewing series of high school class portraits. - Dave] Theta Pi chicks I'm pretty sure at least two of these girls (Miss Frilly Gondolier ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2012 - 12:10pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1910. A class portrait titled "no caption." Anyone here look familiar? Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size. Buzz wasn't born yetBuzz Aldrin was born in 1930. [Here's a shiny new quarter. Now run along and get a clue. - Dave] I spy a space guyFront row, left end. That's Buzz Aldrin, right? French ConnectionDon't look now, but I think that's Gene Hackman standing in the back row on the right. Nobody looks familiar - - -but Back Row Left is standing on a fruit crate. AppearancesWhat strikes me about these class photos is how mature the students appear to be. Even if they are college students they seem much older than a college kid today. Ouch!My neck hurts just looking at the stiff collars! Nice MuffYes, they do look mature and sober, like they may have actually learned something. Quite a contrast to today's gangstas, goat-boys and strippers. I'm not sure, but...I think the famous person is 2nd from the right in the back row. I could be wrong, though. re: Anyone here look familiar?The guy seated on the left -- Michael Palin. Seven Minute AbsWell, Dave, since you asked if anyone here looked familiar.... The guy front row, left, looks like the actor (Harland Williams http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005558/) who played the hitchhiker/psycho killer who kept talking about his new product, a workout video called "Seven Minute Abs", in the movie "Something About Mary". Oh, and the guy front row, second from the right, looks like he could be the grandfather of one of my old schoolmates, the only one out of the class of Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach in 1984 who earned admission to the Naval Acadamy. However, he, too, ended up with something about a psycho killer touching him: his kid sister would go on some 8 years later (1992) to murder a former boyfriend in the family house, and leave the body for a day before realizing she needed to call the police; she slept in the room with her dead boyfriend that night. FDR Front row, second from the right. BreedingWhy am I stifling the urge to comment that I hope none of them ever bred? I Think I RecognizeIsn't that Redd Foxx around the lady's neck? Lotsa moneyNo familiar faces, but these folks were swimming in dough. The tailoring on their clothing is exquisite. Can't say I'm loving the giant white clam hat though. The ladies just jump out at you.The men all look slightly blurry, and ill defined. But the young ladies look like they could just up, and jump out of the image. Their clothes are superb, and could be in a museum. If these people could have gone in a time machine to today's high school, I wonder what they would have thought. IdentityI am pretty sure the person on the bottom row, second from left, is my great-uncle Lawrence in drag. Three things stand out thatThree things stand out that put these beautiful people in a class by themselves. 1) They appear more mature than those in previous class photos. 2) They are all beautifully and expensively dressed. 3) The women's style of dress appears closer to the 19th century than the 20th. Was there an institute of higher learning that catered to the education of the offspring, male and female, of the very, very wealthy? Or, perhaps, this is actually a photo of the instructors. [This is from the Harris & Ewing series of high school class portraits. - Dave] Theta Pi chicksI'm pretty sure at least two of these girls (Miss Frilly Gondolier Hat and Miss Clamshell Hat) were in the Theta Pi photo of 1910 that appeared recently (last week?) on this site, but I confess I recognized the background first. [This is the studio backdrop seen in many H&E portraits on Shorpy. - Dave] Eyes Left!Save Miss White Gloves, third from right, front row, who I swear is looking at me, me! None of the hatsNone of the ladies' hats looks as though it will do what hats of this type should be doing.* The widest part of the hats is too high from the ladies' faces to do much in the way of protecting their delicate skin from the sun. See Edith Roosevelt's hat for a proper sun-shading style. [Ahem, that's Ethel. Edith was her mother. - Dave] A great bunch of handsome devils....and temptresses. Why the snark?I don't understand? [Evidently not? - Dave] Standing on boxes in the backI love that you can see that the people in the back row have to stand on boxes; I thought they were fruit cartons at first, but through the legs of the fellow with the polka dot tie in the front row on the left, you can make out "G Cramer" and "St Louis" - Googling suggests this was a company that produced dry plates. Clever Harris and Ewing, reusing things lying around the studio as furniture! PS: this is more likely to have been taken around 1900-05, judging by the ladies' full sleeves and pouchy bodices. [According to the Library of Congress, 1905 is the earliest year for the H&E portrait series. - Dave] Second Boy From the RightI think he looks familiar because he's been in so many Edward Gorey drawings. Sigh…What prompted the snark, you ask? Well, mostly because Dave feels the need to belittle everyone and generally act like a superior ass if only to remind us that HE RUNS SHORPY. If you have any sense, you'll soon learn to ignore his (resident) genius and enjoy the public domain (and user contributed) photos alongside the wonderful and charming comments from everyone other than the big boob. Not that this message will make it to the comment section, mind you—but I feel better anyway merely submitting it. -- H. Hawks (aka Saddened Sightseer) Hunting of the SnarkThanks for confirming what I was beginning to get the sense of. That post where Dave belittled the person for pointing out Buzz Aldrin's age was so odd and unnecessary, it prompted me to comment. I do enjoy the photos, so perhaps ignoring those is indeed the best policy. DefenseI love the pictures on Shorpy, but I especially enjoy the comments. My Shorpy experience is defined by surfing through the recent comments column. I enjoy all the interesting information offered by readers, and I really like Dave's clever captions and witty repartee. Thanks, Dave for everything you do! [There were actually three longish comments explaining why that couldn't be Buzz Aldrin -- talk about not getting it. I really should have left them for the entertainment value. The ones below will have to do! - Dave] News BulletinWe are all free agents at the Shorpy site. Nobody was drafted. Re: SighQuit picking on Dave and quit being so sensitive. Sheesh. I don't recognize anyone here, I hope you tell us soon! (I looked on my shiny new quarter and Geo Washington was on it so that didn't help either!) [It wasn't a trick question. We don't know who any of these people are! - Dave] A few questions.Dave, most of the H&E group portraits we have seen so far show a group with something in common, club or sports. This is the first I remember being Co-Ed. Are there other plates like this one that do have labels? Another clue as someone else pointed out is the women's formal daytime public attire. So what social public activity allowed coed participation in late Edwardian times. I note the guy second from the left may fancy himself a poet. And I bet the guy on the far right is a podium thumping capitalist. [They're probably dressed up because it's their class portrait. There are plenty of coed photos in the H&E archive. One two three four. - Dave] Men!I'm just happy when a photo doesn't start a chorus of "Ew those ugly, ugly women!" from guys who can't just admire the pretty girls, but who also have to insult the women who aren't good-looking enough (or dressed scantily enough) for their personal tastes. It's funny the first few times (they sound SO stupid), but after a while the chest-pounding becomes annoying, and you begin to wonder if they talk behind their female friends' backs like that (or if they have female friends with that attitude). But if you say anything you get shot down as some kind of bitter feminazi. I'm not sure why guys act like that: I suppose they can't stand non-conformity. Sad, really, but only funny up to a point. The VaporsThat dewy look on Miss White Gloves' face actually says, "I'm about to faint in this corset!" Women!Charlene: For real? To complain about men making catty remarks regarding another -- asking if this is how we act behind women's backs -- oy and gevalt. We are woefully inadequate in this department when it comes to the other side. Plus, we aren't judged on beauty alone, which is good, because so few of us are. We are judged mainly on our abilities to hunt and gather...and most of us do it hoping to land a pretty girl. Separated at birthMy eyes are known to play tricks on me, but I think Miss White-Dress-White-Gloves looks like a 5-years-older version of one of the Gunston Girls: 1905, specifically Miss Bottom-Row-Second-From-Right-What-ARE-You-Looking-At. Bias cutI love the way the men's breast pockets are set at an angle. When did that stop being done? G. Cramer Dry Plate Co.The amount of entertainment these old picture can provide! In looking at the bottom left hand corner of the picture, behind the legs of the gentleman picking his index finger (nervous; are we?), I noticed a wooden crate. As it turns out, it is a box belonging to: The G. Cramer [Photographic] Dry Plate Co., founded by German immigrant Gustave Cramer (b. in 1833), where the photographer must have purchased a portion of his supplies. I have attached a picture of a similar box. Thank you for these goods, and enlightening, moments. [A previous commenter identified the crate, but thanks for the photo! -tterrace] (The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Portraits)
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.