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A Dickey Christmas: 1919
"Dickey Christmas tree, 1919." The family of Washington, D.C., lawyer Raymond Dickey. 8x6 inch glass negative, National Photo Co. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/20/2023 - 3:27pm -

"Dickey Christmas tree, 1919." The family of Washington, D.C.,  lawyer Raymond Dickey. 8x6 inch glass negative, National Photo Co. View full size.
It's Not Christmas Without The DickeysAlways look forward to the latest Dickey Christmas picture. If someone made a book of all the pictures I would buy it. They intrigue me, despite their gloominess! I would love to see what they looked like smiling. I read they lived at 1702 Kilbourne NW in Washington DC, it can be found on Google Street View. I wonder what it looks like inside there now.
Happier than they look.I would bet they aren't nearly as gloomy as their pictures suggest.
Clearly this is a family that loved Christmas enough to get a tree that all out of proportion to the room, decorate it haphazardly and have the most unflattering portraits made of themselves. 
This is not the picture of a rigid, organized, disciplinarian father with an iron fist.
Children of the DamnedI think the younger Dickey boy is attempting to will them out of yet another Dickey Christmas with yet one more rotund tree.  Judging from the molecular disturbance around Dad and Sis, I think his efforts at quantum phase-shifting just might be working.  We'll know for sure when the gunboat disappears.
Well of course they're upsetThats a Marklin "La Dague" Steam powered Torpedo Boat worth between $18,000 and $20,000. And someone has already broken off one of the smokestacks. I would be upset too!
Dickeyensian ChristmasThey may well have been the most pleasant of families, but their consistently disturbing Christmas portraits always seem to hint at some dark, Stephen Kingesque, ongoing abuse; something along the lines of "Sybil."
Unanswered prayersKid at center: "Please don't let the mold eat me like it has the rest of the -- oops, too late!"
Obviously a lawyer ahead of his time.He and his family are already thinking "This will eventually be Public Domain".  
Good and EvilThe younger brother's Christmas prayer is that his evil sister and her voodoo doll will leave home and never return.  While their older brother, Emilio Estevez, keeps his distance from this entire clan huddled beneath the Griswold family Christmas tree.
The doll fits in with the family well.The eyes have it.
Meet the DickeysDoing a quick Google on Raymond Dickey, I found that there was a Raymond R. Dickey who was a political intimate of William Casey, late head of the CIA and a "Republican Party Stalwart". He died somewhere in the second half of the Twentieth Century (one of the sons?) Also there is a J. Raymond Dickey (grandson?) still practicing law in the Washington area.
Marklin ShipActually the ship is a Marklin USS New York.  Count the rear portholes at rear; in the picture there are about 6, the other ship proposed has nine visible.
What do you mean? Smile? I *am* smiling. 
Xmas Lesson #1When the tree is too tall, cut at the bottom, not at the top. 
The weight of the world -- or something -- seems to be pressing down on this family. Is it the tree? The ceiling?
Dickey family informationI found the Raymond Dickey family in the 1910 and the 1920 US Census.  In 1910 Raymond and Rose lived at 1358 Otis Place NW with two children, Granville and Alice, and two servants, a 33-year-old woman and her 16-year-old son.  The son also worked as a laborer in a store.  When the house last sold in 2003, it was 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1,776 square feet.  In Street View below, 1358 is the house to the right, trimmed in blue and white.
In the 1920 Census Raymond and Rose lived at 1702 Kilbourne Place NW with four children (welcome John and Raymond Jr.) and four women lodgers, all in their early 20s, two were sisters.  One was a stenographer and three were clerks.  When the house last sold in 1996 it was 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2,631 sf.  In Street View it is the house painted white.
Raymond was born in Maryland and Rose in Indiana.  Why they chose such an unusual Christmas tree each year is still a mystery.


Bah, humbugThe Dickey family's collective ponder of father's comment regarding the cost of photography has been captured for the archives.  A good son will pray that he doesn't blur the investment.
Remnants of the Kaiser's army may have returned to the toy factory, but shell shock has impacted quality control.  Regardless, Marklin models must have been a difficult get in 1919, even for wealthy Americans.  The toy museum is worth a visit if you go to Goppingen.
I have a treasured photo of my father's Christmas tree circa 1919-1921.  The cast iron carbide cannon under the tree now sits on my living room end table. The tree is decorated with dozens of unlit candles in clip-on candle holders.  Scary! 
Six years too early for the Office PartyI thought, by digitally adding some color, that it might would improve their holiday outlook ... but then I realized their real problem. No doubt, they are despondent over the fact that they are six years too early for the Office Christmas Party-1925!
Trite but trueI've said it before and I'll say it again, with no judgment or unkindness intended, but merely as an observation: Mrs. Dickey is hammered.
More Dickey family informationSome years are a little off, but I think I have the correct family members. Raymond Dickey wed Rose Maxwell in 1901 when Raymond was 23 and Rose was 21.  Her father, the Reverend John A. Maxwell performed the ceremony in Washington.  Raymond died in 1940 at the age of 62 and is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Prince George's County, Maryland.  Rose died in 1967 at the age of 87 and is also buried in Cedar Hill.  It appears she did not remarry. 
Granville was born in 1902.  In 1924 he graduated from the College of Journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he was a member of the varsity swim team, and in his senior year was named a member of the all-American swim team.  In 1928 he married La Verne Carnes and the couple settled in Chicago where Granville was an advertising manager for a large wholesale house.  By 1942 he was living in Maryland and employed at the U.S. Conservation Corps in DC.  The move may have been due to a divorce and remarriage.  He divorced in 1941 and an Evening Star death notice said Granville’s second wife passed away April 5, 1945.  Granville died in 1948 at the age of 45 and is buried in the same cemetery as his parents.  His obituary references his surviving sister as Mrs. Alice Beaton.
I could not find Alice.  Raymond Jr.'s 1981 obituary referenced survivors included his sister, Mrs. John Beaton of St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
I did not find a grave or obituary for John.  But in the 1940 Census I found a 28yr old J. M. Dickey, attorney, born in DC.  Divorced, he was living at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Clarksburg, West Virginia. I did not find anyone who might be John in the 1950 Census.  He was referenced as a survivor in Granville's 1948 obituary, but not of Raymond Jr. in 1981.
Raymond Jr. became a very influential Washington D.C. lawyer.  His first law firm was Dickey and Dickey in which he was a partner from 1940 (when he was 22) to 1942.  This would seem to be with his father or brother, except his father died in 1940 and his brother was in West Virginia.  Married three times, twice divorced, Raymond died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 63.  A place of internment was not given.
AgonyOur family went thru the agony of Christmas pictures every year.  Since we lived overseas, my folks would have the pictures taken in September.  That gave my mom enough time to get the prints, write the annual missive, and get them in the mail in October.  She mailed them via surface mail (would take just about two months to get to the US) since in those days air mail was too expensive for the number of folks the missive went to.
I was so thankful one year that I was going to be leaving home in July.  I thought I would not have to go thru the agony.  Nope, the folks just took the pictures a week before I left.  And the following year, when I was not home, my folks had my grandparents take a photo in July and mail the negatives home.
I tried to find out when the Dickey photos were taken.  Curious as to whether these photos were taken early to share with friends or taken in December just for the family.  Unfortunately, at LOC, all I could find is the year taken, no month.  
Poor Mrs. DickeyHammered or not, she has to put up with Mr. Dickey.  And there’s less speculation about his consumption habits, because we’ve seen the outline of his flask in other years.
(The Gallery, Bizarre, Christmas, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

A Dickey Christmas: 1923
One Hundred Years of Yuletude: "Dickey Christmas tree, 1923." The family of Washington, D.C., lawyer Raymond Dickey, whose off-kilter portraits (and non-triangular trees) are a beloved ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/20/2023 - 3:34pm -

One Hundred Years of Yuletude: "Dickey Christmas tree, 1923." The family of Washington, D.C.,  lawyer Raymond Dickey, whose off-kilter portraits (and non-triangular trees) are a beloved yuletide tradition here at Shorpy. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.
Times and tastes changeAt first glance, it made me think of a huge spider web.  Strangely, most of the ornaments don't look much different from what we might have on our trees today.  I notice the lack of lights, though.
It's in the details...I find in very interesting that people who live in older homes today panic about even the smallest scratch in their hardwood floors when its very obvious that this middle-class Washington family clearly had no such worry.
Also, is anyone able to identify the toy train track in the background? It looks like wind-up track, perhaps O-scale?
ExpressionsEvery member of this family wears the exact same expression.  From my own middle class perspective it seems to be a pleasant tolerance of all things beneath them . . . which are many and include the photographer and all of us some 85 years later.
HaggardThe mother looks so different from the previous photo. Poor gal.
So much to take in.When viewed full size, there was just so much to take in...the crazy tree, the intricate sleeves on Sister's dress, the odd pose of poor Mother--practically stuck into the boughs (not to mention her too-tight shoes!), a hint of model railroad track, the wallpaper & border--just SO much!
But the number one thing I could not stop thinking...why are everyone's eyes so sad? Don't they know it's Christmas? (Maybe this the custom of the day, to look somber in a holiday photo? Whatever the reason, their melancholy expressions are in contrast to the joyful occasion.)  
Jingle BellsPoor Mom. It sure looks like the photog positioned her just a little too up close and snuggly with that tree. Her expression does not reflect a comfort zone with it. More like fending it off.
TracksJust noticed what appears to be a model train track on the floor to the right. Wonder if a wee little Christmas choo-choo was part of the decorations, or a gift done opened and set up. Remember a very simple Lionel train set my brother and I got for one Christmas. No idea where it ended up.
OrnamentsMy family owns ornaments exactly identical to about a third of the ones on the tree. My mother always said they were old, but I didn't think they could be that old!
Hmm...Has anyone noticed that the middle child (oldest son) is not the same kid in both pictures? Rather odd, I thought.
[The oldest boy is standing on the right in this photo. Still confused? - Dave]

The DickeysThe fellow with his arm around the young woman is obviously her husband.. Note wedding ring. Also she appears to be with child.
[Nope. He's her brother. - Dave]
1915, 1923If nothing else it shows those two boys are definitely brothers. The younger boy in 1923 looks just like his brother did in 1915!
That Tree!Why do I feel like I'm looking at the same one in all these pictures? 
ETA: I wrote this comment in 2014 and it's still true in 2021.
It's a Well Known FactSmiles were not invented until 1933. 
Charlie Browncarries on the Dickey Christmas tree tradition today.
Christmas traditionsHaving been born a Chanukah person, but linked to a Christmas person, I have celebrated Christmas for two thirds of my 60 years.  My wife's family is Central European, so they gather for the main event on Christmas Eve.  Over the years, their trees have run the gamut from huge misshapen Dickey trees to scraggly Charlie Brown Ion Dept. trees to the current style of "perfect" suburban mall-lot trees.  My idea of a gentle Christmas is good company and family, a glass of eggnog and rum, fading afternoon light, with Bing Crosby or Burl Ives playing softly in the background.  I wish the very best of the holiday season to my fellow Shorpsters, with special thanks to Dave and tterrace for creating and maintaining this marvellous photographic treasure house and community.
WallpaperDon't think I've ever seen a wallpapered ceiling before.
Christmas just isn't Christmas......without once again witnessing Rose Dickey's slow descent into madness.
Merry Christmas ???I don’t see much merriment here. This conclusion is encouraged by the “noir” lighting for the photography. Sad, very sad. 
It's complicatedI am struck -- make that dumbstruck -- once again by Mrs. Dickey's "hairstyle", by the size, shape, and ornamentation of that tree, and by the sleeves on that velvet dress. You can't make this stuff up, folks. Merry Christmas anyway. And if you'll forgive me the segue from Dickey to Dickens ... God bless us every one.
Alice Smiles!So I went back and looked at all the Dickey Christmas photos on Shorpy, and was reminded of grown-up Alice's job as publisher of Seventeen Magazine.  A quick Google search produced this:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1953-press-photo-alice-thompson-3...
Nice to see a smile after all those gloomy Christmas photos.
Names and AgesJust to put some names and ages to our annual Dickey Christmas family, they are:
Raymond B Dickey, 45
Rose M Dickey, 43
Granville E Dickey, 20
Alice E Dickey, 17
John M Dickey, 11
Raymond R Dickey, 5
The ages may or may not be precisely exact, but accurate within a few months.
DO NOT MOVE !DO NOT SMILE !
RE: TracksI'm a Lionel collector, and can say that those tracks are for a non-electric train set, probably wind-up.
It's All In the Composition   As a semi professional (meaning I've sold a handful) photographer,
who doesn't always get it right himself, I must say this is just about the
the most poorly composed family portrait I've ever seen ... and I love it!
   I do have some concern for Mrs. Dickey as well, but I'm 98 years too late.
Pursed lipshide many secrets: https://www.newspapers.com/image/79911246/
(And for those w/o access: it's the 19Mar13 front page coverage of the escapades of the eldest son [then ten year old] Granville, who had run away from home...to another state !)
The old girlThe old girl kinda reminds me of Grandmama of the Addams Family. 
Maybe --it'll be different next year.
Better than BeautyWe have noted that daughter Alice Dickey (later Alice Thompson, then Alice Beaton) became a power in the women's magazine world, as editor of Glamour and of Seventeen.
She also co-authored 'Better than Beauty: A Guide to Charm', which was reprinted as recently as 2007 and is available as an ebook today. Did Alice's conception of charm derive from her family?
The flip side of a Dickey ChristmasThirty years after this Dickey family Christmas photo was taken, my mother's family celebrated Christmas in New Mexico, where she was from, and her family still ranches.  I wouldn't be born for another two years.  Still, this photograph is a sweet reminder of the Christmas chaos of my childhood.  If only the Dickey children had been given a chance at it.
Redecorating!I just went through all of the pictures (Yuletide Tradition) and it looks as though the Dickeys redecorated with new wallpaper every 2 - 3 years. This confirms why house renovators often find layers upon layers of wallpaper!
My WishAs always, my hope is that every Shorpy-ite has a merrier Christmas than the Dickeys. Thanks to all who contribute to the community here. 
Dickey-ish treeThis is Christmas in Brooklyn circa 1954, a few years after I came along. Left to right are my Dad in his chunkier days, my Uncle Gerard (currently a spry and gregarious 97 years young), and my Grandfather Manuel. I don't have any specific memories of the Christmas trees my grandparents put up but from the few pics I've come across it appears they, like the Dickeys, favored the 'wide as it is tall' variety.
OuchPoor Mrs. Dickey has some swelling in her right foot/leg ... as evidenced by the flesh pushing doughily through the cutouts at the top of her shoes, which appear a tad bit too small to begin with. And then there's the fact that she had to hold that branch down with two fingers lest it thwack her in the face.
The Meaning of ChristmasSigh.. I love Christmas time.. when Shorpyites from all walks of life put aside their differences and unite to ...
critique the Dickeys.  LOL.
I myself relish hunting for clues to their social/economic means. On one hand you have the annual very very large Christmas bush which seems very lavishly decorated. Rose and Alice's dresses look like they might be silk and velvet. 
But previously, Shorpyite "Doug Floor Plan" revealed that the Dickeys took 4 boarders into their 5 bedroom home around this time (1920).  This would seem an economic drop from 8 years previous ( 1915 ) when there were 4 of them living in a 4 bedroom house with 2 servants.  
Maybe that would account for Rose's "slow descent into madness"??
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Shorpy! 
(The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

From All of Us: 1921
Washington, D.C. "Dickey Christmas tree, 1921." Our annual holiday card featuring the family of lawyer Raymond Dickey, who has a decade's worth of Christmases preserved in the archives of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/29/2014 - 1:44pm -

Washington, D.C. "Dickey Christmas tree, 1921." Our annual holiday card featuring the family of lawyer Raymond Dickey, who has a decade's worth of Christmases preserved in the archives of the National Photo Co. View full size.
Different treesWow. It never ceases to amaze me how different Christmas trees looked back in the day. I don't mean the decorations, I mean the actual shape of the tree. Is it because they were just chopped from somewhere by the homeowners? Or maybe there is a species that has been developed for mass consumption today? I don't mean any disparagement on Mr. Dickey's tree because it looks like it was lovingly decorated, which is the whole idea. It's just that the shape is so strange to me and I've seen it in other pictures of that era that have been posted here that I'm curious.
Conical ChristmasThis photo makes me wonder - When did the current "pointy triangle" Christmas tree become popular?
Did a bill collector just enter the room?Again, a scrawny tree with no lights. Doesn't look like a happy family, and what could they be staring at?
[Look again. There are lights all over this tree. - Dave]
Perfection is relativeI've observed that in old photos of plain and poorly shaped women as well as poorly shaped Christmas trees, many viewers raise the subject of appearance.  We had trees like this when I was young, usually because Dad always got one that was way too tall and we had to cut off to fit it in the room.  We had one as recently as about 20 years ago that looked like a giant tumbleweed, rather shapeless and sparse.  However, in defense of such trees, my son pointed out that such spareness of greenery made the ornaments much more important, visible and spotlighted the outstanding beauty of decorations such as these, while the lush, bushy trees often obscure the ornaments.   I notice that this year there is a "Charlie Brown Tree" for sale which is basically a very sparse branch on a thin, wispy trunk with only one ornament on the single branch, as in the cartoon.  As kids, we loved our skimpy, roundish, scanty Christmas tree (just as God made it) and found it magically beautiful.  Perhaps growing up and becoming "sophisticated" makes us see faults instead of beauty?  Just look at these magnificent ornaments.  May your best ever Christmas holiday be exceeded this year.  May Shorpy continue to gain fans and prosper.
TriangularIt's spruces that are conical. This looks like pine.
The smell of ChristmasAh, what wonderful holiday memories; the aroma of evergreen needles and Daddy's cigar smoke in my face.
Reflections on an OrnamentDo you have a bigger version of the bauble above the girl's head? I'd love to see the rest of this room (and maybe the photographer?).
Ornaments of days gone byChristmas tree shots like this always throw me into a temporal disconnect; these are the exact kind of ornaments I grew up with in the 1950s.
And I'll bet this tree looked fantastic in color and in normal, rather than exploding flash powder light.
Christmas VacationThis is definitely a Clark Griswold tree. I only wonder where cousin Eddie is.
Modern Tree TastesThat tree is fabulous. 
I think back in the day, especially if you didn't live somewhere fairly close to a supply of ideal, cone-shaped firs or cedars, you pretty much settled for whatever healthy-looking pine or cedar-like tree you could find.
Also, keep in mind that today's Christmas tree farms prune the trees every year to make sure they maintain the ideal cone shape.  Let 'em run wild and they wouldn't be so perfect, and probably more sparsely limbed.
When I was a kid ('70's), before there were any tree farms around, we would just go out in some of our or a relative's woods & find a young juniper & pull it out of the woods.
Love this treeThis is more than a Christmas tree. This is Christmas tree as art installation. I love the fact that it nearly takes over the room and that there is room to breathe between the branches that allows the ornaments and ropes of glass balls to be draped and displayed in all their glory.
This is the kind of tree my grandparents always had--very big and wide and decorated with the exact same ornaments. The only thing missing is Angel Hair (was it actually fiber glass?). My grandmother went through a big angel hair period before she moved on to tinsel.
Too bad all the trees nowadays look exactly the same-perfectly shaped and  boring, and too thick to truly decorate and dress to the nines.
Alice Dickey ThompsonIts a bit hard to believe from this photo, but the teenager on the right, young Miss Alice Dickey, is destined to be the Editor and Publisher of Seventeen Magazine and Executive Editor of Glamour Magazine.  I'm still hunting for a later photo of her.
Some Links from the web:
Time Magazine, 1949
Time Magazine, 1950
Women's periodicals in the United States: consumer magazines



Washington Post, Apr 2, 1940 


Rites for Raymond B. Dickey,
Lawyer, to Be Held Tomorrow

Funeral rites for Raymond B. Dickey, 62, dean of faculty of the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Banking and a prominent attorney, will be at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Deal funeral home, 4812 Georgia avenue northwest.  Burial will be in Cedar Hill Cemetery
...
A native of Harpers Ferry, W. Va., Mr. Dickey was educated at Georgetown University where he was awarded an LL.D. degree in 1899 and his LL.M. the following year.
At the time of his death he was general counsel for the Civilian Conservation Corps.  For many years he taught the bills and notes course at the banking institute.
With his son, J. Maxwell Dickey, he maintained offices in the National Press Building.  He made his home at 1702 Kilbourne street northwest.
...
Besides his son, J. Maxwell Dickey, he leaves his wife, Mrs. Rose M. Dickey; two other sons, Granville E., chief statistician of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and Raymond D. Dickey, of Arlington County, a public relations counsel; and a daughter Mrs. Alice D. Thompson, of California and New York City, the editor of Glamour Magazine.


According to the 1920 Census, those pictured here are:

 Raymond B., 43
 Rose M., 40
  Alice E., 13
  John M., 9
  Raymond R., 3

  The census also lists an older son, Granville E., 18. [Note: ages are based on those listed in 1920 census plus one.]
Boat Ornaments!I love the viking boat ornaments!  I feel inspired to make some for my own tree.
Charlie Brown Christmas treeI still get flack over this straggly tree, but it remains my favorite, because I took my three-year-old son into the woods and he helped me select cut, haul, erect and decorate it.
Beautiful photo!I love this picture.  The Christmas tree looks as though it's been lovingly decorated by everybody in the family without notions of "the perfect tree."  As someone who is (not by choice) alone on Christmas, I wish I could join them!
OrnamentalismI recognize quite a few of these glass ornaments from our own trees of my childhood.
We had some of the Santa ones and quite a number of the various balls. As well as birds with the spun glass tails. My favorite was always the crane with the long neck and beak. They clipped onto the branch on a spring.
Over the years we lost many of them and the last went when a friend, well known for his clumsiness) was helping put up the tree and sat on the box of ornaments.
Who is that man in the ornament?Look at the silver ball over Alice's head. Looks like a man seated with a dog.
Clouded PupilsWhy are the pupils of the two bottom kids clouded? Maybe the shutter speed was just slow enough to get a blink in there?
[The "clouded" or "zombie" look is a characteristic of flash powder photography, where there was usually no mechanism for synchronizing the exposure and flash. The photo catches the subjects' eyes both open and closed because the exposure is slightly longer than it needs to be. With the advent of flashbulbs and electrical synchronization of shutter and flash, the exposure generally ends before the flash triggers the blink reflex. In the early days of "flashlight" photography, shutter speed wasn't a factor because there was no shutter, or the shutter wasn't used. The lens cap was removed from the camera, the flash was ignited, then the lens cap was replaced. - Dave]
Beginning to See the LightsI think the "Viking boat ornament" may have been a balloon with a sail, as in a Jules Verne illustration.
Thanks, Dave, I now see the lights—how could I have missed them?
Buety is In the eye of the beholderI don't think there is such a thing as a bad looking Christmas tree. I am often amazed by comments made to the contrary. Nowadays so many times the word "tradition" leaves little to the imagination. Some of the most memorable Christmas trees of my past looked a lot less ornate than this tree by far but they were perfect on our eyes. Back in the early 60's we used to string cranberries and popcorn to put on our tree.
[Something tells me you haven't seen Buety lately. - Dave]
Good Luck!I think I've spotted the Christmas Pickle!
"Village of the Damned," anyone?Even with an explanation, those kids are pretty creepy.
Tree Full of HeirloomsLet's hope the kids of these kids are still putting the same beautiful ornamants on their trees this Christmas.
Connections, connections...Alice probably edited the Glamour magazine seen hanging in the newsstand in last week's "Zines":
https://www.shorpy.com/node/7233
It's amazing how things here are connected.
I'll be darned. After reading the tip about Alice growing up to be an editor, I pulled out my trusty copy of Seventeen Magazine from November 1946 from my desk drawer (doesn't everyone have one stored there?)...and sure enough, there she was! What a cool connection.
Tree FarmingI'm not sure how long Christmas tree farming has been a business, but I suspect it wasn't during this family's lifetime. These days it can be profitable business, but while it isn't exactly regulated, with rules as to the sort of trees that can be grown, there are preferred types. According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the preferred types are White Pine, White Spruce, Scots Pine, Balsam Fir, Blue Spruce and Fraser Fir. The trees are pruned for shape and to increase foliage density. 
I suspect that none of this happened to this tree. Someone probably just went out into the woods and cut down the scraggly runt trees that didn't look like they'd ever amount to anything  went it came to lumbering. Then they shipped them off to the city where they'd cost a pretty penny to the buyers and supplement the lumber company's bottom line. I'm guessing these folks got the best of what was available and were damned pleased to get it.
Not only does he smoke in the house,but he can't put it down for the Christmas photo.
I am assuming that the Dickey family had these made but didn't send them out in Christmas cards ...after all the invention of the refrigerator magnet was decades in the future.
Old Clothes?This is one of those photos you can look at in hi-def and notice more and more. This family is obviously prosperous -- it's a huge tree and elaborately decorated, if not in the current shape fashion,also note the train set-so WTH- Mom's in her oldest skirt with stuff crammed in her pocket,junior has holes in his stockings and something safety-pinned to the front of his shirt and the future glamour editor looks decidedly unglamorous. Even given the limitations of flash photography at the time, these people don't look happy,and even in 1921 people had plenty of experience with Kodaks and snapshots and knew how to smile for a picture. Here Mom looks deranged, Dad looks like he's threatening the terrified looking child on his knee, and the two older kids look like they can't wait to get out of there. Merry Christmas!
Shorpy on TVI did a double-take during last night's Daily Show with Jon Stewart. An altered version of this photo appeared during a segment entitled  Obama's Socialist Christmas Ornament Program. Either it's a remarkable coincidence or someone at the Daily Show is reading Shorpy.
(The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

Modern Family: 1914
... missive from the family of Washington lawyer Raymond Dickey! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL. "Dickey tree, 1914." Our fifth Christmas visit with ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/22/2020 - 10:24am -

        The globular tree, the unhinged affect, the undercurrent of barely suppressed rage -- yes, it's our annual holiday missive from the family of Washington lawyer Raymond Dickey! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.
"Dickey tree, 1914." Our fifth Christmas visit with the family of Washington lawyer Raymond Dickey, whose portraits mix equal parts Chekhov and Addams with a dash of Dickens. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.
Is it just mebut no one seems happy!
Un-MerryForget about Merry; are they even Happy?
[You know what Tolstoy said about happy families. - Dave]
Ornaments with faces.The kid is holding a Santa ornament, reminds me of the Pine Cone with a face in tterrace's photo.
Another similarity, an ornament with a reflection of an arched opening.
Keep it down, folks!Obviously the Grinch paid a visit just before this photo was taken.
Shiny ballsHey Dave can you enlarge the dark Christmas bulb to the left of the picture, halfway between the bottom of the tree and the banner on the wall? I think you can get a nice reflection of the room and the cameraman's feet.  Thanks!
(A user speculates: the assistant setting off the flash.)
Spirits of ChristmasDad appears to have a large flask in the inside pocket of his suit coat.
Say "cheese"!Photographers evidently hadn't yet discovered that back in those days.
I Spy- a little pinecone guy; like yours, tterrace. 
ReflectionsAs always I find the fascinating aspect of these pics is the details unintentionally revealed in the reflections in the ornaments.
"Young man, straighten your collar!""You don't want people ninety-seven years from now thinking you're a slob!"
I note that the ornament he's holding shows up next to mom in the 1922 picture.
What might this be?At the very right of the photo just above the father's arm is something that looks to be a ponytail.  It looks like human hair.  Wonder what it is?
[A toy horse's, um, tail. - Dave]
But they have such lovely presents.Along the back wall, on the left, appears various toy houses, kitchens, etc.
And on the right there looks to be the business end of a rocking horse?
I love all the ornaments, especially the one the boy is holding. I'd find it quite sweet too, if only there was just a hint of a smile on his face.
CreepyThat the two oldest children seem to be emulating the expressions on ornaments hanging near them -- directly to the left of the boy, and above the girl.  Maybe that's how you were supposed to look at Christmas.
The LookThe little girl has exactly the same expression my wife has whenever I screw up. Which is hardly ever. No really.
Ornamental reflectionslooking closely at the ornaments I was amazed to see and recognise many that were still in use by my mother and grandmother well into the 1970s, when alas the very thin glass they were made from gave way apparently all at once. I remember lifting the boxes down from their storage place and finding that despite being wrapped in tissue as they had been every year of my life, virtually every one of them had shattered. As my own kids were small then, we replaced them with the plastic variety common today.
My grandmother had used her set on an outdoor tree (in Australia, it used to be common in the 60s to decorate an outdoor tree), and the ornaments that had been outside had faded unevenly.  I wish I still had a few of the ornaments now, but alas they are long gone.
A beachy ChristmasSo I am wondering if they picked up the flamingo ornament at Colonial Beach.
Cash for ChristmasThose ornaments would be worth big money today.
Dickey FamilyFrom left-to-right:  Granville (a year after running away to watch baseball), Alice (future fashion magazine editor), Rose, John and Raymond.
He's a member of the intelligenciaFountainpen in breast pocket of coat - check - necktie on -check. Yup, he's not one of the Great Unwashed.
[Or perhaps he's a member of the intelligentsia. - Dave]
Where to beginI have studied this photograph before but apparently not well enough. What is with the creepy ornaments? Far left, a great big bug; hanging between the older two children's heads, a weird face; what's above and to the right of the weird face -- a genie released from a bottle? Lots of strange-looking heads ... and speaking of heads, there appears to be a fish hanging off of Mr. Dickey's. 
Mrs. Dickey's pupils are dilated to match the buttons on her dress. Big brother put his coat on so fast, the collar is twisted and one of his lapels is bent under. Nobody saw that? Why is he holding up a Santa head, and what's in his other hand? Sister is either traumatized by the whole event, or the only one who knows what's really going down. The mini-cossack baby is semi-catatonic. Why does Mother have a tense fist jammed into his thigh?
They all seem dusty, unkempt, tired, jaded, and demoralized. Or maybe they've just consumed too many Christmas cookies.
A family traditionI've looked at the collection of Christmas pictures of this clan, and I need to know why did they buy a tree too tall for their home and just jam it in?  
My Christmas journey 2020Shorpy has given me the appropriate destination for an end-of-year trip: the grave of Granville E. Dickey (on the left, holding the ornament), in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Suitland, Maryland, less than ten miles from my house.
Granville's future: He studied journalism at Northwestern University, where he was an all-American swimmer (backstroke). He was briefly (1925) the writer for the newspaper comic "Men Who Made the World." He married La Verne Carnes in 1928, but divorced her in 1941 on grounds of desertion; he married again, to Ceril Cousins, who died in 1945. 
He worked in advertising in Chicago, then in Washington in the 1930s as chief statistician of the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1941, he testified before a Congressional hearing on wildlife conservation.  
Granville died at 45, leaving a daughter, Rosemary--likely named for his mother, whom the sources identify as Rose M.
This was a life.
Granville's AdventureThe link that mentions Granville seems not to work, but I found the story in the Washington Herald. 
"We'll Win Pennant," Says Granville Dickey
Ten-year Old Lad, Seized with Baseball Fever, Is Brought Home After Runaway Trip to Charlottesville, Va.
According to the article, Granville "had a talk with Griff" (that would be Washington Nationals manager, and later owner, Calvin Griffith) after hopping a train to Charlottesville to visit spring training. 
Granville went on to say, "One of things that interested me most was the way the Cubans, Calvo and Acosta, are tearing up the diamond. You bet Griff isn't going to let them go. Calvo is as quick as a cat and it's wonderful the way he can get around the bases." Jacinto (Jack) Calvo played just 34 games in his major league career, batting .161 and stealing no bases. I can find no record of Acosta.
Looking Around the WebSome information on Granville Dickey’s life is at the following website (he’s the kid on the far left in the picture with the freckles): http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2020/05/ink-slinger-profiles-by-alex-...
The Looks of This FamilyThey look like they're having their own personal 2020, one hundred and six years before ours! Merry Christmas to all and may we all meet after the New Year!
Dilated pupils not surprisingThe enlarged ornament image shows the Dickeys were sitting in a dimly lit room. The photographer squeezed a bulb to open the camera's diaphragm, or maybe just removed a cap over the lens and then ignited flash powder, creating an instantaneous blast of light. The camera was loaded with an emulsion-coated glass plate. Its light sensitivity was a fraction of that coated onto roll film for use in snapshot cameras decades later. That sudden ball of light lit the room very brightly in a fraction of a second. It happened so fast the family members' eyes were caught wide open, as they needed to be in a dimly lit room to be able to see. In the aftermath, they probably experienced an aftereffect ghost image of that blast of light for several minutes. If the photographer made several exposures, some or all of the subjects probably  experienced discomfort along with the annoying ghost image. And that ghost image might've obscured their vision for an extended period, because the effect is cumulative. If so, the Dickeys' lack of festive gaiety becomes understandable.
Somewhat less-traumatic flashbulbs became available in the 1930's, thanks to General Electric. The early ones were big compared to those in use in the 1940's through the 1960's, when the peanut-sized AG-1 bulbs became available. As film emulsions became more light sensitive, flashbulbs could become smaller, easier to carry and handle, and less expensive. 
Angry dadThis is possibly the most depressing series on Shorpy.  There are ten different years and poses, and I’ve commented about it before, but I can’t shake the feeling that we have a stern, likely mean father here who gives everybody what-for just in advance of the photo.  Jabbing a forefinger in their faces, cigar tip frighteningly close, he warns them not to act up. Straighten up and fly right.  Don’t make me put down my cigar.  Behave or there’ll be hell to pay.  Y’know, friendly stuff like that, the kind of thing that puts you in the proper festive mood for the annual Christmas photo.
Mrs. DickeyShe’s got the thousand-yard stare.  Persist, endure, stay the course.  Resistance is futile.  She knows the drill.  And she knows it all gets worse the more Mr. Dickey pulls out that flask of his.
Different interpretationI don't see unhappiness at all. You don't see people smiling in a lot of old photographs, but it doesn't mean they're unhappy. Personally, I like seeing people with natural looks on their faces and not phony smiles.
Merry Christmas!Ah the much-maligned Dickeys...so many unanswered questions.
Were they happy? Sad? Well-to-do or just middle class?
Did the father drink? Was the mother upset to find out after the picture developed that the tree had pushed her collar up, making her appear somewhat disheveled? Why did the photographer not think to warn her? 
And what of the perennially over-sized and over-grown tree? Can we even call it a tree? Or is it a large Christmas bush?  Why such a tight fit, year after year? Were tape measures luxury items? 
One thing is for certain : their appearance on the Shorpy front page means the Earth has made another revolution around the sun. 
Merry Christmas Shorpy-ites!  
(The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

Merry Dickey Christmas: 1912
"Dickey Christmas tree." From around 1912 comes our sixth holiday greeting from the family of Washington, D.C., lawyer Raymond Dickey in what has become a Shorpy holiday tradition . National Photo glass ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/10/2012 - 12:39pm -

"Dickey Christmas tree." From around 1912 comes our sixth holiday greeting from the family of Washington, D.C., lawyer Raymond Dickey in what has become a Shorpy holiday tradition. National Photo glass negative. View full size.
PennantsInteresting display of pennants, and not collegiate ones. One seems to say "Germantown" so I'm guessing localities sold these as souvenirs. Wondering if these were a common thing to collect back then.
[The one on the right bears the name of Kallipolis Grotto No. 15, the lodge of a Masonic fraternal order. - Dave]
Whatever You DoDon't confuse the Dickeys with the Denbys.
Pennant raceI believe the pennant reads "Georgetown" and the one on the left reads "Ocean City" (most likely Maryland).
They look happy hereMuch happier than they do in the later photos. Wonder what happened between 1912 and 1914 to turn things sour.
That TreeJust big enough to be a tad too tall ---- perfect!
Senior DickThis is now the earliest of the six photos that extends from 1912 to 1923 in a sequence that is decidedly grim.  It really is one of the saddest Shorpy experiences I've come across.  Over the years, the mother becomes increasingly unhappy and insane, the children look more and more beaten down, and we Shorpy witnesses find solace in the tree and ornaments.  I have no proof whatsoever, but I put the blame for this family misery wholly on the father.  He with the cigar and the pocket flask has sucked the joy out of his home and stubbed out the merriness of the season in the lives of his wife and children.
[You'd think that after 10 years they (and National Photo) would have gotten the hang of it, but evidently not. Or maybe we are just seeing the outtakes. I look at these people, and the boy on the right, and think of James Thurber. -Dave]
CheeksThat little boy has such huge cheeks. They look swollen, almost like  he had the mumps? Or bad adenoids. I do enjoy seeing pics of this family, even though they never look too happy (I realize the exposure times, and people were more serious in pics back then, usually).
[These are all flash pictures, so the exposure time was an eye-blink. -Dave]
Christmas DecorationsAmazing how little they have changed. The one to the left of Mr. Dickey's head is identical to ones I have.
It's OKCut a hole in the ceiling and be done with it.
ShoesSomeone buy that baby some new shoes!
Naughty or Nice?  Hard to know...If you judged my own father's large family from the grim series of photographs spanning 100 years from about 1880, now in a trunk in my home, you might also think "Chekhov, Addams, and a dash of Dickens" (but truth is closer to Tennessee Williams or Erskine Caldwell), but my memory of those same people grimly photographed in gritty black and white in large gatherings over the years is consistently non-stop storytelling, laughter, and music.  
So I don't really think it's fair to assume "family misery" from the series of family photographs we have here, much less blame Pa Dickey's cigars or flask.  
I think it's simply that no one had come up with "Smile for the birdy" till somewhere around 1965.
Aside from that, it amazes me how consistent they were in getting trees that were just barely too tall.
My sister and I often enough laugh about our grim photographs wondering where Ma Barker and her boys have buried the bodies, but only because it seems remarkable such a happy and loving bunch could make so many decades of criminally grim photographs.
The GrottoI belong to Kallipolis Grotto.  It is chartered in D.C. but meets in Maryland.
(The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

One Gun, One Bunny: 1922
Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Denby Christmas tree." Junior remembers this as the best Christmas ever! His gun-giving dad is Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby. ... to this one. [You are perhaps thinking of the Dickey family . - Dave] There I go, confusing my Denbys and my Dickeys ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/02/2012 - 6:55pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1922. "Denby Christmas tree." Junior remembers this as the best Christmas ever! His gun-giving dad is Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.
Christmas PresentsWonder what she got for Easter. A Santa Claus doll?
Happy Days were not aheadEdwin Denby Jr., 10 years old in this photo, was killed in WWII aboard the USS Shark submarine in February 1942 in the South Pacific.  He was 29.
http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/denby-e.htm
Wow!The mouldings in this house are amazing! And the ceiling is insanely high, even by Victorian standards. Those walls look to be at least 16 feet.
The sideboard seems like an Empire (mahogany piece) with a wonderful bevel mirror).
And I happen to have a few different sizes of antique tin boxes (cash boxes) like the one in front of "junior". They are black with gold and red stripes, and the interior usually has a removable tin tray.
Not .410, probably .22It's single-shot and break action, but if you blow up the picture you can see it has an octagonal crowned barrel, a blade front sight and a leaf-type rear sight. Thus, a rifle, not a shotgun. Conceivably not a .22, but some small caliber, and a .22 seems most likely.
[So not a .22, but a .22? If you say so. - Dave]
There will be blood.Denby is the guy who transferred the naval oil reserves (Teapot Dome) to Albert Fall's Interior Dept in the Harding Administration in 1922.  Fall got bribes to lease the lands to Harry Sinclair (Sinclair Oil) and oilman Edward Doheny, the basis of the main character in Upton Sinclair's novel Oil, and who was played by Daniel Day Lewis in the film There Will Be Blood.  Given the timing of this photo, one wonders exactly what is on Denby's mind, besides the clear danger the bunny might be in.
Uh oh!She gets a rabbit, he gets a rifle. Trouble ahead.
Deja VuDidn't we Shorpyites previously see another Denby Christmas Tree?  I (think) that I remember it as quite lacking when compared to this one.
[You are perhaps thinking of the Dickey family. - Dave]
There I go, confusing my Denbys and my Dickeys again. - Mal
Hunting seasonNo doubt Junior will be using his sister's Christmas bunny as a target next week.
Rifle MinutiaeI am in agreement with "jwp".  It looks like a Remington Sporting Rifle No. 4. Single shot octagon barrel, 22 short and long caliber. (also manufactured in 32 caliber) Made from 1890 to 1933.  Her bunny is safe but other critters may not be.  
My non-expert guessLooks to me like a single-shot break-action shotgun, probably 410 gauge, which is not much of a power house. Friend of mine got shot in the small of his back with a 410 from less than a foot away, while getting out of a car with some other hunters (one of them obviously really clumsy) and he survived. Of course he wasn't a soft little bunny.
Rifle IdentificationThe rifle is a "Crack shot" model .22 caliber manufactured by the J. Stevens Arms & Tool company. Stevens was the company that developed and introduced the .22 LR round. Arguably the most popular and widely shot rifle/pistol round in history.
A Remington Rolling Block It IsOne of the most elegant guns ever made... it's hard to see how there could have been fewer moving parts.
Denby Sr.Edwin Denby Sr. is an interesting guys outside of his Teapot Dome involvement. He enlisted in the Marine Corps as a private in 1917 at age 47 and was discharged in 1919 as a Major. There had been a large number of mail robberies in 1921 so when appointed Secretary of the Navy in 1921 he ordered that the Marines be used to guard mail trucks and trains. The Marines had a simple instruction: if two Marines were guarding the mail and a robber had them covered, they weren't to put up their hands but both go for their guns. The robber might get one of them but the other would get the robber. "When our Corps goes in as guards over the mail, that mail must be delivered, or there must be a Marine dead at the post of duty. There can be no compromise."
Remington #4That is a Remington #4 Rolling Block,single shot take down rifle, you can see the take down lever on the side of the receiver.To load you must first cock the hammer and then pull back on the breechblock to expose the chamber then insert the cartridge and push the breechblock closed, you are now ready to fire. Like dddlensman said most likely a .22 rimfire but possibly a .32. A very nice present.
(The Gallery, Animals, Christmas, Kids, Natl Photo)

Merry Christmas From the Family
"Dickey Christmas tree, 1922." Our fourth holiday visit with the family of Washington lawyer Raymond Dickey, who has a decade's worth of Christmas portraits in the archives of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/29/2014 - 1:40pm -

"Dickey Christmas tree, 1922." Our fourth holiday visit with the family of Washington lawyer Raymond Dickey, who has a decade's worth of Christmas portraits in the archives of the National Photo Co. Some of which turned out better than others. View full size.
Dave's Understatement:"Some of which turned out better than others." Boy, I'll say! It's amazing how many times I find myself hitting"Send To Trash" while editing my own photos. Big plates weren't cheap I don't imagine, so these fellas had to let things slide. Merry Christmas to ALL!!! (but when More (allegedly) wrote "A Visit From St. Nicholas," Santa says "Happy Christmas to all" -- the editors changed it. So, Happy Christmas to ALL of you fine folks too.
The Barbara Walters InterviewBarbara:  "If you were this Chwistmas twee, what would you say?"
Me-Tree:  "Could someone put a little Tylenol in my water - I have the worst crick in my upper trunk."
Are We Having Fun Yet?How exciting to see a comment from Zippy the Pinhead's creator on Shorpy!  
Great Grandson of famous photographerJust bought a print of a William Henry Jackson photo from the Detroit Publishing Company, circa 1900. WHJ was my great-grandfather. I have very few of his actual photos---nice to be able to see and obtain more here!----Bill Griffith (William Henry Jackson Griffith)
Big ContrastThere certainly is an obvious difference between the grim Dickey clan and tterrace's family. 
Oh, MinBack in the 1920s and '30s, "The Gumps" was a popular comic strip, with Andy Gump and his wife, Min.  "Oh, Min!" was a catchphrase back then, so I suppose the album or whatever it is was associated with the strip.
Anything BUT merryThe juxtaposition of the message "Merry Christmas" with the subjects' grim facial expressions is extremely incongruous, and gave me an unexpected laugh.
Happy Holidays, everyone! Truly.
Way back whenBack in the day before fire safety took the fun out of everything, my elementary school had a similar Christmas tree in the front hallway.
Not only was it glorious, it smelled wonderful.
The last year we had one was 1965, the next year the principal set up one of those aluminum monstrosities.
Wonder what became of the ornaments.
Great Shorpy photo as alwaysbut like most commenters, I'm wondering about the unhappy faces.
Two theories:  Either they just found out that the Redskins once again missed the NFL Playoffs or someone recently informed them that the Great Depression was only seven years away.
The Joy of ChristmasLooks like everybody's getting socks and underwear this year.
Nice tree.The faces of the younger woman and the boys almost look like cardboard. It's probably from the flash. What a great picture.
Worn to a FrazzleThat poor Mother looks like she is just completely worn out. The hairstyle reminds me of Elsa Lanchester in "Bride of Frankenstein". The "thousand yard stare" in her eyes makes me sorry for her that Valium had not been invented at that time. Sure hope they all had a better Christmas than their picture projects.
Oh Min!Oh Min! was a song released in 1918, sung by Edward Meeker, based on a catchphrase from the comic strip "The Gumps." Apparently in 1924 there was a motion picture by the same name.
re: Big ContrastYeah, but they definitely have some of our ornaments.
Christmas CheerEggnog and Jack, STAT.
Bah! Humbug!It must be true what they say about those black-hearted lawyers!
"Don't be sad, kiddies; tomorrow we can go back to our usual Dickey lawyering!"
Aside from that, it is nice to see all those wonderful ornaments I remember from my childhood. 
Could they look any more miserable?Man this is a somber looking bunch, the only one with any real expression is the kid in the Sailor Suit.
Love the tree! Real glass ornaments with elaborate decorations, not the cheap plastic or plain glass junk you find now.
Another Christmas photo from the same eraHere's a photo from about Christmas 1922 taken by my grandfather Wilford Fletcher.  On the right is my mom, Margaret, and on the left is her older sister Dorothy.
Oh Min!What is it?
[Looks like a game or a phonograph album. "Oh Min!" pops up periodically on eBay.  - Dave]
Mry Xms -Hpy NwYrI would like to wish for each and all the Shorpyites: "Best of the Season!"
  To Dave especially - what a monumental amount of work this is - I don't think folks can really appreciate that until they've tried to do a bit of itinerant webmastering...    I can just see the typical Louis Wickes Hines photo of Dave, standing in front of his computers: 
"David, looks 65, says he is much younger, been a webmaster for several years now, makes very little for his efforts. Works 15 hours a day, gets no exercise and little sunlight or fresh air. Hands are always sore from typing and processing digital photos. Eyesight suffering. Perhaps no hope for David to have a 'normal' life."
Thanks to tterrace for his contributed (and ongoing) "stream of richness" and for drawing back the curtains over a window into the fascinating 3-D web of lives of his family and friends.
Thanks to all the Shorpy contributors, from the 'Anonymous' one-line drive-by snarkings, to the Rest of the Bunch.
  May each of us find some quiet and contentment in the midst of busy lives and times!
  So: Murray Ecksmiss and Hoppy NuYeer, etc etc!
Cheers
Zephyr
"Merry Christmas From the Family"I hope at least a few people (besides me) got the reference made in the title of this post to Robert Earl Keen's very funny song.
Tall TreeThe tree looks like one of those shown in a past picture..
A 12 foot tree in a 10 foot room.
(The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

A Christmas Carol: 1913
... greeting from the family of Washington lawyer Raymond Dickey, who has been welcoming us into his home since 1912 or 2008, depending ... we find some more in our stocking come Friday. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL. "Dickey family and Christmas tree, 1913." Looking a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/23/2015 - 6:14pm -

        Our ninth annual holiday greeting from the family of Washington lawyer Raymond Dickey, who has been welcoming us into his home since 1912 or 2008, depending on how you look at it. This marks the last of the series, unless we find some more in our stocking come Friday. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.
"Dickey family and Christmas tree, 1913." Looking a bit jollier than usual. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Wait til next yearWe will trim off the bottom off the tree to make it fit the living room.
TreeWhy didn't they just cut a hole in the ceiling?
Honey, you misjudge the height every year, this year I got you a tape measure.
Out of orderFirst you pick the tree, then you pick a house to fit it. They got it backwards.
 Their Little SecretNice to see some hint of a smile (at least on Mom).
They probably just got finished decorating the top of the tree upstairs in the bedroom.
Those ornamentsBeautiful ornaments. No batteries required.
Haut DécorFelt pennants are an odd decorating choice for the parlor of a relatively affluent family of that era.
Of course, anything that hides even a part of that wallpaper is welcome.
MeccanoIn the background behind Mother. 
I used to have one of those when I was a boy in England. My grandfather was a mechanical engineer for Rover and bought us 'educational' toys at Christmas. This was one that I loved.
Thanks for the picture. Brings back so many fond memories [baxado]
(The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

Family Tree: 1915
"Dickey Christmas tree, 1915." The family of Washington lawyer Raymond Dickey, whose somewhat unhinged holiday photos are a Christmas tradition ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/22/2016 - 1:06pm -

"Dickey Christmas tree, 1915." The family of Washington lawyer Raymond Dickey, whose somewhat unhinged holiday photos are a Christmas tradition here at Shorpy. National Photo Company Collection glass  negative. View full size.
Don't Say "Cheese" PleaseSmiling for the camera, as I understand it, did not come into fashion until the time of mass-ownership of snapshot cameras. Only little by little did the smiling fashion take hold. Before then to have your picture taken was more like sitting for a formal portrait. The idea of the, may I say it, phony smile for a photo session was just not the thing. So I think these folks are just likely to be joyful as not while sitting for this Christmas portrait. I found this quote from Mark Twain, which appeared in a California newspaper back in the late 19th century. Says Twain,  "A photograph is a most important document, and there is nothing more damning to go down to posterity than a silly, foolish smile caught and fixed forever." 
Blue ChristmasOne hundred years later, it is hard to know why the joyless expressions, but the gifts in 2015 seem sparse and happiness seems elusive to all.  Dad looks hostile, adolescent son seems downtrodden and mom and daughter just look sad.  Of course, that may just be in the eye of this beholder; make up your own story.  
Formal, but not blueThis is a moment in time recorded, as Michigander correctly describes, as was thought appropriate at the time.   I don't see anything grim or joyless.  I do concede that it is a bit odd that everyone is looking away from the camera, making me wonder if there was a companion photograph in which they all look at the camera.    What about the wealth of lovely ornaments on that tree, every one of them fragile and requiring careful packing away?
Something Else MissingNot a single electric light or candle adorns this tree.
[There are strings of lights, though they're placed toward the interior of the tree. The cords are fairly visible in some places and I found these four bulbs. -tterrace]
"One - Two - Button My Shoe"I never gave that phrase much thought until I saw this photo.  I don't believe I ever owned a pair of shoes that buttoned.  I wonder when that went out of style?  Or perhaps I'm just out of style?
1915The Dickeys were introduced to Shorpy in July of 2008 with a detail of this very photo from 1915: https://www.shorpy.com/node/3920.  Since that Christmas in July, we have been treated to annual Dickey posts, spanning 1912 through 1923.  Myself, I came to Shorpy in November of 2011, making this my sixth Shorpy Christmas which would not be complete without reviewing the full Dickey set of ten photos plus comments, not to mention the gang at the ION Dept. of the Western Electric Co. in the ceaselessly fascinating Office Xmas Party: 1925 with over 200 comments and almost a third of a million views.  Partaking in this highly pleasant December tradition is one of the many ways Shorpy has enriched my time in front of the screen.  Thank you, Dave and tterrace, and happy holidays to all my fellow Shorpy community members.
OddOff-kilter and weird, even by Dickey standards.
Merry Christmas Shorpy! 
(The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Kids, Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

Christmas in July: 1915
"Raymond Dickey. Christmas 1915." View full size. Nat'l Photo glass negative. Ornaments ... With a quick scan of the 1910 census, I found a Raymond Dickey that lived on Otis Place in Washington D.C. He's listed as a lawyer, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/11/2013 - 11:01am -

"Raymond Dickey. Christmas 1915." View full size. Nat'l Photo glass negative.
OrnamentsI have a box of Christmas ornaments that belonged to my grandparents, maybe 50 years old.  They're pretty well preserved, with nary a sound-chip to be had.  My grandfather's method of applying tinsel was to take a fistful and hurl it at a spot on the tree.
It's interesting to see how the designs of ornaments have changed to reflect what people consider festive.  I see an ear of corn, and a scary disembodied head (oer the little sailor boy's shoulder).  I really like those little clip-on birds.  And really, that's got to be a HUGE tree for them to sit underneath it like that.
[Below, the whole thing. - Dave]

IciclesGood ol' lead tinsel. In our house, it was required to be applied by us children--one. strand. at. a. time. or. else. My brother and I enjoyed gathering the imperfect and leftover pieces into near-lethal balls to throw at each other. 
My grandparentshad the clip-on birds on their tree and I loved playing with them as a kid! Is that really an ear of corn or a German type pickle ornament?
1910 CensusWith a quick scan of the 1910 census, I found a Raymond Dickey that lived on Otis Place in Washington D.C. He's listed as a lawyer, which by the look of him, I could certainly believe. If my calculations are right, he should be about 37 in the picture. His wife, Rose, would be 36. The oldest son would be 12, and the daughter would be 9. The youngest would be below 5 since he isn't on the 1910 census. They must have been pretty well-to-do since the census lists them having two servants as well.
Ornament survivalI'm astonished. Those could be the ornaments on our tree in the 1950s. I knew we had some really old ones from my mother's family, including a couple that still had wax drippings on them, but practically all our ornaments were like this; there's at least one exact duplicate insofar as I can tell in black and white. I had no idea they were that old, or that those traditional designs were kept in production so long.
Need a Little ChristmasLike the song from "Mame" goes, "We need a little Christmas" on a currently hot and steamy NYC afternoon. The size of that tree is enormous...they were probably decorating it since Thanksgiving. I'm also with tterrace that the 30s and 50s ornaments looked identical: forever old, just as fragile.
Old OrnamentsI too have a handful of old ornaments in my possession. They belonged to my mother's parents, who are gone now. Some of them date from their first Christmas together, in 1937. If I take some of their photographs and a magnifying glass, I can spot a few of them on their tree at the time.
Luckily my grandfather had some odd habits such as photographing the interiors of every house he owned (once they'd set up) and I have a record of basically all the houses they lived in from 1937-1973 when they moved the last time.
Bells, birds, little cabins, puppies, and angels. Wonderful.
Jeepers CreepersWhere'd they get those peepers? Looks like the retoucher was a little over-zealous... I've seen other photos like this, with the pupil of the eye provided with a dot of pencil lead.
[There's no retouching here. And pencil lead applied to a negative would result in a white pupil. - Dave]
Lil' Orphan AnnieBut pencil lead to a print... or scraping a negative none too gingerly...
[Would look a uniform black, not a gradation of grays, and jagged at the edges (these are all scanned from the original glass negatives -- there are no prints). Plus their eyes look perfectly normal for an indoor shot at night. - Dave]

Tin Man OrnamentIs that a Tin Man ornament above the ear of the small boy in the sailor suit? The Wizard of Oz was published in 1900. I love this site. Thanks Dave.

(The Gallery, Christmas, Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

The Home Front: 1918
... from the family of Washington, D.C., lawyer Raymond Dickey, who has a decade's worth of Christmases preserved in the archives of ... I Europe, is even more dire than usual. "Dickey Christmas tree -- 1918." 8x6 inch glass negative. View full size. Let ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/16/2013 - 8:07pm -

        The spherical tree, the scattershot expressions, the faint undercurrent of anomie and alienation -- yes, it's our annual holiday dispatch from the family of Washington, D.C., lawyer Raymond Dickey, who has a decade's worth of Christmases preserved in the archives of the National Photo Company. Their 1918 portrait, with an Army surgeon and map of World War I Europe, is even more dire than usual.
"Dickey Christmas tree -- 1918." 8x6 inch glass negative. View full size.
Let there be light!There are lights on the tree, you just have to find the twisted electrical wires hidden within the branches. Perhaps one of our guardian angels can zoom in on the wires and and one of the bulbs? 
Now the Christmas season has officially startedShorpy has posted its annual Dickey family photograph!  Let the festivities begin!  The great thing is their expressions don't change and they never fake happiness from familial togetherness.  Still, they did manage to spread the joy of the season.  Too bad they never expressed that same joy in their Christmas portraits or measured the tree to fit their house.
Mercury glassThat tree is a wealth of glass ornaments and garlands, many probably mercury glass. I love them! I have been collecting them but don't have many older than the unsilvered WW II ones. I do not see any lights on this tree though unless I am missing them. This family was wealthy enough that they might have had electric lights on the tree. The first electrified tree was in the 1880s although they didn't become common for ordinary (not wealthy) people until much later. My mother (born in 1921)  reports candles on their well into the 1930s. They lit them once, on Christmas eve, and stood ready with a bucket of water. This poor tree is a bit too tall for the ceiling, too.
First Toy TankAlso noteworthy is the toy tank at the bottom of the photograph, obviously a replica (not a completely accurate one) of the British Mark I tank. This early tank had only entered service in 1916.
Oh ......Christmas Bush, Oh Christmas Bush ....
Now that you mention Christmas tree lights...For me the Christmas lights have been a major part of the holiday season. Since I spent the better part of my life in Michigan, putting up outdoor lights around Thanksgiving was a very cold process while taking them down off of snow and ice filled gutters after January 1st was pure torture.  I have collected a few strings of the old series strung lights where if one goes out they all go out. I still use them indoors. The secret to increasing their bulb life is to hook them up to a light dimmer and burn them at half brightness. Perhaps the most complete history of Christmas lights to be found is at http://www.oldchristmastreelights.com/bills_site/. From this site I learned that when electric lights first became available for Christmas trees,that stores would rent the set of lights for the holiday season since they were so expensive to buy outright. 
(The Gallery, Christmas, D.C., Natl Photo, The Dickeys)

The Healing Waters: 1920
... This is one of those photos that, even if it isn't a Christmas picture, has the potential of going down in Shorpy history much like Office XMas Party 1925 and Dickey Christmas Tree 1921. From Lyle Lovett in a bath robe, soaking his leg in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/04/2020 - 10:44pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Walter Reed Physiotherapy story." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Keep your powder dryThis is one of those photos that, even if it isn't a Christmas picture, has the potential of going down in Shorpy history much like Office XMas Party 1925 and Dickey Christmas Tree 1921. From Lyle Lovett in a bath robe, soaking his leg in a cylinder, to the gent sporting a woolly mammoth cardigan, one hand cautiously on the controls, sharing a tub with a friend who seems to have brought along an umbrella, there's an embarrassment of riches here. I breathed a sigh of relief to see both of the lady's white-shod feet on the floor because at first glance it appeared that she'd thrown a shapely limb into the drink as well.
Christmas photo?The most Christmas-y element to catch my eye right from the get-go was the nurse.  I guess that’s her uniform, but I thought she was dressed like a Christmas elf.
Also, I’ve been to physio for numerous ailments, and I’ve had strange treatments (e.g. little buzzy electro-pads that stimulate something or other), but never the wet-leg cure.
Finally, that’s one sharp leather gaiter on Mr. Umbrella on the leg that isn’t immersed.
That's funny.100 years of paper towel science and my latest roll leaves exactly the same corner hanging.
Maybe not an umbrella...?The fellow on the far right would be a perfect character for an early Agatha Christie novel – Col. Smitherington-ffrench, or something along those lines. I do wonder if his accessory might be a cane rather than an umbrella, given the setting.
All goodThe three men appear to be in good spirits.  Maybe the healing waters, but more likely it’s lil’ elfy nurse.
Sweater Man Is SmittenLooks as if the man in the fuzzy cardigan is completely enchanted with Nurse Elf Cap. Also, I think that umbrella is a cane.
Come on over here; let me show youOf the three men, only Lyle Lovett appears to be a bona fide patient.  In addition to his bathrobe, his cane is hanging on the cylinder's rim.  The man in gaiters is also wearing jodhpurs (note the riding patch on his inside knee).  He's probably just ridden horseback to Walter Reed. My take on this photo is he and wooly mammoth cardigan have both come to visit Lyle, when one of them asked the nurse, "Hey, how does this thing work?"
Umbrellas 'r' usLyle Lovett also appears to have a brollie handle hooked over the rim of his cylinder.
Perhaps there's an heretofore unknown connection between precipitation protectors and lower-limb therapy?
Perhaps once they've soaked in the cauldron long enough, the nurse joins them in a rousing rendition of "Knees up Mother Brown"!
Getting to PhysiotherapyInstead of an umbrella, isn't that a cane held with a newspaper?  Lyle Lovett has a cane, too--a sobering reminder of why these young men are here.  (I do like the mirror over the little shelf; I imagine someone shaving while trying to immerse himself in the larger bath.)  
(The Gallery, D.C., Medicine, Natl Photo)

Knott's Berry Farm: 1964
... photos so much, why aren't you complaining about the Dickey Christmas pictures? They're just a family sitting by a Christmas tree, for ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 02/10/2018 - 9:35pm -

I feel this image is appropriate for my first official Shorpy "Jump the Shark" submission. Me, my father and brother (in the car) at Knott's Berry Farm, August 1964. Shot on 35mm Montgomery Ward brand slide film. View full size.
My Brother the CardIt's ... Jack Kerouac! Love the beatnik goatee. And tterrace, you certainly turned into the handsome rake!
[Better that than tripping on a homely hoe. - Dave]
Tom Sawyer's Island You are driving a replica 1905 Dalrymple Surrey. (OK. Actually made that up as a shout-out to all the folks who add so much great info to this site.)
But the family was there at Knott's Berry Farm a year later, 1965, me 8 years old. Next day Disneyland where I got separated from my folks for about an hour when they let me take the raft to Tom Sawyer's Island and couldn't find my way back for some reason – maybe there were two landings and which was the correct one confused me. For the rest of my life Pops used "gone to Tom Sawyer's Island" as a euphemism for "where the hell is that boy."
GardeningThe rake, the hoe. That was very clever. Love the site by the way.
Maynard G Krebs and GregMaynard G Krebs and Greg Brady, together at last! 
=D
Shark spotterI don't see a single shark and nobody is jumping. Keep on Shorping, please.
Know Shark JumpingWhat a superb web site-
Great to see some of your story too! Everybody has a story.
I grew up knowing some Higginbothams. 
Shark, schmark.Loved the picture...and nearly choked on my iced coffee on these comments. (Seriously. "Maynard & Greg" put my laptop in peril of a coffee shower!) 
"Dalrymple Surrey." "Tom Sawyer's Island" euphemism. Half the fun of Shorpy is the reaction to the photos!
GravitasAh, yes, this picture shows the shark jumping the shark for sure!  This pic ranks with the War Between the States photos taken in the field.  It ranks with the WW2 photos of our fighting men and women.  It ranks with the unforgettable Dust Bowl photos.  Please, more of this juvenile stuff.  OY VEY !  
Family photosHey, Eddie L! If you hate these family photos so much, why aren't you complaining about the Dickey Christmas pictures? They're just a family sitting by a Christmas tree, for crying out loud! Where's the societal importance in that?
tterrace - keep sharing your photos! I love them, these are the pictures that will make up our history for generations to come.
Ore SubjectAnd I have yet to get over not getting to pan for gold at Knott's Berry Farm. I'm sure my youthful, yet unseemly, protest at the injustice of it all made an effective promo for Zero Population Growth. 
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Travel & Vacation, tterrapix)

Fayetteville: 1941
... Security Administration. View full size. Merry Christmas Christmas won't be Christmas without another Dickey snap in front of the tree but I guess we'll muddle through somehow. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/25/2018 - 11:40am -

March 1941. "Traffic on the main street of Fayetteville, North Carolina at about five o'clock, when the workers start coming out at Fort Bragg." Medium format negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Merry ChristmasChristmas won't be Christmas without another Dickey snap in front of the tree but I guess we'll muddle through somehow.
A very merry Christmas to Shorpy and all the Shorpy-ites! I look forward to another year of excellent pictures and even more excellent comments.
US 15 ASpecial routes of U.S. Route 15:
U.S. Route 15 Alterboro–Creedmoor alternate route
Existed	1936–1957
Established in 1936 as a renumbering of U.S. Route 401, from the South Carolina state line to Creedmoor, going through the cities of Laurinburg, Raeford, Fayetteville, Lillington, and Raleigh. In 1950, South Carolina discontinued the US 15A concurrency with US 15, but was not till 1953 when North Carolina followed and moved US 15A's southern terminus in Laurinburg. In 1957, US 15A was renumbered back to US 401.

(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano, Stores & Markets)
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