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Mustang in Flight: 1942
... California, plant of North American Aviation. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. View full size. Paint? Did ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/29/2022 - 12:08pm -

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

Kodachrome Wedding: 1956
... California circa 1956 for the next in this series of Kodachrome slides, which finds us at a wedding with the bridesmaids in Easter ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/15/2012 - 8:30pm -

We return to Southern California circa 1956 for the next in this series of Kodachrome slides, which finds us at a wedding with the bridesmaids in Easter egg pastels, carrying matching bouquets of dyed carnations. View full size.
Wait!There is something wrong here. The bridesmaids' dresses are pretty.
A-veiled themselvesHow come the bridesmaids are also wearing veils? I do like that the groomsmen go up in size as they move out the side of the frame.
Love the Bridesmaids!Those dresses are in classic 1950s colors -- Pink, Yellow and Blue were very popular, as was Coral and shades of Pastel Green.
UpsettingIt always depresses me when photos and slides like this are found in thrift stores, antique malls, eBay, garage sales and the garbage. This was a very special moment to these people, is no one left alive from the group to care for these memories?  I hate to see anyone's life discarded and forgotten.
Beautiful colors!Wow! Those are actually very pretty bridesmaid dresses. Very well done for whomever selected them (I assume the bride). She has very nice taste. I can just imagine them getting into their pastel colored Oldsmobiles, DeSotos, and Mercurys.
Re: A-Veiled ThemselvesI don't know much about bridal fashion history, but I know from family photos that when my aunt and uncle were married in 1958 the bridesmaids wore veils with their dresses.  The same happened when my parents were married in 1971.  
Handsome gentlemen, beautiful ladies, a 56-year belated congratulations to the happy couple!
JezebellesLinkage love from Jezebel:
http://jezebel.com/5918760/1956-wedding-photo-blows-minds-with-dyed+to+m...
(SoCal 1956 Kodachromes)

Kids, Pontiacs, Kodachrome: 1953
My best friend and his sister with a 1953 Pontiac on a late afternoon in front of their home in Larkspur, California. Since their own family car was the 1941 Pontiac in the background, I'm assuming this shot was taken by the owner of the new one. ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2015 - 3:10pm -

My best friend and his sister with a 1953 Pontiac on a late afternoon in front of their home in Larkspur, California. Since their own family car was the 1941 Pontiac in the background, I'm assuming this shot was taken by the owner of the new one. The dealer, Bianco, was a long-time car dealership in Marin County up through the 2000s. At the time David and I were in the first grade together at Larkspur-Corte Madera School, just three blocks away. Earlier this year you saw us both at his sixth birthday party in this photo. He's no longer with us, but his sister has loaned me her family photos to peruse and has given me permission to post this scan I made of this particularly Kodachromalicious slide. View full size.
Faulty equipmentLooks like the (then) mandatory "curb feelers" must have been broken that day! 
[Narrow streets; that was the standard way to park in that neighborhood. -tterrace]
Real ColorsThe rich-looking color on that '53 was called "Stardust Blue."  In those days, auto buyers had not only their choice of an array of vibrant colors (instead of the limited, ubiquitous, and ho-hum metallics we're stuck with today), but there was also a little romance in the color names.  How times do change!
Cars were Cars and Kids were Kids.Can you even sit on a front car fender these days? Chrome and colors and all the room one could desire in an automobile. There's nothing like these old cars and never will be, great picture thanks for sharing.
RIP DavidSorry you had to leave so soon. Good shot, Tterrace, nice you have it. 
We showed up for the new car shot, too. Dad would show it around saying "new car and the kids, growing like weeds". As my aunt grew in age and size she would pose movie star-type glamour sitting on the fender. Today's vehicles are too flimsy to sit even a small dog without worry of a dent. I haven't seen curb feelers since the 50s when city neighborhood streets were too small to park, and others to drive simultaneously. To this day if I hit the curb I remember dad admonishing me "you're going to have to clean those whitewalls!!" , which I haven't had in decades. 
PontiacsMy family had a 1952 2-door straight 8 sedan.  It wasn't nearly as neat a color as this '53, being kind of a pea soup green.  Until I was about 9, my parents always bought 2-door cars, the assumption being that the kids in the back seat would not fall out in an accident.  I notice that the little girl's shoes have been removed to protect the new car finish.
American PrideWhat a great picture!! The spanking new Pontiac, resplendent in its elegant blue gray and deep, shiny, hexavalent chrome plating. Its 12-year-old big brother was a loved and pampered possession, as well, looking as new as the '53. I like to think that at least one of them survived.
Laurel GreenAs I recall the 1953 Pontiac Catalina two-door hardtop (my first car) was only available in various combinations of that horrible "Laurel Green" and "Milano Ivory".  
Narrow Streets IndeedThis photo reminds me, fondly, of my senior year at San Rafael High School.  I had a friend who lived "up the hill" from the Corte Madera School and several of us used that then undeveloped area as our favorite area for watching the Marin County Submarine Races.  To say the streets were narrow does not adequately describe them and I often wonder how we managed to climb and descend those cow paths without toppling over the edge.  
Mine was a '55In 1963, as soon as I turned 18 (earliest driving age in NYC at the time), I bought my uncle's 1955 Pontiac sedan.  Big old 4-door, two-tone blue if my memory serves.  Automatic transmission, but no power steering or power brakes.  Car lasted about a year.
My Dad's was a '54 (I think)And I suspect it started out the same Stardust Blue as the one in tterrace's slide, but years of southern sun had bleached it. The other car under the carport was--I believe--a '59 Olds.
In this slide, my dad, who was a commercial pilot, had his flight bag sitting on the fender with, as always, a thermos of coffee. Taken in Houma, Louisiana.
My dad loved that old car.
I'll bet that new car got a lot of attention from neighborsIn the olden times, when a neighbor got a new car, it would attract considerable attention. I recall our neighbor in Walnut, California bought a 1965 Pontiac GTO. I think it was yellow. We kids ooohed and awed, and the other Dads muttered approving comments. I got to sit in it!
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)

The Kodachrome Hills: 1942
... Company at Hoskins Mound, Texas." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon, Office of War Information. Crane ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 1:58pm -

May 1943. "Nearly exhausted sulfur vat from which railroad cars are loaded. Freeport Sulphur Company at Hoskins Mound, Texas." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon, Office of War Information.
CraneInteresting.  A crane on the rails.  Was it attached to a rail car of some sort?
CraneBrent,  Thanks for taking the time to explain.
SulfurWhen I was a small child in Galveston, there would be scores of gondola cars on the same train, full of sulfur. Likely mined somewhere like this.
[This is where they stored the sulfur after it was extracted. - Dave]
Re: Crane"Interesting. A crane on the rails. Was it attached to a rail car of some sort?"
If you look at the full size version of the picture you can see that the crane is part of a rail car. It is turned sideways to handle the sulfur which is why the back end sticks out over the sides of the rail car. 
Crane cars are hardly uncommon. Most railroads have a wreck train on call at division points in the event of serious derailments and those trains invariably include a crane. For an industry like this where they are using trains to move product out of the pit a steam crane mounted on a railroad car is just about ideal - mobile and doesn't require extra space to move in. These days of course most open pit mines don't use rails to move product out but truck that would make your basic monster truck look like a Hot Wheel.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, John Vachon, Mining, Railroads)

Color My World: 1952
... Mid-century New England, in what could have been an ad for Kodachrome film. 35mm color transparency found on eBay. View full size. ... Most folks back in the 'Colorful' 1950s couldn't afford Kodachrome Film. It's a shame Linda's family doesn't have these wonderful ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/23/2013 - 4:13pm -

"Linda 1952." Mid-century New England, in what could have been an ad for Kodachrome film. 35mm color transparency found on eBay. View full size.
Linda's on my mindThe little girl in this Subaru commercial made me think of Linda the first time I saw it. Seeing this great picture of Linda today just confirms it.
http://youtu.be/UO6ztkW4ulw
She's a Sexagenarian!Most folks back in the 'Colorful' 1950s couldn't afford Kodachrome Film. It's a shame Linda's family doesn't have these wonderful photos to treasure. Thanks for bringing them to us, Shorpy!
KodachromeDave's comment on this picture as an ad for Kodachrome is right on.  My dad was a professional photographer who always spoke of Kodachrome with a kind of reverence.  This picture, in its depth, reveals why.
Beautiful!It looks like it was taken last week instead of 60 years ago, except of course the swing is made of metal instead of plastic, and there are all kinds of exposed bolts, pivots and chains that can cut, pinch and smash the tender parts.
Look out for the nailIt looks like somebody stuck a rusty nail in one of the chain links. Maybe the photographer found it on the ground and stuck it there while taking the picture. This is a very good quality picture.
[The rusty fastener is a screw or bolt. - Dave]
How did we live to be adultsI am probably just a year or two older than Linda. In the early 50s my neighbor had one of those swing sets with all of the exposed hardware mentioned in "Vintagetvs" earlier post.
But worse yet, in order to not have a muddy area under the swings the area was covered with steel "diamond deck" under the whole footprint of the swing. In today's world it would have to be some form of soft mulch in case someone falls off.
Good Greens!Not only is this a super photo in itself, but it also proves that Kodachrome could render greens in a realistic way. Years ago, some photographers would grouse that the film wasn't capable of that.
Wrong!
Sorry Dave,But that is a rusty nail stuck into the middle of the chain.
[Incorrect. Next! - Dave]
Swing highI wonder how we made it through childhood alive also.  What I remember most is the thrill of seeing how high you could swing before the legs of the swingset started lifting off the ground!!  Unless someone got smart and cemented them in!  Fun days.  I love the "Linda" series because she is about my age and I remember so much of what we see in these photos!  Thanks, Shorpy!!
Nails and ChainsThat's how you adjusted the length of the chains on the swing seat for kids with short legs or long legs.
The other way was to toss the seat over the top of the frame in order to wrap the chains around the pipe, thus raising the seat higher from the ground.
Sigh!  Another folk skill lost.
Carriage BoltThat's what it looks like to me.
Lockjaw? Nah.The height adjusting "S" hook must have been needed elsewhere.  In order for that particular sitting position to function as designed, an alternate splice was required, probably installed by one of the machines operators.  My guess is the multi purpose carriage bolt.  A wonderful picture, with the original transparency sitting on Shorpys desk, next to the loupe.
Rusty fastenerIt looks like a carriage bolt has been used to repair the chain. The link from below has been pulled through the link above and the bolt passed through. It's hard to see but I believe there may be a square nut on the end. The other chain for the seat has been shortened with what looks like an "S" hook, probably to level the seat after the repair.
Re: Nails and ChainsWe had a swing set of the same vintage, complete with the skin-tearing nuts and bolts and eventually a rough patina of rust, plus the humpity-thumpity of the legs lifting off the ground when someone swang too high, evoked so well by pattyanne.  But the way we used to adjust the height of the swings was by pulling up an equal number of links on both chains and attaching the chain to the J-shaped fastener not by the top link as on Linda's set but by, say, the tenth link.  That way, you wouldn't have to insert yet another scrape-producing metal item into the child's hand zone.  You could also toss the seat over the top of the frame, as LarryDoyle recalls, but that was considered the, uh, rowdy solution.
ShackledRe: the high swinging comments.  My Dad made a safety investment for us rowdy boys.  Our swingset had shackles on the legs that were chained to corkscrew like stakes.  I remember that it was noisy.
Safety FirstI remember putting one of those things together back in the 1960s. It took me two weekends and I was super careful in order to be sure the construction would be sound and the kids using it would be safe. At the end I ran into a problem, there were a lot of left over nuts, screws, bolts and other fasteners. The children were ready to ride but I wouldn't let them. This was before stores were open on Sundays. On Monday I called the manufacturer directly ( 800 numbers were scarce then) to check on my work. They assured me that always packed lots of extras and that if I followed the assembly instructions there shouldn't be any problems. We sold the house about 15 years later, the backyard gym was still there, ready for the new owners kids.
No "monkey bars"Linda's swing set is pretty elaborate. The one we had didn't have the "monkey bars" that go across the top where Linda is climbing on hers.
But that's okay. We got our jollies not simply trying to see how high you could swing, but how high you could swing then hop out of the seat and go flying!
(Kids, Linda Kodachromes)

Father's Day: 1964
... is Father's Day, but going by the date imprinted on this Kodachrome slide mount it's certainly plausible. This is on the deck seen ... This review has a few sample photos. Kodachrome, RIP After 74 Years, Kodak Kills Kodachrome NEW YORK ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 4:46pm -

I can't guarantee this is Father's Day, but going by the date imprinted on this Kodachrome slide mount it's certainly plausible. This is on the deck seen previously, with our dog Missie and my mother engrossed in the paper under the grape arbor. Today I'm six months older than my father is here, which in some undefinable way doesn't seem possible. View full size.
How old is mom?I'm "only" 52, but somehow I don't see myself dressing or wearing my hair like Mom any time in the next decade. Women were much older then. The glasses are kind of retro-cool, though!
Momma's Boyfrand?Gee, what a surprise.  Momma's boyfriend was her husband and babies' momma was his wife.  Although so many are surprised by this idyllic picture of a fully functioning and secure family, this beautiful arrangement was the way it was for most people up until the 60's when everything went to hell in a handbasket.   Can any sociologist put their finger on why it all changed into the "anything goes" clans we have today?  I am not judging, just trying to figure out why so many are so mixed up.  I don't have any answers but sometimes it does seem as if we are being less civilized instead of more.  'Twas so good to be young then.  
Mom and PopWhat I love about your parents is that they are so entirely comfortable with who they are.
Mr. TerraceA handsome and elegant looking man.
That is one happy dog!This is a wonderful shot. I love the interaction between your father and Missie.
When grownups dressed like grownupsI like the way men dressed back in the day. No cargo shorts, graphic tees, ballcaps and ridiculous looking hi-tech sneakers.
Tempus fugit>> I'm six months older than my father is here, which in some undefinable way doesn't seem possible.
I know exactly how you feel. I recently turned 65 and the granddaughters are the focus now. Happy Grandfather's Day!
Contentedness  They don't look like they're always looking to get even with someone.
Time does that, doesn't it?I too have past the milestone mark of my father, although he died in 1982, at age 62 and nine months. I am now 63, so have passed the magic number.  Mind suspect as we all age, we can't help thinking, "How did we reach this numbered age that we now find ourselves?"
Banding togetherDid Papa Terrace usually wear a wedding band? Mother Terrace?
Your Fatherknew how to see - to really see as an artist does completely and fully at one with his subject.  Did he paint or have some other creative expression?
Wait just a minute.>> I'm six months older than my father is here, which in some undefinable way doesn't seem possible.
Obviously there's been some mistake. You're a little kid splashing around in the water!
Those NumbersMy father died December 2, 2001 at age 97. My mother on April 7, 2008 at age 103. Neither one ever smoked and I think that added to their longevity. In my wildest dreams I don't think I could ever reach those numbers and I'm not sure that I want to.
Sweet SpotDad has found the spot that hypnotizes Missie.  She is blissfully zoned out.
My Father"[Your father] knew how to see - to really see as an artist does completely and fully at one with his subject. Did he paint or have some other creative expression?"
My father's creative expression was our yard, of which the deck and arbor here and the cut flower garden seen below are just small portions. It wasn't just a yard, but something of a world unto itself, especially to a little kid growing up in it.
Childhood's End"Obviously there's been some mistake. You're a little kid splashing around in the water!"
Not quite, Dave. I grew up and became the person you see in my profile picture, gazing out the window at something only I could see.
Carnation generationI wish I knew the trick to growing carnations like that. Mum and Dad and Missie all look so in sync. Or is that controlled calm around the time the sons were hooning around in convertible tanks? Hmm? And I think they are snappy dressers and neat as a pin. Just can't get over those bushels of carnations. They must have smelled divine!
People were contentI'm not a sociologist, but I can guess that the people who lived through the Depression were happy with and grateful for everything they had.  Their world was small, and they were content with that.  
With the advent of TV, children started seeing a larger world and comparing their families with the families on TV -- and what parents could live up to Ozzie and Harriet Nelson or Charles and Caroline Ingalls?  
Moreover, TV introduced people to a world of "stuff."  No longer did the Jones family just live next door, we wanted to keep up with the Jones family that lived in LA or NYC.  The more we see, the more we want.   
DIY AncestorsSpeaking of family photos, has anybody come across "I Am My Family"?  It's a book of ancestral photos with quite a difference -- the photographer is posing as his own ancestors.  A bit odd, but quite an accomplishment. This review has a few sample photos.
Kodachrome, RIPAfter 74 Years, Kodak Kills Kodachrome
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kodachrome, the film brand touted as the stuff of memories, is about to become a memory itself as Eastman Kodak stops production due to overwhelming competition from digital cameras.
CarnationsThe first thing you have to do is live in the right place and California certainly qualifies, especially if you live somewhere along the coast.  Everything I stuck in the ground grew including carnations but especially begonias.  It's the combination of lots of sun and moist breezes off the ocean.  Wish I were still there.
Carnations vs. pinksThose little low-growing jobbies are pinks, which of course are a kind of carnation. We had a bunch of actual carnations, as well. And yes, the scent is one of those aromas that always sends me back in time. I must have a zillion slides of flowers from Father's garden, but now I wish I'd taken more of people and buildings (and cars!) back then instead.
Those were the daysWhat lovely pic of times gone by. And yesterday is only around the corner. Love every detail of that picture. Even the dog enjoys a day in a time when it was all so innocent, so not today.  
At the risk of striking a discordant noteThe comments here tend mostly to view the past through extremely 'rose-tinted' spectacles.
My memories of the late 1940's and those years immediately following are not reflected in these pictures.
My experiences of those times were brutal and mean.
I would not want to have the dentistry and medicine of those times practiced upon me now.
I would not want the brutish parenting of those days to be repeated.
The kids in those times were tough; bullying was considered a rite of passage. You sucked it up or were called a sissy.
The teachers at school were rarely kind and discipline was meted out without the right to have one's opinion respected. The 'law' was to not 'talk back'.
I could never celebrate Father's Day.
Mine went missing in action at sea fighting for his country and against tyranny.
My mother received that fateful telegram a week before she went in to have me.
Our lives changed forever. 
I come from an alcoholic home; most of my friends lived the same experience.
Many of us were not 'middle class' like those represented here. We did not own our own home or car.
We traveled by streetcar and waited on freezing cold days
at car stops.
We didn't live in the temperate climates often pictured here.
Compared to many of our neighbors, we had it fairly good.
Some of the kids at my school literally walked around in rags.
Many did not know from where the next meal was coming.
I'm not saying this to be rancorous or negative.
I feel it important to give the rest of the picture.
I, most definitely, would not want to return to 'those days'.
The amazing thing about memory is that it only recalls the
pleasant times. I guess it is that, that keeps us relatively sane.
That is all to the good.
The world is NOT going to hell in a hand-basket.
'The world is unfolding as it should.'
Let the past be the past.
The future awaits.
Our noses were pressed to the glassTterrace, I love your pictures of the '50s, '60s and '70s, though the world they memorialize was not my world. Instead I grew up poor in the Midwest, and I do mean poor -- without a dad, and with a multiplicity of revolving-door stepdads and "uncles." Guess you'd say Mom was ahead of her time with her free-wheeling love life. Believe me, it wasn't that much fun for my siblings and me.
Thank goodness for friends with kind mothers and fathers like yours. We saw that another way of life was possible, and the times we spent with them were among our happiest memories. What wouldn't I have given for your parents and your life!
The '70s blew by me and the values of that era were (and still are) as alien as if they had come from Mars.  I was too busy trying to create what your hard-working folks gave to you and your siblings.  
Thanks for these lovely, lovely pictures.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Dogs, tterrapix)

On the Range: 1942
... horse and dog on Gravelly Range, Madison County, Montana." Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. View full size. beautiful dog. ... sites are on the web, so the era isn't dead yet. Kodachrome 4x5 Yes, this was a 4x5 Kodachrome transparency, scanned at 1800 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/07/2017 - 11:17am -

August 1942. "Shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range, Madison County, Montana." Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. View full size.
beautiful dog. Really!beautiful dog. Really!
Woof.My sister had a dog, Shannon, that looked just like this one. Memories ...
What a wonderful photo, lookWhat a wonderful photo, look at the depth of field, just a beautiful portrait.
Going back to filmWhat you said the other day is right- digital still can't touch an image like that. I'm getting my 35mm back out and buying some good transparency film.
Looking at this you can feel the starchy stiffness of those jeans, the soft suede of that lambskin coat, and you can hear that dog just whining a little bit. Incredible.
Hey, why's he wearing a big heavy coat in August anyway?
baaaaaahhhwhat is digital?  The photo is a masterpiece.  A digital camera is a paint by number. This is art.  
Shepherd, Horse and ManThe dog appears to be an English Shepherd--a common farm dog in the US through the 50's. This one is a Sable. The Black and Whites look like Border Collies and they are a sort of Collie, but vastly different in temperament. They are a very intelligent dog, often noted to be able to work on their own. They sort of take you over so you can't work without them too.
Many of us have English Shepherds today as all purpose farm dogs, but the numbers are small and this breed is going the way of farms. . . .
The picture really needs to read: Shepherd, his horse and man. Clint Eastwood will play the Man in an upcoming documentary. . . .
Film?!?!  I don't think so!!!!!Hey guys - You can stop your glotting over the "wonderful film" photo.  Get real!  This isn't a film photo!  It's digital.  The film print has been scanned in order to even show it on this website.  All the photos you see on the web are "digital" images.
Shazam!
"Glotting"Sometimes a person just can't help but glot.
Anonymous Tipster: have youAnonymous Tipster: have you ever been in the high country of Montana early in the day? You'd best have a pretty good coat available; because, my friend: it gets a little chilly there. Those people that live, farm, and ranch out there are nobody's fools.
A thousand wordsAwesome photo .. Sad to know it was so long ago.
Probably Shot With a 4 X 5The lack of grain in the original at such a huge size shows this picture wasn't shot even with anything as "small" as the old Kodak 620 film size, a bit larger than 120.  It probably was shot with a 4-inch by 5-inch camera — maybe even an 8 X 10 because the shot looks like it might be commercial. It could be a glass transparency. 
In 1942, the best (fastest) ASA (ISO) rating of color film would have been about 20, maybe 25, which would contribute to the photo's lack of grain.
Supporting this is the relatively short depth of field seen with the soft background focus. It wasn't shot at ƒ16, 11 or 8. Probably ƒ4.5 because of the slow film. ƒ2.8, if the lens could open that wide — which I doubt — likely would have thrown the background more out of focus.
But the foreground depth of field remains sharp. Because of that I think the print, even as it stands, is an enlargement, furthering my 4 X 5 lack-of-grain contention. The foreground is really hardly any further back than the subjects are. It's too sharp. The camera, I'd bet, is a Graflex.
No evidence of fill flash, which makes sense because the flashbulbs would have been white. Blue bulbs for proper color balance (if it was considered) would have been rare, if they existed.
A few large-format photography sites are on the web, so the era isn't dead yet.
Kodachrome 4x5Yes, this was a 4x5 Kodachrome transparency, scanned at 1800 dpi and then way downsized. I believe they also made 5x7 and 8x10 sizes at the time.

4 X 5Thanks for that info, Dave! It's full-frame, not enlarged. Love it!
The scan is digital, of course, as a previous poster said. But no 35mm negative, even a digital image, could be enlarged so beautifully. I dunno what the pixel count would have to be on a 4 X 5 studio camera to equal this. It might not be possible. 
4x5For what it's worth they say either EASTMAN -- SAFETY -- KODAK 62 or EASTMAN -- SAFETY -- KODAK 3 along one edge.
Horse, Dog and ManThe character in the man's face is so deep and quiet. He has seen hard life and probably served in WW1 but returned to finish his life in solitude with his solid horse and faithful dog.  Look how the dog is waiting for his master to move.
What an incredible photo! Thank you so much.
English ShepherdThey are great dogs.  I am a big fan.  There is one in the True Blood series.  It's the one who the shape-shifter (bar-owner) character turns into. 
Shepherd or Sheep HerderDon't ask me why but out Montana/Idaho way, all the locals call them "sheep herders" not "shepherds."  Many of them are of Basque heritage as this gent looks to be.
Late eighties I worked in the Forest Service and would run into these gents all the time, many spoke barely a word of English.  Alone out in the middle of nowhere for months at a time, looked pretty rough.
Short Range?Speaking of ranges, the rifle-in-scabbard is visible. I wonder if he was carrying a handgun as well.
To honor 3 noble creaturesSaw this some time ago in an earlier post and, for numerous reasons, this is likely the most beautiful picture you've ever published.  All 3 creatures had names - wish we knew those. They all moved on to greener pastures long ago.
Thank You AllOnly the Shorpy community could have responded with the range of inputs to this fabulous photo. I'm proud to think of myself as one of you.
Go west, old man...I haven't wanted to be a cowboy since I was 8, but now I do again.
It's Curly!This guy looks like Curly from City Slickers.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Dogs, Horses, Russell Lee)

Memorial Day: 1942
... School in Southington, Conn. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Fenno Jacobs. Kodachrome, what else? This picture is another testimonial to the superb ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 10:26pm -

May 1942. Patriotic display at the Beecher Street School in Southington, Conn.  View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Fenno Jacobs.
Kodachrome, what else?This picture is another testimonial to the superb color rendition (look at he skin tones!) and archival qualities of Kodachrome (in this case Kodachrome 25, I assume). Too bad Kodak has stopped manufacturing Kodachrome in 4x5 sheets. The pictures on this site I like best are the ones where the full size also shows the borders of the slide with the notches that indicate that the film is Kodachrome ("WWVV").
Did someone say notches?
Aspect ratioJust out of curiosity: Is this the entire slide or a crop? Somehow the aspect ratio doesn't seem to fit 4x5.
Also, the shallow depth of field (only a couple of feet, indicating a wide aperture) and the slow shutter speed (1/25 to 1/50 judging by the motion blur in the flags) on a sunny day somehow don't make sense for a "normal" 135 to 150 mm. lens, unless this is a 50% (diagonally) crop of the original.
[See previous comment below for the uncropped original. - Dave]
Notches!Thanks for posting the entire slide, which also defeats my reasoning about a possible crop. The only explanation left is that this picture was taken with a mild tele/portrait lens (for 4x5), something around 250 mm/ 10 inches.
Ahh Immigration...You can easily discern the Polish girls from the Italian girls. Ask kids today what nationality they are?
They say ... American.
Let's not forget what made us great!
ASA 10Was probably ASA 8 or a blazing 10. K25 wasn't introduced until much later. 
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Fenno Jacobs, Patriotic, WW2)

Kodachrome Crowd: 1958
How to dress for Knott's Berry Farm, California, on a gray day in February 1958. One of my sister's honeymoon Kodachromes. View full size. KBF It's fun seeing the old Knott's Berry Farm before it got all smarty-pants to compete with Dis ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:12pm -

How to dress for Knott's Berry Farm, California, on a gray day in February 1958. One of my sister's honeymoon Kodachromes. View full size.
KBFIt's fun seeing the old Knott's Berry Farm before it got all smarty-pants to compete with Disneyland and Magic Mountain. As a kid I enjoyed the train ride, the haunted shack that seemed to defy gravity, and the old codger sitting in the outhouse, who somehow knew your name when you looked through the window. And a lot of the little girls were still wearing dresses.
Master of the Obvious (#1)Let me be the first in line to point out the white lady and black or Hispanic man and their kids.
"Hey, there's a white lady with a black or Hispanic man. And they have kids!"
[Isn't it interesting how tterrace's title for this post works on several levels. - Dave]
Many a Sunday afternoonOn many a Sunday afternoon my family went to Knott's. No fence, no gate and no admission fee. In 1958 I was 10 and I have carefully examined the photo looking for myself, but I am not to be found. It is interesting that the mixed-race family is attracting attention from those on the left of the photo. Today no one would even see them. 
We did all dress nicely back then, didn't we!
Vehicle trendsThis shot also brings to mind the inverse relationship between the sizes of automobiles and those of baby strollers over the past 50 years.
Vehicle Trends reduxYet, the stroller manufacturers are still making the rear axle a trip zone for fathers' toes.  Fifty years ago and that father is pushing the stroller the same way my husband pushes our Graco. Some pricier models and jogging strollers have extended handles that eliminate the toe-scuff/tripping problem.  
Do you think that baby's bottle is glass?  I have to tether anything I let my son carry, whether he's in the stroller or on my back.
Ah, 1958I, too, was 10 in 1958 and we traveled from Minneapolis to LA to visit Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm.  I looked for myself in these but that would be too much of a coincidence ... but you never know! Love the innocence of the time!
Interracial CoupleI noticed that couple right away, and felt certain the man must be Filipino, but he could be Hispanic. The miscegenation laws were declared unconstitutional in 1948 (my Filipino grandfather and white grandmother had to go out of California to marry in 1939). I wonder what their lives were like. At times it's confusing to be biracial in 2008; it must have been so much more so fifty years ago.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Travel & Vacation, tterrapix)

B-25: 1942
... City, Kansas, plant of North American Aviation." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. View ... hardly changed for over 70 years and counting. Ahh, Kodachrome I'm always so jealous when I see you've posted something from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 4:46pm -

October 1942. "A new B-25 bomber is brought for a test hop to the flight line at the Kansas City, Kansas, plant of North American Aviation." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. View full size.
Kansas, not California?The photo was more likely taken at the North American/Army aviation plant in Kansas City, KS (Fairfax) - not Long Beach as the caption says.  The white horizontal strip in the background is a graveled levee along the Missouri River.
The photo is probably taken near the old B-25 plant (NW of Fairfax Airport) with the plant to your left and looking north at the levee.
The Fairfax B-25 plant was demolished years ago and the Fairfax airport closed and re-developed into a GM auto plant.  Parts of this concrete apron are still there though.
Darby Steel was busy building most of the LCTs to be used in WW2 just to the west of the Fairfax B-25 plant.  KCK was a busy place in 1942.
[Original LOC caption for this photo: "A fast, hard-hitting new A-20 attack bomber is brought for a test hop to the flight line at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company." Evidently someone got their planes (and factories) confused. - Dave]
For the record ...I did some more reading and the Darby facilities were apparently in the West Bottoms industrial district "south" of the Fairfax plant, where the Kaw River (Kansas River) joins the Missouri River, and not to the west of Fairfax.
One of the Fairfax B-25s returned to KC a couple of weeks ago for an airshow at the Downtown Airport, across the river from Fairfax.  One of the WASP ferry pilots showed up for a ride.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/1398087.html
Aircraft TugWith all due respect to the B-25s, the real hero of this image is the innocuous little yellow aircraft tug. To this day, tugs like this are a fixture on civilian and military airfields, as well as on aircraft carriers.  Its basic design has hardly changed for over 70 years and counting. 
Ahh, KodachromeI'm always so jealous when I see you've posted something from Kodachrome. That transparency probably looks as good as the day it was processed. What I'd give to be able to get some of the stuff for my 4x5. I'll just have to use up the two rolls of 25 speed I have before the end of next year.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)

Tantucket: 1957
... sunbathing. Also Fishing, Lounging, Teenagers." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Sports Illustrated assignment "Nantucket ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/19/2023 - 10:17am -

August 1957. "Nantucket sunbathing. Also Fishing, Lounging, Teenagers." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Sports Illustrated assignment "Nantucket Essay." View full size.
Cliffside clubbersThis looks like the Cliffside Beach Club off Jefferson Avenue. We hoi polloi would either use the "Gaza Strip", a continuation of Jefferson Ave down to the water's edge, shown at the upper right between the two high fences, or go to Jetties Beach around the corner beyond the breakwater.
Umbrellas a la OCDIs there a beach umbrella liner-upper? I've never seen a beach this coordinated.
Limericks --I guess we have to make up our own.
UmbrellalignmentLooks like they're still lining them up today!!
Re: UmbrellalignmentGreat headline on my posting! Thanks!!
[Please, no applause -- just throw money! - Dave]
Hah --Even back then, one could tell 2-percenters at the beach. And there probably isn't beach service where they're sitting, so kudos for roughing it.
The Hoi PolloiIn 1957, I would have been one of the kids past this beach down by the Jetties at the public beach. My mom and my grandmother took us to the public beach every day and had sandwiches. No swimming for an hour! But, there often was a sandbar for us to play and dig on. No sandbar? Let's jump off the dunes. And, at the end of the day, a peach ice cream cone (sometimes). Like so many beach clubs in the northeast, there was a fleet of teenage boys that set up the umbrellas both here at the Cliffside (better tips!) and the public beach where there was also a bathhouse for changing that my grandmother rented. We kept all our stuff there. And we had a specific umbrella and a spot on the beach too. No need to pay for a fancy beach. That was for the New Yorkers. When this series of pictures came out, there was a black and white photo of a boy in the Jetties bathhouse. My family was sure it was me. Maybe it was! Thanks for the photo.
Tanning OilThese two beach beauties are glistening under a layer of what might very well be nothing more than Johnson's Baby Oil, which had an SPF factor of just about zero.  It's the primary reason why we used to come home from the beach 65 years ago practically glowing in the dark.
This photo was taken in 1957 when Nantucket was actually still almost affordable for a middle class family looking for a nice beach vacation or even a modest second vacation home.  Today?  Median home price for the entire island is $3.3 million; average price is $4.4 million.  On the water?  You might have to add a zero.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Swimming, Toni Frissell)

The Singing Kings: 1965
... ABC-TV musical variety series The King Family ." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon for Look magazine. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/08/2023 - 7:57pm -

March 1965. "The King Family -- including the King Sisters, King Kiddies and King Cousins  -- with actor Robert Clarke and others on the set of the ABC-TV musical variety series The King Family." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon for Look magazine. View full size.
Robert Clarkeis probably best known for his appearances on the '60s run of "Dragnet." He usually played a businessman who'd done something terrible such as run down a child on a trike.
He was the star of 1960's "Beyond the Time Barrier," a rather odd but sincere movie in which the X-15 Clarke is piloting breaks the time barrier, and he winds up in a desolate 2024.  Everybody's dying because the layer of atmosphere that protects us from cosmic radiation was destroyed by nuclear testing.
Oh Blanche!Everything is so ... white ...
Creeeee-peeeyI'm old enough to remember groups like this that were weird and square.
The Alvino Rey GunThe man playing banjo is Alvino Rey, a somewhat famous guitarist of the era who was married to one of the King sisters. A vintage guitar shop is actually offering one of his guitars for sale, the rare custom color 1960 Fender Telecaster shown below.
And by the way, the headline is lifted from a line that I will always remember from the original 1960s Batman TV show with Adam West.

Sign of the timesThe King Family Show, which had a loyal following but was never especially successful in the ratings, was an obvious attempt to create something in the category of "The Lawrence Welk Show" or "Sing Along With Mitch," but appealing to a younger demographic. Beyond that unlikely prospect, it reflected growing desperation in the entertainment industry, as well as general-interest publications like Look, to hold on to wholesome "family" content at a time when the culture was fragmenting. (1965 was also the year that "Up With People" was formed out of elements from the Moral Re-Armament movement. UWP's most famous veteran is probably Glenn Close -- before 'Fatal Attraction,' of course.)
Originally "W. King Driggs and his Family of Entertainers"The oldest person in the photo (holding a studded cane on the left, seated) is the father of the six "King Sisters" (and a couple of brothers), William King Driggs. He died in April 1965, three months after the show's first episode. 
Although the show was a great advertisement for hair coloring products, there is one unaltered brunette among the older adult women -- an in-law, Hazel Driggs (wife of Karleton King Driggs), at far right. 
More than you wanted to know   Tina Cole, best remembered as Robbie's wife, Katie, on "My Three Sons," is a King family member, too.  Her mother, Yvonne King, married actor and composer Buddy Cole.  Tina sang several times on MTS.  In the early years of MTS, she appeared three, perhaps four, times -- briefly -- as various neighbor girls who knew the Douglas family and as a student at the college Robbie attended.  
  Alvino Rey (born Alvin McBurney) was more than a somewhat famous guitarist of the era.  He popularized the talk box effect in the late 1930s, used with a steel guitar, a throat microphone and his wife, King family member Luise.  She stood offstage while a puppet, named Stringy the Talking Guitar, would appear onstage and "sing" with Rey.  It's a little complicated, but if you remember how Peter Frampton sounded ("Do you feel like I do?"), you know the sound.
   One last thing:  Alvino Rey, known by many as the father of the electric guitar, is the grandfather of Arcade Fire's Win and William Butler.
GenerationalI would’ve been eight years old when this type of thing appeared on TV at my grandparents’ house.  They would watch and enjoy it because that’s what TV did for them – provide enjoyable content.  Only when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show did they object.  My parents, born in the mid-to-late twenties, were stuck between wholesome fare like the King Family, which they could watch with only a trace of cynicism, and disruptive iconoclasts like the Beatles, who they were already too old to adopt as their own.  Myself, I would look from face to face in my family members, wondering who liked what and why.  I would not have enjoyed the King Family.
The King Family with Carol Burnett A wonderful satire about the King Family appeared on the Carol Burnett show.

(The Gallery, Kodachromes, John Vachon, Kids, LOOK, Music, TV)

Pie Town Rodeo: 1940
... the feature attractions at the Pie Town Fair rodeo." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. ... and beige, I am again impressed with how terrific early Kodachrome looks on Shorpy. Is this Dave's digital magic, or was the process ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 10:11pm -

Sept. 1940. Pie Town, New Mexico. "Tying a ribbon on a calf's tail was one of the feature attractions at the Pie Town Fair rodeo." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Cowboy StyleThe cowboy hats, the boots, the shirts and jeans--all the same--whether this picture was taken yesterday or 70 years ago from yesterday. Very nice and comforting.
Is it chemistry or is it digital magic?Having just gone through a set of color photos I took in 1970, now dim and beige, I am again impressed with how terrific early Kodachrome looks on Shorpy. Is this Dave's digital magic, or was the process actually more stable early on?  Or maybe the government took extraordinary care in storing these treasures - though I doubt that.
[Kodachromes are rather famous for color stability. Ektachromes and Anscochromes, on the other hand, are noted for reddish or purplish color shifts over time. Prints, as opposed to transparencies, will also likely change color over time. - Dave]
Dah dum dah dumCue the music from the "Marlboro Man" commercials.
KodachromeThe color here blows my mind. It looks like something taken yesterday. Its sometimes hard to realize history was as colorful as it is today. 
Like YesterdayThis photo could have easily been taken yesterday or 70 years ago.
Shorpy, I can't quit you.Every day is another surprise!
An unchange of clothesI think the combination of color and the fact that "cowboy" attire has changed little over the last 80 years makes this photo seem like it was taken recently.
The cowboy on the leftis hot!
Are you on vacation?I've been with you since the very beginning and this is the first time I have to question what you were thinking...I mean really....who cares?  The calf?
Just imagineIf that calf is still alive today it would only be a few months over 70 years old.
Calm calfIf I tried to tie a ribbon around my dog's tail there'd be hell to pay.  That calf must have resigned itself to the fact that humans are crazy.
Who cares? Well...[xx]-Years-Ago-But-Could-Have-Been-Taken-Today is one of my favorite sub-genres of Shorpy photos, On Vacation individual.
CowboysI like how this guy on the left seems so manly -- I like it really anytime someone from the past lives up to our crazy expectations that we probably got from movies.
I'm lovin' itI love Russell Lee's photos and especially from Pie Town. I'd like to visit this town if I had possibility.  I know he had a lot of pictures from that place, please publish them!
[Click the "Pie Town" tag above the photo. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Animals, Pie Town, Russell Lee)

What a Dump: 1942
... 1942. "Scrap and salvage depot in Butte, Montana." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. ... still 4/5 years into the future. Good Ol' Kodachrome! It even makes a junkyard look beautiful. Ford Pickup The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 4:49pm -

October 1942. "Scrap and salvage depot in Butte, Montana." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Dare I say it?That was one heck of an accident!
Josette, West of IdahoThe stone wall at the top right is the northwest corner of Mount Moriah cemetary, and Trevillion (memorials) is still there across Montana.  This lot would be along the old tracks, probably where the fire station is today.
Structural chicken wire?They just don't make car roofs like they used to, and that's probably a good thing!
Poles, poles!Is that the old Milwaukie Road electric mainline in the upper right?
I bet it didn't sit around too longLotsa scrap metal for the war effort
Pretty New Scrap!Cannot actually ID any of them, but the grey colored coupe and sedan to the right of center cannot be more than 10 years old and the white roof at left rear has to be less than 5 years old!
Parts wonderland  If this was today, this would be a gold mine for rare parts! Even the old sign would be worth something to a picker! Since this was 1942 it is a good bet much of this was recycled for the war effort.... A nearby town to me lost two cannons for the war effort now there are just two empty cement foundations in the square.
Good eye MrKA review of several YouTube clips reveal pole arrangements for the hot wire consistent with what we see in the posted image. Would have been a real treat to see a Milwaukee Road boxcab electric in the picture. The Little Joe’s (one on display at the Illinois Railroad museum.)were still 4/5 years into the future.  
Good Ol' Kodachrome!It even makes a junkyard look beautiful.
Ford PickupThe pickup bed in the center of the picture is from a Ford Model T.  Part of the chassis and a wheel can be seen below the bed, and the "Ford" script is visible on the tailgate.
Amazingly, Ford did not produce a light duty pickup truck until 1925.  The all-steel pickup box was 56 inches long, 40.75 inches wide, and 13 inches deep.  The pickup body cost $25 when sold separately.  A total of 33,795 were sold in 1925, 75,406 in 1926, and 28,142 during 1927.
Note the square holes on the beveled sides visible on the left side of the pickup bed for adding taller sides or securing a canopy, express body, or other specialized cargo carrying purposes.
What Car?The car in the left foreground seems to be an inline 6 cylinder with the unusual configuration of front and rear cylinder heads and a distributor in the middle of the block. Can anyone identify this car?
Re: What CarIt is a Pontiac. The two individual cylinder heads is a dead giveaway
RE: What Car  Yes, it is a Pontiac.... designed by Oakland this engine was in use from about 1928 through 1932. Also used in GMC trucks. Packard had a similar design with the distributor in the center of the head.
The big 4 door in the middleThe big car with the Chicken Wire roof seems to have been burned, possibly why it's in the scrap pile, or possibly burned after it arrived there.
RolloverAlthough the damage could have occurred after it got to the dump, the dents in the roof of the relatively new white two-seater make me think it might have been in a rollover accident.  That would at least explain its short time on the road.
License PlateAmong the treasures is a Silver Box County, Montana license plate from 1941 (picture below).
The number before the dash symbol indicates the county on license plates in Montana starting in 1934.  The county numbers have remained unchanged since they were introduced.
Silver Bow County, in southwest Montana, was the most populous county at the time with the largest city being Butte, Montana.
1931 PontiacI believe the car in the foreground is one of 84,708 Pontiacs made in 1931.
Since 1930 and earlier Pontiacs did not have fender mounted parking/running lights and 1932 and later Pontiacs did not have tie bars attaching the headlights this must be a 1931 model.  Note also the position of the parking lights behind the headlights where 1933 and later years had them more forward on the fender so they were next to or in front of the headlights.
For 1929 the Pontiac Six engine was increased to 200 cubic inches (up from 186) and horepower was increased to 60 hp @3000 rpm (up from 40 @2400 rpm).  This engine was offered through 1932.  Pontiacs were only available with a straight eight in 1933 and 1934.
In 1931 the Federal government mandated that automakers introduce all of their new vehicles at the same time, in the fall, to create a new-car buying season and boost the poor Great Depression economy.  
The year 1931 was also the last full year for the sales of General Motors' Oakland automobiles which was Pontiac's parent company.  Just 13,408 Oakland's were made in 1931.  Oakland was phased out in 1932 and in 1933 the company name was changed to the Pontiac Motor Company.
Mid 1920s DodgeThe big car that looks like it may have been in a fire is a 1925 or 1926 Dodge.  A photo of a similar car, in slightly better condition, is shown below.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Russell Lee)

Fort Knox: 1942
... in action at Fort Knox, Kentucky. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. A triumph for democracy, and for Kodachrome Team Shorpy - Any chance of our seeing what this image looked ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 10:31pm -

June 1942. M-3 tank in action at Fort Knox, Kentucky. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information.
A triumph for democracy, and for KodachromeTeam Shorpy - Any chance of our seeing what this image looked like before color correction?
This is a great shot, and I am intrigued by the conditions under which it was taken. I do not think color films in 1942 were very quick; this was probably shot on what would today be called iso 25 or iso 50 film. However, the dust clouds and tank treads are frozen, so the shutter speed may have been 1/250 or even faster. Palmer got pretty good depth of field too -- several feet at least. That combination suggests that this photo was taken in very bright sunlight.
Traditionally, such a dark blue sky suggests that a polarizing filter was used, but that would have cut down on light and Palmer needed all the light he could get for this shot. Was it enhanced in Photoshop?
I wonder if this tank would have seemed impressive or threatening to viewers of this photograph in 1942. To my eye, it looks cute, but perhaps that's the result of decades of exposure to much larger and more dangerous machines.
[Original image below. - Dave]

Central Harlem's Uniformed QuestionIn 1942  Kodachrome had a film speed of Weston 8 which corresponded  EXACTLY to ASA 10, which corresponds exactly to ISO 10.  There is no reason to believe that Kodachrome would have suffered any color deterioration WHATEVER since this image was processed and stored in 1942, so the colors you see here are probably exceedingly close to what you they were in 1942, allowing for the vagaries of present-day scanning, conversion to digital electronic format, and display.  The colors as presented here are typical of what can be seen from properly stored Kodachrome transparencies from the 1940s, perhaps originally exposed through a polarizer, though not necessarily.  Consult the Wikipedia article on Kodachrome for more on all this.
[So, what kind of uniform does a "uniformed" question wear? Dress blues? Irritating, obtuse comment of the day. But the day is young! - Dave]
The TankAs far as Central Harlem Anonymous's question as to whether "this tank would have seemed impressive or threatening to viewers of this photograph in 1942," the answer is that to the uninformed viewer it would have seemed quite impressive, but to anyone who had much knowledge about armor it would not be well regarded at all. The M-3 - known to the British as the General Lee - was pretty much obsolescent when it came off the production line. The 75 mm main gun is impressive enough but it is mounted in a sponson on the right side of the tank's hull giving it a limited field of fire of about 15 degrees to the right or left of center. The secondary gun, a 37 mm turret mounted gun (in this tank either removed, not mounted or cut off) was a fairly decent gun but didn't have the striking power of the guns that even the German Panzer IV had. And that was weak compared to what the Tiger Tanks that the Germans were producing had. The turret itself is a disaster - far too high and a very inviting target. The British bought a large number of the M-3s to cover their own shortfalls in tank production and the first thing they did was to replace the turret with a lower one of their own design. The result was the "General Grant" which was one of the main tanks of Montgomery's Eighth Army at the Battle of El Alamein. The Grants and Lees were taken out of service by the time of the invasion of Sicily, though some were used by the British in the Burma theater of operations where the Japanese tanks were truly pathetic. The Russians were given some through Lend-Lease; they referred to the Lee as "a coffin for seven brothers." Of course by this time the Russians were operating the beautiful T-34. The US Army would eventually use the body of the M-3, heavily modified, to create a self propelled gun type, the M-7 Priest.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, WW2)

Nacelle Belles: 1942
... Nacelle parts of a heavy bomber form the background." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. ... Out of Time? No matter how many times I look at these Kodachrome photographs I never get tired of them, I always find myself ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:28pm -

October 1942. "Two assembly line workers at the Long Beach, California, plant of Douglas Aircraft Company enjoy a well-earned lunch period. Nacelle parts of a heavy bomber form the background." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Love the 40's Working WomenThese women are amazing - maintaining their glamour while working and supporting the war effort.  Really fantastic.  Thanks for this Shorpy - I dress 40's style and these pictures are a tremendous resource in color!
Not that far from AnaheimThe brooch that woman is wearing makes her look like an usherette at Disney's Enchanted Tiki room.
In ShorpylandIn Shorpyland, everyone is fit and attractive.
I WANT TO LIVE THERE!
Out of Time?No matter how many times I look at these Kodachrome photographs I never get tired of them, I always find myself transported back in time to the 1940s, just seeing how colourful the young girls dress up even for just going to work in an aircraft factory is a stark contrast to the black and white movies of the day. I've always had a feeling for the US during this period even today I love watching "On the Town" (sad I know) with Gene Kelly just to see some of the colour footage of New York in the 40s.
No. 531is oh so cute. Sigh.
Palmer PicksIn addition to being an excellent photographer, Alfred Palmer sure knew how to pick his subjects.  Hubba-hubba.
DeliciousOoh, look at those lunchboxes!! The one I had growing up was NEVER this cool.
Les BellesOnce again the OWI photographers chose attractive women to include in their pictures. I guess they were trying to boost wartime morale and have a little fun themselves. Beats photographing the machinery.
Those awful shoesLook at the pitiful shoes they're wearing.  My mother was a 23-year-old bookkeeper then, and she remembers the sacrifices that were gladly made for the war effort.  She says that because so many materials were scarce, the only shoes she could buy were made from substandard material, and quickly fell apart.  Also, silk and nylon were unavailable, so the only stockings she could get were rayon, which were horrible.
Beautiful girls, walk a little slower.......when you walk by me,..."  I can hear Tony Bennett now with that appropriate song for this alluring photo.   The one sitting down has a pencil tucked behind her right ear.  Years ago anyone having to do paperwork often stored their always-needed pencil behind their ear, don't see that much anymore.  Last but not least, my father who was born in 1909 enjoyed wearing red socks which made him a little different and quirky, even in the olden days.  He was a fun guy (not the mushroom kind), very intelligent and sociable.   This picture really captures a day on the homefront in WW2.
How staged were these?I know that the majority of these women were actual workers, but how many were just models that they brought in for these photo shoots?
[These photos are not "staged," they're posed. Using actual employees. - Dave]
Who could forget those red socks?We've seen the lady on the right previously:
https://www.shorpy.com/node/2592
Maybe she started the fashion?
https://www.shorpy.com/node/2595
EchoI echo Joe on this one.I might add as a nurse I see fewer and fewer of these fine people.
Nacelle Belles: 1942As a man who grew up in the 1940s and 1950s, there is an almost overwhelming nostalgia that I feel when I look at these idealized photos of young women from that period. No doubt, many men my age might be longing for the days when women were much more unequal, usually stayed at home, and slaved over the stove to cook memorable meals for their families. But I don't think that is what attracts me to these photos of women who are fashionable, yet ordinary, not glamorous. These women remind me of my mother. Most people who grew up in this era have lost their parents by now, and the missing of one's mother never ends. My mother and father were both modest people, especially my mother, and I don't think modesty is as common now, nor is it as valued - not by a long shot. 
The magic of KodachromeThe vibrant colours, the tone, texture and the almost 3D quality which Palmer achieves in this photograph are truly stunning. There is a piece of software in existence which digital photographers use to try to replicate the Kodachrome effect; all it does is increase the saturation, it cannot come close to the magic of the real thing.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Pretty Girls, WW2)

South Water Street Terminal: 1943
... Plate Railroads lease part of this terminal." 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. ... of the picture. I think that back in the early days Kodachrome was made in sheet film sizes. I can't read the ID on the edge of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/11/2023 - 2:44pm -

April 1943. "Illinois Central R.R. freight cars at the South Water Street freight terminal, Chicago. The C & O and Nickel Plate Railroads lease part of this terminal." 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size.
formatYou asked about the format.  It looks like 4x5. It's sheet film -- you can see the sheet film ID notches and and marks from the developing hangers, which are only used on sheet film.  It's proportioned like 4x5 or 8x10.  It looks like 4x5 because of the sizes of the notches and hanger marks relative to the size of the picture.
I think that back in the early days Kodachrome was made in sheet film sizes.  I can't read the ID on the edge of the image, but that should tell you.
FormatThanks for the info. Along the edge it says "EASTMAN -- SAFETY -- KODAK 62" (they all seem to be KODAK 62 or KODAK 3) and in two places is the number 679. Some of the others also have 679. Others have 678 or 640. The dimensions seem to be about 4.3 by 3.4 inches.
FormatIts 4x5 for sure. Thing I'd like to know is if it is indeed Kodachrome. I know 4x5 Kodachrome did exist in the 1950's. However I'm not sure about 1944. I tried looking up code notches on a Kodak web site but they didn't go back that far. I was able to confirm based on the notches that is at least on Safety Film and not a nitrate base.
Steve Crise
NumbersThe numbers indicate the batch number of a particular run of film. Photographer who shot may images over a short period of time always tried to buy film of the same batch number to try to insure some color consistancy from box to box of film.
Steve Crise
FilmThanks Steve! Here is one from 1943. I reversed it so the lettering isn't backward:
https://www.shorpy.com/images/photos/1a34708u.jpg
FormatIf the dimensions are indeed 4.3 by 3.4 inches, then this was most probably taken with a 3¼ X 4¼ Graflex, which was a popular professional camera of the time. Graflexes were big reflex cameras made from the 20s until after WW2. They lost their popularity to more modern equipment and today can be found only on eBay...
FormatThe outside (uncropped) dimensions are 4x5. Many of these were taken with Speed Graphic press cameras.
SkylineChicago certainly had a more elegant skyline back then, didn't it?
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)

Back to School: 1962
... to at least not dress like a dork. Self-timer Kodachrome with my new Kodak Retinette 1A. View full size. Amazing ... photo. I am truly amazed at the capabilities of 1960s Kodachrome combined with a standard issue Retinette . Also, great work of ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 08/28/2021 - 12:18am -

December 1962. I'm a junior in high school, and during Christmas break a chum and I revisit the grade school we graduated from two and a half years earlier. Lo and behold, there we find, in our old classroom, our eighth grade teacher, in mufti, along with his wife and daughter. "With a little more effort and attentiveness, Paul can accomplish much more than he presently is," is what he'd written on my report card in 1960. Man, did he have me figured. Check out my then-de rigueur white-socks-with-black-loafers and semi-peg pants. I was bound and determined to at least not dress like a dork. Self-timer Kodachrome with my new Kodak Retinette 1A. View full size.
Amazing non-ColorizationBravo! I love the colors of this photo. I am truly amazed at the capabilities of 1960s Kodachrome combined with a standard issue Retinette.  Also, great work of the photographer to capture such an emotional expression of poses and faces.  True Americana.
Neat? Or Beat?We had those desks in sixth grade. Below: 1960 ad for same.

Grade SchoolsDid they have separate schools for Grades 7-8 ?  When I was at Cherryland (Hayward) and Olive (Novato) in 1955-57 those were 1-6 (me being in 2-4).  Also, those desks look more convenient for the "duck-and-cover" practice of that era than what we had.  (Brought only to mind as the photo is a mere 2 months after the Cuban Missile Crisis!)
Desk HazardOh no! I remember those desks with the tilt-tops. Many times my finger or palm would get pinched in the operation of pushing it down. To say nothing of the hazard of "falling into" the desk and having it clamp onto you or your clothes. I saw that happen in a fight between two kids--not a good sight. Illogical that the closing area would be out of sight yet right in front of you at the same time.
That lavender hue makes me think of Mimeograph paper and the smell of the fluid needed to print up division tests and the like. Things really are so different now.
[More of a Pepto-Bismol pink, I think. - Dave]
You Rock.I love this photo. It looks like an album cover.
Aspiring Models?A great picture that captures the true essence of classrooms in the 60's, I can even smell the crayons and the cedar pencil shavings in the sharpener, but I can't help but notice the stance on both you and your chum.  Your postures certainly look like those of the models I see on the Victoria's Secret runway shows.  Were you two, by any chance, doing part-time modeling for local advertisers?   In any case, I had to look up the meaning of "in mufti", so I don't really know everything (as I thought I did) and your teachers' comments regarding your innate intelligence have turned out to be prophetic, judging by your fine photography, general knowledge and ability to capture these incomparable Kodak moments.  Thanks for yet another welcome picture. 
Meanwhile, on the East Coast...My memories of elementary school in the '60s are a bit different.  I attended a school built right after the Civil War, with rows of wooden desks bolted to the floor.  We folded the seats back at the end of the day so the janitors could sweep, and I remember being so preoccupied one morning that I fell on the floor because I forgot to fold my seat down before sitting.  A good laugh was had by all (except me).
Well, it only took 40 years....To solve the mystery of my first-grade desk.  I thought it was a torture device, designed to get me in trouble with the teacher for making noise in class.  It's actually an adjustable desktop to make writing easier.  Not only did I wrestle with it every time I opened it, it squeaked loudly as well.
Hall?Is that Henry C Hall or Neil Cummings School? I think it looks like Hall, but it's been a while so maybe I'm forgetting.
I can't help but note     I can't help but note that while your friend looked about 13 or 14, you look about 25......Now, be honest.  Just how many times DID you repeat 7th grade?!
     Okay, I was just kidding.  Nice pic.  I can smell the hot lunch from the cafeteria down the hall, the sweaty gymnasium, the musty library, even the dry scent of the principal's office...
Classroom answersThis is at LCM (Larkspur-Corte Madera) School at 20 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur. It's still there, but no longer used as a school; since 1979, the district has been leasing it out as office space to education-oriented organizations, in accordance with the provisions of the original land deed. When I was there it was still full K-8. Neil Cummins in Corte Madera had opened the year after my kindergarten class, and Henry C. Hall the year before my 8th grade.
Those were new desks. The ones I remember from all through my time at LCM were like these, complete with the hole for the inkwell. The last time we used those was in fifth grade, 1957.
The less said about our poses the better.
American Look: 1958

Larkspur CasualsI think the pose fits right in with this 1958 ad. Click below to enlarge. (Little did you realize, on that December day in 1962, you weren't just snapping a photo. You were generating "content.")

Content under pressureOh cripes, that made me take another look at that shot; is there any record of someone being Farked twice?
[Not yet! - Dave]
Design for Dreaming: 1956 Motorama

A Touch of Magic: 1961 Motorama"This dream house you and I will share was planned for us by Frigidaire."


The Sheer Look: 1957a.k.a. "Frigidaire Finale." I am sure our knowledgeable 1950s-philes can provide some informed metacommentary here.


Sheer madnessThe ice cube segment of "Frigidaire Finale" is why they invented the term "subtext."
Colorblind DesignersWe had a few of those American Seating desks in our grade school, although the colors were melon (with a hint of Crayola "Flesh" color) and battleship grey, rather than pepto-salmon and blue. The most common desk we had was the steel grey non-pivoting seat model something like this one, only less cheaply-made looking and more stylish. Do grade students not get their own desks these days? Or do they carry everything to and from school every day in their backpack?
11-22-63Second seat, far left row.  Principal came in, whispered something to Miss Winkleman. She sobbed, the principal said something to us.
That's exactly the image that this picture (taken about one year earlier) brings to my mind.  
Not much has changed...Just so you know, I was in grade school in the 1990s and we STILL had those desks! By that time the whole desk was covered in scratches of what kids thought would be funny jokes.
Still, in 1994, there were students trying to figure out how to even sit in such a contraption - I don't even want to think about the challenges of a poor left handed student!!!
Mr.G.I just showed my wife this photo, and she knew the name of the man you're leaning on. He was her teacher too.
Tempus fugitI just received word that my friend in this photo has passed away. R.I.P. buddy.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Education, Schools, tterrapix)

White Christmas: 1954
... my Aunt Barbara (1935-2017), at home in Miami Shores. 35mm Kodachrome by my grandfather Shepard. The tree is a northern blue spruce, ... Midwest than either coast. You just can't beat Kodachrome Wonderful colors throughout the photo. Sorry to see that you lost ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/21/2017 - 12:15pm -

          Another stocking-stuffer from the Shorpy Christmas closet:
Christmas 1954. My grandmother Sarah Hall (1904-2000, last seen here) and her daughter, my Aunt Barbara (1935-2017), at home in Miami Shores. 35mm Kodachrome by my grandfather Shepard. The tree is a northern blue spruce, spray-painted white with his workshop air compressor. View full size.
TreeThat is one seriously lovely tree.  My grandmother had an artificial one similar to this one well into the 1980s.
[This was a real spruce, sprayed with white paint using Granddad's air compressor out in the garage. The next year they got a full-size tree and did the same thing. - Dave]
Painted tree.My uncle in N. Illinois used the same technique.  The weather was very cold.  He used latex paint.
It was a mess when he brought it inside and the paint thawed
what a great ideaI love it. I also love those days even though I wasn't alive. I can almost imagine sitting there watching this photo being taken. What a nice fam! Aunt Barb is kind of hot too. 
interesting to note dark blue wallsout of style for many years, dark interior colors are back in vogue.
Xmas InteriorI was only 5 years old then but I vividly remember our house having dark painted walls. Now that I look back I guess it was a vogue thing.
WallsVery groovy wall colors. When did aluminum trees come on the scene?
[Not sure, but this is a real spruce tree spray-painted white. - Dave]
Looks like a "flocked" treeLooks like a "flocked" tree which was just coming into vogue in the mid 50's.  I used to love to drive around Milwaukee duirng the holidays and seeing the flocked trees in the picture windows of the houses.  Some had spot lights on them making them pink, green, blue red, and white.  What a great time.
1954 Here I Come!Hi All
I'm attempting to do a retro 1950's/ 60's American looking tree this year (in the UK), and I'll definitely  be using this lovely old image as an inspiration.  I'm going to heavily flock the edges of my real tree, I've bought lots of vintage ornaments from the US, lots of vintage Shiny Brite and quite a few of the Radko modern version.  I've even splashed out on some new but vintage looking 1950's style coloured lights, unfortunately although we have a great selection of lights in the UK, I just couldn't find that retro looking US style other then in the US itself, so Ive ordered again from Radko ($400 - ugghh) and of course I've had to get step down power transformers - I MUST be mad ;-)
Merry Christmas One & All - Justin x
1962I was in first grade in 1962. My family had a fresh-cut tree, not much different from today's except of the thumb-size colored lights.
The lobby of the school I went to for grades 1-5 had a smallish silver-colored fake tree with blue glass balls and a color wheel so that the light shining on the tree alternated between 4 different colors.
Dress LustAunt Barb has the most wonderful dress!
Color trend of the eraMy grandmother also painted her living room this exact same color scheme in the early fifties: dark green walls, white trim, dark coordinating floral prints of barkcloth on the furniture. I bet if you look around you will see some ceramic mallard ducks flying on walls or on the tops of end tables.
I would say , though, that your grandmother is particularly color coordinated--right down the the tree, bulbs, and wrapped present placement. Barbara is definitely not cooperating in pink and blue. There is a small, slightly rebellious smile on her face and Grandma does not look at all pleased.
Mommmm!1955. The year Mom went "modern", abandoned all our colorful hand-me-down ornaments and big-bulb lights, and got a flocked tree, decked out in a brand new set of coordinated red and gold ornaments, with tiny white twinkle lights. The horror, the horror!
Lighting the wayI'm surprised to see a lantern of some kind hanging over what appears to be the back door.  Do you know if it was a decor thing or was it a working lamp?  A bit unusual by the 1950's.
Flocked trees were sometimes kept for yearsWhen my ex was in college, in the 70s, I cleaned houses for elderly ladies.  One, who was quite eccentric, lived in a huge, Victorian mansion.  In the large living room, with a very high ceiling, was an enormous,flocked Christmas tree, done with the spray-on imitation snow.  It had been there for several years.  It was summer while I was working for her and it was very strange to be vacuuming up pine needles and fake snow in 90+ degree weather.  I always kept an eye on it, because I knew that if the slightest spark got near it, it would be engulfed in flames before I could even dial the fire department. It was still there when I stopped cleaning her house and I have always wondered how much longer it was there and if it ever caught fire.  
Deja VuTalk about a double take!  The walls in my living room are green, and the white trim is exactly the same profile as shown.  Several of the houses on my street (in Kansas) have that same white trim and I salvaged some extra when the house next door was torn down.  Do you know whether the house in the picture was built in the late 30s?
It's been 2 yearsAnd I still covet Aunt Barb's dress!
Barbara's dress!To die for.  Must have...
CandlesAbout 20 years ago, my wife and I had dinner with a man I worked with. His wife was from Germany. She followed German tradition and had a Christmas tree with lighted candles. They kept a pan of water nearby, just in case. But that was, shall we say, "exciting."
ColorsI love ALL of the colors in this pic. From the pattern of the chair, the tree, the presents, and yes, of course that dress! Especially with that pretty pink lipstick! 
Painted TreeFive years after this posted (2007) and I'm giggling like a schoolgirl ~~ Probably because I had a flashback to the aluminum tree with color wheel my parents had in 1959 or so.
Tree ShapeThose rounder/squatter trees typically seen in Shorpy photos kind of required a different sort of decorating. Instead of lights and ornaments hung on individual branches, it seems as if you would have to hang multiple on the more limited branches going in towards the trunk.  It changes the dimension and aesthetic of the tree I would think.
Christmas chairI cannot begin to tell you how much I covet that chair your aunt Barbara is sitting in. It's lovely, and so is the setting with the tree and your grandmother! Obviously back when people still dressed up for everything social, and work. Merry Christmas from here in Okieland!
Presents oddsThe most populat gifts for Christmas in 1954:
Matchbox Cars, Yahtzee, Lincoln Logs, and Scrabble.  What are the odds that any of the boxes under the tree contained one of them?
Oh yeahHad to go back and look at the date on that pic, I'm about 9 months older than this one, but I remember that style of decorating well into the early '60s. My grandparents had the bubble lights on theirs, which I still love. Will have to find some of the modern replacements for our tree next year. Of course, styles were slower to change in the Midwest than either coast.
You just can't beat KodachromeWonderful colors throughout the photo. Sorry to see that you lost your Aunt Barbara this year Dave.
StylishCan't believe nobody has commented on the lampshade above Aunt Barb.  Frankly, I love it!  
AddressHaving lived in South Florida for 38 years, I'd love to know if that house is still standing.  Is the address available?
[882 NE 97th Street. - Dave]
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Christmas)

Royal Crown: 1941
... Atlantic Ale and Beer, Royal Crown Cola and Nehi. 35mm Kodachrome color transparency photographed in February 1941 by Marion Post ... late 1800s. The first successful mass-market color film, Kodachrome, was introduced in 1935, around the same time the Technicolor ... 
 
Posted by Ken - 09/07/2011 - 5:47pm -

Migratory workers by a "juke joint" in Belle Glade, Fla. Signs advertise Atlantic Ale and Beer, Royal Crown Cola and Nehi. 35mm Kodachrome color transparency photographed in February 1941 by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.
Color photos in 1941?Ehhh ... I don't think so... 
[Dave replies: Color photography got its start in the late 1800s. The first successful mass-market color film, Kodachrome, was introduced in 1935, around the same time the Technicolor process was invented for motion pictures. Most of us have seen "The Wizard of Oz," from 1939, one of the first color movies along with "Gone With the Wind," from the same year. You can read more about the history of color photography here.]
Old KodachromeWhat with the current digital photos, I had forgotten the warm colors of Kodachrome.  I started out using Kodachrome ASA 10 in the 50s!  My favorite film for warm fall color.  I used Fujichrome later in the 80s for the crisp, cool colors it gave for sky and water shots.  Funny, my Fuji digital camera gives the same cool shading? must be some guy that used a lot of Fujichrome tunes the Fuji digital cameras?
Yes, they were availableYes, they were available beginning in 1935...your quote evens says so!
"The first successful mass-market color film, Kodachrome, was introduced in 1935"
[That wasn't his quote, that was me - Dave]
Kodachrome was a color transparency film for used in still cameras designated 135 or now called 35mm. A few years earlier, Leica was getting popular with their miniature camera called Leica A. It uses 35mm film.
Yay RC!I must be the only person left on the planet who drinks Royal Crown. I tell people the RC stands for "Rachel's Cola." 
(The Gallery, Agriculture, M.P. Wolcott, Rural America)

40th Street Shops: 1942
... the 40th Street Shops, Chicago & North Western R.R." Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. Locomotive ... tools rule. Color I'm surprised to see this is a Kodachrome. It could have been a B & W had it not been for the rust color ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/16/2017 - 11:43am -

        Back to the days of the blacksmith: The only tools seen here are two hammers, a wrench and a broom.
December 1942. "Working on a locomotive at the 40th Street Shops, Chicago & North Western R.R." Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size.
Locomotive BreathLooks like they are taking off the smokebox door to get ready to reflue the engine.  One of the dirtiest job a boilermaker can have.  Nasty!
Three menAm I correct in assuming that there are three men visible in this photo: the one standing on the ground, looking up; the one on the smokebox lying on his side in front of the chimney, reaching upwards; and the partially visible man in front of the smokebox door, back to us, face unseen, right arm raised and holding what looks like a 2x4.  And I think I see two brooms: one on the locomotive, and one on the wooden platform in front of it.
And a BUDA jackAnd I still use that tool today. I have a few old BUDA's my wife found at a yard sale 15 years ago. She paid $5 a piece because they were to heavy for the lady to put them back in the garage. I've jacked up many houses with them . They are over 100 years old, and work like new. Old tools rule.
ColorI'm surprised to see this is a Kodachrome.  It could have been a B & W had it not been for the rust color of the chimney.
MemoriesThis was my grandfather's job on the Pennsylvania for many years (1906-1939). His official title was blacksmith, although he did metal fabrication and repair as well. Thanks for this picture.
The job's done.I think they're putting the smokebox front sheet back on the engine, rather than taking it off. They've finished whatever job they were doing. Notice the newly installed smokestack. Also note that that the engine has the relatively uncommon Young valve gear.
When Kodachrome = SepiaGreat photo.  Oddly it appeals to my sense of smell; I imagine the smell of soot and machinery.
Full view of the loco hereActually the #1647, her sister. Nice looking loco, although it's hard to find a really ugly 4-6-2.  Interesting that there's a disc wheel on the center driver axle with spoked wheels in front and behind.  Can't recall seeing that before.
I see one hammerOn the running board of the locomotive. A ball peen by the looks. The "hammer" on the floor in the foreground is, to my eyes, a B&O. It was used to drive pins or bolts out of an assembly.  They are made in many sizes, both single and double ended. The doubles are usually different sizes on each end. They are used the same way a punch or drift  would be except you have long handle to keep your hands away from an errant swing of the sledge. The large double ended ones resemble the spike mauls the gandy dancers used so I always thought that is where the B&O came from.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)

Holiday: 1956
... circa 1956. The car is a 1954 Oldsmobile. Another Kodachrome slide from my recent eBay find. View full size. Wedding? ... "loves olives" in a previous photo from the same lot of Kodachrome slides. It appears there is a wedding about to take place (men in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/14/2012 - 4:59pm -

Somewhere in Southern California circa 1956. The car is a 1954 Oldsmobile. Another Kodachrome slide from my recent eBay find. View full size.
Wedding?Two guys in what appear to be tuxes... I wonder if the previous image was related to this event? The photographer appears to be proficient at fill flash.
Wedding bellsIn my opinion, this is the same lovely young lady who "loves olives" in a previous photo from the same lot of Kodachrome slides. It appears there is a wedding about to take place (men in tuxes in the background)and she is invited.  Wonder if the groom is one of the guys at the previous party. Does anyone else feel like they are spying on people who don't know they are being watched?
Optional accessoriesThis is back when side-view mirrors, even on the driver's side, were extra-cost equipment.
Panoramic windshield1954 was the first year Olds had the wrap around windshield. They put them on the Chevy the next year.
Such a contrast!To the black/white/five shades of grey we see on today's depressing cars!  
It's either a Super 88 or 98 because I can see stainless steel "top bows" in the roof.  The turquoise and white car is a '55 Pontiac with first year V-8 and I believe the one on the left is a '55 Chevrolet.  This was when GM ruled the road and every parking lot, like this one, held a majority of that brand.  Their biggest problem in those years was to not get over 50% of the market otherwise they'd be charged with unfair trade practices!  Today it's 17.5%, the lowest since 1922!
Two toningThe car is an Olds 98. The 88 and Super 88 had a different pattern of two-toning. My all time favorite of this period..
ExcellentFantastic era. Love the Kodachrome and the car. Makes you wonder who they are, and did that have a good life.
I miss Kodachrome.The colors hold up remarkably well for a nearly 50 year old slide. The magnificence of the late, lamented Kodachrome can not be understated.
[Or overstated. - Dave]
Facepalm! 
One additional "trim" commentThe 1954 98 Holiday (hardtop, as posted) and 98 Starfire (convertible) did have the same "slashing" side trim. But the 98 sedan shared the trim arrangement of the 88s. I was always partial to the trim scheme of the 98 sedan, as it appears (to me) to complement the graceful lines of the entire car better, thus giving the overall design a more coherent look.
Beautiful CarI had a 1957 Olds Super 88 in my high school days in the early '70s.  This picture brought back many memories. 
KLN 961Another (blurry) view of the car. Click to enlarge. Bonus points to anyone who can Street View this.

Really hoping for an "Aunt Liz" momentMaybe someone will recognize this family.
The Side ViewThe lack of mirrors reminded me of my dad. Car racing brought so many innovations and safety improvements like rear view mirrors, side view mirrors, seat belts, and various safety glass and on, and on. He raced Midgets in his younger years, and all of our cars had side view mirrors because he installed them, or had them installed from the factory. And he installed seat belts too, well before they were standard equipment.
But then he also installed dual mirrors on my mom’s ’58 Chevy Impala convertible, the one with the 348 Police Cruiser engine, and she was often pulled over due to her lead foot for speeding. A very pretty Australian lady, and with that killer accent she was never given a ticket as I remember. Dad would always just laugh.
Mystery CarVictrolaJazz was correct about the '55 Chevy and '55 Pontiac in the background of the photo. The real tricky one to ID is the car in between them. It's pretty rough to figure out the make or model from just the "greenhouse" area showing ... I can't!
Oldsmobile!My family had the Olds dealership in Richmond California for many years. I have a few of the old dealer books, with fabric samples, loads of photos, accessory info, etc. But the best thing about the books is that at the back there are clear acetate (or plastic) images of all the models for the year, with matching cutout color swatches. You would go to the dealership and put together the colors you wanted - and where you wanted them. You would also select the upholstery you wanted. Then you placed your order and the factory would make YOUR car!
I really miss our '55 88, two-tone greens! Here it is, with our tandem bike. This is at the very end of this car's tenure with our family, as it was being replaced my Dad's $3 1961 Ambassador wagon (he bought it after it was totalled in a wreck and spent his spare time putting it back to perfect condition!).
My how things changeCan't help but notice how big the cars are and how small the houses in the background seem to be.  Now the cars are much more compact (and efficient), but you could put two of those houses into the average new build today.  But the families who lived in those small houses seem to manage.  
CarsCars in large photo above:
The car in the middle of the two GM products looks like the top of a 1952-54 Nash. The dull window frames are a clue, Nash from 52-54 used a dull brushed aluminum on the window frames hence the lack of sun light twinkling from them.
Cars in KLN 961 comment:
The primary car is a 1954 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight. The car behind is a 1955 Mercury. The next car is a 1946-48 Plymouth (very subtle changes through those years) the one way back is a 1949 or 1950 Ford. 
(Cars, Trucks, Buses, SoCal 1956 Kodachromes)

Local Color: 1950s
... 1949-1952 model. Fabulous two-tone paint combo." 35mm Kodachrome slide. View full size. Tagged 1952-55 CA plate with what ... Would be my guess on the blue car in the foreground. Kodachrome Was the camera's Love Potion #9. It made it see its subjects in ... 
 
Posted by Tony W. - 09/17/2011 - 8:18pm -

Here we see Mr. Lange on the right in San Diego, probably near Cardiff. tterrace says, "Plymouth station wagon, somewhere between 1949-1952 model. Fabulous two-tone paint combo." 35mm Kodachrome slide. View full size.
Tagged1952-55 CA plate with what looks to be the 1953 tab to go with those 1953 clothes, so sharp they could put someone's eye out. 
WheelsWhoa - missed the wire wheels when I was raving! Presumably faux, but still, an additional sharpness point.
StylingGreat cars, yes, yes - but these chaps are turned out so nicely.  I wish that was still the way we dressed.
Celebrity sightingHey, isn't that Kevin Costner on the right?
Gray PackardIt's partially visible through windows showing the station wagon's steering wheel, likely a 1946-47 four-door sedan; there still are a few of them in San Diego.
48 PontiacWould be my guess on the blue car in the foreground.
KodachromeWas the camera's Love Potion #9.  It made it see its subjects in the most optimistic light.
Leaves that are greenFall off the trees apparently, unless the ones in the background are some kind of leafless genus unknown on the East Coast.  I didn't know winters were so cold in San Diego.  
Leaving the treesCertain trees don't need winters that are "so cold" to lose their leaves. They just need to be deciduous. And the leaves weren't green when they fell off.
Also, re: Kodachrome. You really can't appreciate its wonderfulness thoroughly unless you see it projected or viewed by transmitted light, like it was intended to be.
 Plymouth WagonsWe had a 1954 Plymouth wagon, it had sliding rear windows. It was blue and as I recalled it burned up about 1965 or 66. No they don't make 'em like that anymore. Which in that case is a good thing.
Reasonable QuestionWhich one is the used car salesman and which is the customer?
The RiddlerI love the "question mark" tie tack.
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Tonypix)

1,200 Horses: 1942
... equipment to scenes of action." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. blue sky Yep. Those of us old enough to have used Kodachrome 10 are familiar with "Kodachrome Blue" Kodachrome Colors Is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 3:27pm -

October 1942. Long Beach, California. "Flexible performance of C-47 transport planes is due in part to their two 1,200 horsepower radial engines and to their three-blade variable-pitch propellers. Picture taken at the Douglas Aircraft Company. The versatile C-47 performs many important tasks for the Army. It ferries men and cargo across oceans and mountains, tows gliders and brings paratroopers and their equipment to scenes of action." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.
blue skyYep.  Those of us old enough to have used Kodachrome 10 are familiar with "Kodachrome Blue"
Kodachrome ColorsIs the intense blue sky color a characteristic of Kodachrome transparencies?  The other colors are so vibrant and realistic.
Clean sky, perhaps?Maybe today we are just so used to seeing dirty brown or dirty gray skies in Southern California that it's a shock to see that the sky was once blue... 
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)

Pabst Over Chicago: 1943
... depot of the Illinois Central Railroad, Chicago." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. Directionality ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/07/2017 - 2:11pm -

May 1, 1943. "South Water Street freight depot of the Illinois Central Railroad, Chicago." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size.
DirectionalityI believe this photo is facing north.  Quite a few of the skyscrapers are still there.  All the way to the left, the black & gold building is the Carbide & Carbon (or is it Carbon & Carbide?) building on Michigan Ave.  I seem to remember something about it being the "first" skyscraper.  Just to the right, with the little cupola on top, is the original Stone Container Building at Wacker & Michigan Avenues.  Off in the furthest distance in the center of the photo you can see what was originally called the Pamolive building (it became Playboy Towers, and is now a condo building).  I think the building behind the Pabst sign at the right edge of the sign is the Chicago Tribune building, and across from it (underneath the main part of the sign) you can see the white building that is the Wrigley building.  They flank Michigan Ave. just north of the Chicago river.
Fellow (ex-)ChicagoanDefinitely facing North, definitely the Carbon & Carbide building - my dad used to have an office there.  Not sure about the Playboy Towers.... might that be the Drake Hotel? 
33 to 1?Blended 33 to 1? That sounds like a strange formula to me...but of course I'm not informed on the whole beer and beer history thing.
33 to 1Here's a 1940 Pabst ad that explains it.
NorthThere is no question about it, this photo is facing north.
Good Railroad ShotThe blue flags placed on the cars would be a violation of federal regulations today as they now have to be located at the switch providing access to the track. Also, note that several of the cars are on "yard air" in order to test the brakes on each car prior to movement. Finally you can see that this photo provides good images of several different types of car ends all together in one place.
As I am from Milwaukee, I have no clue as to which buildings are which! I do know that the photo is definitely facing north as I now work for the South Shore commuter railroad and am familiar with the lakefront. I also know that the original Santa Fe railroad corporate headquarters was almost directly to the west of this photo and is still there today with the Santa Fe sign on top. It is now an historic landmark.
Bootcamp BeerI went to Navy bootcamp in Great Lakes Il. in 1983 and after spending 10 wks. without beer our first chance to have a brew came. Unfortunatly for me the ONLY beer avaliable to us at the time was Pabst Blue Ribbon. Now, not being a Pabst fan I was very unhappy about that but after 10 tough weeks I said "what the heck" and ordered a couple of beers. I'll tell you what, that was the best beer I've ever had. I got so drunk the rest of the day was blur. I'd like to say "Thanks you Pabst" for the best beer ever and day I don't remember.   
Water Street DepotIt appears we are looking north from either Monroe or Randolph. I want to say we're looking from Monroe and that bridge spanning the width of the pic under the sign is Randolph. The row of low-rise buildings on the left side of the pic that are ~6 stories tall and have the water towers on top of them would then be on the east side of Michigan Ave and sitting directly on the north side of Randolph. I believe these trains are in the area east of Michigan Ave and north of Monroe, but south of Randolph as it used to be a railyard (now Millennium Park, north of the Art Institute).
Furthermore there were never any buildings previously on this spot, as it would have either been a rail yard or part of Grant Park (where no buildings were allowed to be built, except for the Art Institute). This leads me to believe that we are looking north from Monroe towards Randolph and beyond. The vast empty space behind the Pabst sign spanning the whole width of the image would now be occupied by Illinois Center, the Prudential Building and of course the tall white AON Building (3rd largest in Chciago at the moment), or whatever they call it these days.
Pabst SignCan anybody tell me if this sign was was animated and are there any night time shots of it? 
[The nighttime shot of this neon sign is here. - Dave]
AnimationThanks Dave, do you know if the sign was animated in any way?
[The hands on the clock moved! If you mean did various parts of the sign blink on and off, I don't know. - Dave]
ChicagoI see the tallest building to the far left when I'm going to and from school. It's surrounded by a bunch of other buildings now.
Chevrolet SignThis is a film clip of another Chicago sign.  It shows how animated signs were operated.  I can't find any date, but the technology looks like 1940 or so.
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/410104.html
Chevrolet SignAfter viewing this clip of the Chevy sign, I'm fairly convinced that it and the 'Pabst' sign are one and the same. Shown in the clip of the Chevy sign is the same tall building that is located to the left of the Pabst sign in the photo. There are other similarities as well, like the circular design of the sign, the clock at the lower right, etc. It's my guess that Pabst took over the sign after Chevy and made the slight changes to suit their logo.
South Water Street TodayThis photo is facing North on South Water Street and intersecting roughly what is now Columbus Drive. The ground level of this photograph is now covered by an elevated roadway in this area. If you went to this spot today, the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park designed by Frank Gehry would be just behind you.
The Playboy Building is visible in the background, now once again called the Palmolive Building and converted to condominiums. It sits between the Drake Hotel and John Hancock Tower at the end of the Magnificent Mile. The Drake is not tall enough to be in view here.
The Allerton Hotel and Northwest University Law School in Streeterville are also visible here, which they wouldn't be today from the site, although they are still standing. 
Several of the mid-rise buildings in this photograph are no longer standing, in particular the large red-brick warehouse at the center mid-ground, to the right of the Playboy/Palmolive. This is where the NBC Tower now stands, just north of the river. 
Driving and DrinkingThis was indeed the Chevy sign.  Pabst took it over.  You can still make out the Chevy logo in the superstructure of the sign.  The lower left hand corner of the "B" in Blue and the upper right hand corner of the N in "Ribbon" served as the edges of the classic Chevy "bowtie" logo.
Going to ChicagoIt's interesting to think that Muddy Waters would have just arrived in Chicago when this photo was taken.
Pabst signThe Pabst sign was next to Randolph Street Bridge; refer to the 1922 Zoning map that is available at the University of Chicago library site - the Illinois Central may very well have called the yard the 'Water Street Yard,' but Water Street moved to the South Side when Wacker Drive was created after 1924; the Pabst sign was located nearest the Randolph Street bridge and is the current location of the Prudential Building, not the Pritzker Pavillion.
Warehouse full of booksI believe the red brick warehouse-like building on the right (east) of the photo survived into at least the 1980s, serving as the temporary home of the Chicago Public Library's main branch after it moved from what is now the Cultural Center (location of many shots in DePalma's "The Untouchables" and just out of camera range to the left) and before the opening of the Harold Washington Library Center. I used their manual typewriters and xerox machines to peck out and photocopy my resume.
Why Boxcars are blue-flaggedThese boxcars are blue-flagged because they have both their doors open and gangplanks spanning the openings between cars on adjacent tracks.  This is also why they are all 40-foot cars and are all lined up with each other. 
Less-than-Carload (LCL) freight is being handled here! This something that US railroads have discontinued; for decades, they haven't accepted any shipment less than one car load.  As effective highway trucks were developed, they took this trade away from the RR's for obvious reasons. 
But, back in the 1940's, RR's would handle a single crate!  This required sorting en route, which is what is being done here. There's a large shift of workers shuffling LCL from one car to another by way of the side platforms and the above-mentioned gangplanks.
The LCL required local freight crews to handle this stuff into and out of the freight stations, and required station agents to get the cargo to and from customers, collect charges, etc.  Very labor-intensive, yet somehow the trucking companies do it at a profit. 
From Pabst To Rolling Rock Beer "33"This photograph has also added another “answer” to the question: “What does the “33” on the label of a bottle of Rolling Rock Beer mean?”
http://www.snopes.com/business/hidden/rolling.asp
One person seeing this photograph concluded on a Rolling Rock Beer forum that the Rolling Rock "33" may have referenced the smoothness of blending “33 to 1.”
http://toms.homeunix.net/toms/locFSA-OWIkodachromes/slides/blended33to1....
Makes you feel like a heroEven now, when I get a color transparency (2 1/4x2 1/4 or 4x5)  and look at if for the first time, it is stunning. I can't imagine what it must have looked like to someone seeing it color for the first time ever!
Sign BackgroundIf you look closely at the superstructure of the sign you can see the slogan "Blended 33 to 1" in the framework, which is seen far better in the nighttime shot Dave linked to. As to whether this would be considered animation I don't know, but a typical setup would be to light the Pabst Blue Ribbon sign, then switch to the "Blended" slogan, then light both. Don't know if that was done here. 
Those catwalksThe "down-the-throat" shot of those catwalks atop of the freight cars gives the viewer a good idea of what the brakeman had to deal with while setting the brakes. The uneveness of those platforms, even at a standstill, is enough to make the average person think twice about climbing up and traversing these planks. Before airbrakes became the norm, this had to be one of the most harrowing jobs a railroad worker had to face. And this would be on a nice calm day. With rain, wind or snow, even the most seasoned brakeman must've had second thoughts.
Blue Flags?Mr. Leaman pointed out the blue flags were being displayed incorrectly by todays rules. But not being a train enthusiast, what did they indicate in the first place?
Blue-FlaggedAny rolling stock or engine that is "blue-flagged" cannot be moved unless the person who placed the flag removes it. It's a safety rule, and for the protection of the workers, many of whom are between or under the cars.
The iconic "Santa Fe" sign referred to in earlier posts is now on display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL - not too far from Chicago and well worth the trip! 
http://www.irm.org
The early brakeman's plightJKoehler, I read somewhere that a conductor remarked about brakemen in the days when cars used link-and-pin couplers, "If they still have their thumbs after three months, they must be really lazy!"
Phantom Memory of a huge Chicago Phillips 66 Sign?For decades I’ve had a childhood memory of seeing a huge Phillips 66 sign atop the Chicago skyline, while driving with my family in the “wayback” of the family station wagon on the way to  visit our grandparents in Iowa. We were coming from Michigan, and driving on Chicago streets because the still-under-construction Interstate Highway System still had gaps. (We were probably driving on/towards westbound US-30.) I remember being in awe of a big neon Phillips 66 sign receding in the distance as my dad drove west. It was a wide straight street, very busy. The sign had lots of neon motion, even in the daylight. This memory (if real), would have been somewhere between about 1963 - 1968. But am I mistaken? Did the Phillips 66 sign never exist, and could this Papst sign be the one I saw? 
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)

Shulman's Market: 1942
        This large-format Kodachrome by Louise Rosskam from 1942 first appeared on Shorpy some 20,000 ... Union Street S.W., Washington." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Louise Rosskam. Alternate view. In one of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/27/2017 - 4:25pm -

        This large-format Kodachrome by Louise Rosskam from 1942 first appeared on Shorpy some 20,000 posts ago, back in 2007.
1942. "Shulman's Market at N and Union Street S.W., Washington." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Louise Rosskam. Alternate view. In one of the many comments for this post, an alert FOS (Friend of Shorpy) points out the posters of Axis leaders Mussolini, Hitler and Admiral Yamamoto in the window. Along the bottom of each it says What do YOU say America?
The smiling windowLook closely at the window and you'll see two swirls at the top that appear to be eyes and grinning mouth at the bottom. It's a happy store.
WowI am really loving these pictures, especially the color ones... Its amazing how dirty things were back then. Do you think it was just the subjects the photographer was capturing, or was there less focus on public works back then?
Same Store?I was hoping I had a newer photo of that same store, but it appears the one I took--though similar and also on N St--is not the same one. Here they are compared.
Same Store?Thanks for the detective work! Here is another view of the store. One thing that puzzles me (I live just outside of Washington, and work downtown) is there is not, as far as I can tell, a Union Street in the District. The street sign clearly says N and Union (the S or N in SW or NW is broken off). The street number behind the bars above the door is 485½. I notice that the windows on both the store and car have been soaped.
Harry ShulmanThere seem to have been several Shulman's Markets in D.C. An archive search shows there was one at 1349 Sixth St. NW in 1958, in addition to the one in the picture, and one on O Street NW. Harry Shulman died in 1984. From his obituary in the Washington Post: "Harry Shulman, 85, a grocer in the Washington area from the time he moved here in 1928 until he retired in 1971, died of a liver ailment May 15 at the Washington Hospital Center. He lived in Rockville. Mr. Shulman moved to Boston from his native Lithuania in the early 1900s. When he moved here, he opened Shulman's Market,  which he operated at O Street NW for 39 years before closing it in 1967. He worked for several other grocers until he retired four years later."
There are about 250 mentions of addresses on Union Street SW in the Washington Post, with the last one in 1959. The ones I found are in the 1200 block: houses at 1255 and 1271 Union St. SW, the Lincoln Market at 1212, etc. Either it got renamed or disappeared in some kind of redevelopment. (There are 51 hits for Union Street NW, with the last mention in 1990. Those may be mistaken references to Union Court NW.)
In 1908 there are a couple of ads listing merchants who would redeem Sweetheart Soap coupons. One was E. Cockrill, whose store was at 485½ N Street SW at Union.
Re: all the dirt. A coupleRe: all the dirt. A couple ideas: 1) these are pretty rough, poor places. 2) The country was at the end of a very long and difficult depression that made many people poor. Routine maintenance is one of the first things you cut back on when money's tight, and money was very tight.
I sent this site to my grandma, and she told me how they used to love playing with mud during the depression. :)
wonderful siteI am enjoying this site VERY much.
I, too, particularly like the color photographs because they provide a certain immediacy and timelessness. I don't THINK of 1941 as being "in color" (having been born 13 years later).
Anyway, keep up the great work. It's a pleasure to visit here.
More like this one, please!Street scenes like this one are just fascinating to me because the level of detail enables me to imagine that I'm actually walking down the street in 1942. At first glance it doesn't appear all that much different than today, but then you notice all the little details, such as the posters in the window of what I presume to be Hitler, Tojo, and Mussolini!
this siteI've only just found this site and am loving it. thank you for doing this...lisavc (from australia)
Window postersYikes. I figured they were baseball players, but you are right. They are Mussolini, Hitler and Admiral Yamamoto (see comment with poster links below). I added your observation to the caption along with a blowup of the posters. Thanks! And thank you, too, lisavc in Australia!
dirt or soot?Did US homes use coal for heating in the 40s? Britain used to be black with soot.
CoalYes, lots of buildings and homes had coal furnaces in the 1940s. I would say the balance tipped in favor of oil (kerosene) heating sometime after World War II. Although I am not sure where people are seeing dirt here. The yellow paint is soiled from where people have been leaning against or touching the wall. You can see the same thing on either side of the doors in this picture.
Window Posters... where Hitler Says:
"We shall soon have our Storm Troopers in America!"
And Yamamoto:
"I am looking forward to dictating peace to the United States in the White House at Washington."
And Mussolini:
"We consider peace a catastrophe for human civilization."
Great site!
Poster LinksAmazing. I am shocked and awed! Thank you, Anonymous Tipster!
AmazingI love the site, especially pictures like this. The colors are so vivid, the image so clear, that it almost takes away the time barriers. I could imagine myself walking right up to those people as if they were still alive today, looking now as they did then. 
As for this comment...
"Its amazing how dirty things were back then."
Come take a trip to Philadelphia; the level of filth is exactly the same in 2007. 
Re: "Amazing How Dirty Things Were Back Then"Really? That is a very funny statement. When I first saw the photo, I thought it could be from anyhere on the Hill or in Georgetown today. Aside from a few neighborhoods, The city really isn't much cleaner. In fact, the brick sidewalks are actually flat. Now there are so many roots pushing them up that it's difficult to walk at night without tripping.
This 1897 map of DC showsThis 1897 map of DC shows that Union St SW ran from M to O in between 4 1/2 St. (which seems to have been where 4th St. is now) and 6th St.  If you look at a current map of DC, there's no trace of the former Union St. in the midst of a bunch of large buildings.  If you plug in 485 Union St. SW Washington into Google Maps, though, it does show it being about where Union St. was.
1897 MapThank you so much! Click here for a closeup of the map (which is quite beautiful). Union Street is toward the bottom. Another mystery solved thanks to Anonymous Tipster.
Southwest WashingtonSouthwest D.C. was probably the most destitute parts of town at the time this photo was taken. Union Street SW no longer exists because this part of town was almost completely leveled by eminent domain in the 1950s, in one of the country's first urban renewal projects.
Prince AlbertLooks like Shulman's has Prince Albert in a can... ;-)  Seriously, though, it is absolutely amazing how well these Kodachrome images have held up for all these decades. Kodak's scientists came up with a magic emulsion which has never been bettered...
Ninth StreetMy grandparents lived on 9th Street S.E.  There was a corner store with the same yellow paint job just down the street (300 or 400 block.) I'm guessing it was also owned by Shulman. As for the soot I'm sure it was from coal, their house was heated with coal until my grandmother sold the house in 1960.  
Bernard ShulmanAccording to the 1942 Polk Directory, 485½ N Street S.W. was Schulman's Grocery. That's how it was spelled in the directory. Bernard was listed as the owner. He lived at 1412 K Street S.E. His wife's name was Clara.
Across from Shulman'sI lived directly across the street from Shulman's Market from 1946 to 1949. We shopped there all the time, and not only were the houses all heated with coal (we had a large shed in the back yard to hold it), but most all of us had ice delivered in huge blocks for our iceboxes. Hardly anyone around there had a refrigerator. My mother, who is now 90, remembers discussing the Old Testament with the owner often. They were both very religious.
Union Street SI live at Union and N Streets, SW. Technically.  After the redevelopment of Southwest DC, Union Street was replaced by apartment/coop buildings. The streets that still remain off M Street are 4th and 6th. I bought the print with the old car in front of the market for nostalgic sake. 
Great PhotosThis series of photos was what first got me looking at Shorpy. Been hooked ever since.
Sad Little GirlThe Commentators so far seem to have skipped over the sad looking little girl sitting under the window. Beautiful child.
The Washington CanalI compared the two maps and managed to trace the route of the Washington Canal.  Looks like the canal came down Independence Ave along the Mall, veered a slight right Down Washington/Canal street, Right on South Capitol, another slight right at the RR tracks onto Canal again perpendicular to Delaware Ave, slight left down Third Street to the river.  The Fort Meyer complex absorbed and changed Third Street to 5th Avenue. If you go down M Street from South Capitol SW (west), take a left on 4th Street SW, go to N Street, the right on N would go to Union and N Street.  Of course the canal was filled in due to outbreaks of disease attributed to the terrible things dumped into it, the likes of which you aint never seen.
[Take a right on what again? -tterrace]
I recall the area vaguelyI was 6 years old, and lived near an old deli (Snyder's?) on the corner. I recall Miss Minnie's candy and variety store I think on the same block. I was able to walk to Bowen school from the "Jefferson Gardens" white 2 story deco building courtyard we lived in. I believe I lived near K and I streets. There were super-old abandoned red brick buildings across from me. Windows removed, and facing the demolitions to come like a tempest. 1953 or so, and then we moved. Later we went back and saw the barrel roofed buildings that emerged. I recall the vegetable man taking his horse cart through the alley. 
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, D.C., Louise Rosskam, Stores & Markets)

Family Picnic: 1964
May 1964. 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Life magazine assignment "The Splendor of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/27/2023 - 11:00am -

May 1964. 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Life magazine assignment "The Splendor of a Great Family: The Vanderbilts." View full size.
        On her country estate near Stamford, Connecticut, Gloria Vanderbilt enjoys a picnic with her husband, Wyatt Cooper, and two sons by her marriage to Leopold Stokowski -- Chris, 12, and Stan, 13. She came upon the picturesque waterfall with its secluded cottage one day and couldn't resist buying it. "It was like something out of a fairy tale," she exclaims.
Fried Chicken, or a Sandwich?I will take the fried chicken every time! Unless it isn't.
Heap big melonThat's a lot of watermelon for four people, but I suppose it photographs nicely for the magazine article.
Those black sneakersConverse All Star low-cuts. Way way too expensive for a coal miner to buy his son in the '60s. I mowed a lot of grass, picked blackberries, blueberries, shoveled snow,  managed to earn that money. Worth every cent back. Levy's Sport shop Johnstown, Pa.
Melon FamilyThere were four in my family -- we'd have been bothered by the fact that there was only one watermelon.
The Americans of the 1%ersA fine example of how the American Dream went over the top.
Dramatic family historyWyatt Cooper was Gloria Vanderbilt's fourth husband. This marriage, her last, would produce two additional sons, Carter (1965) and Anderson (1967). 
Wyatt Cooper died at 51 in 1978. Carter died tragically at 23, falling from the balcony of his mother's apartment, apparently during severe reaction to a prescription drug. Gloria was estranged from son Christopher Stokowski for over 40 years, with a modest reconciliation reported when she was in her 90s.
Almost all photos of Gloria with her sons come in pairs, the first two or the last two. Below is a rare image showing all four.
Just like a family picnic when I was youngexcept delete the picturesque waterfall on a private estate, and my mother would be wearing shoes and sensible pants ... and probably not a Coolie hat.  But the males would be wearing button cotton shirts that needed to be ironed.
I'm not sure how one "comes upon" a picturesque waterfall with a secluded cottage, unless a Realtor shows it to them, or you can see it from the road (which, in this case, I doubt).  I'm going to disagree with richie33 about this being over the top; this is a nice place in the country.  Modern mega yachts and gilded age Newport mansions lived in eight weeks a year are and were over the top.
Photo ArtWhat an amazing photograph. Almost looks like a painting.
Gloria bought this property on a whim. One example of how the massive original family fortune of Cornelius was gradually whittled away to just a fortune.
Anderson Anderson Cooper would appear three years later. 
So many menGloria Vanderbilt was married four times, and her husbands included the conductor Leopold Stokowski and the director Sidney Lumet.  She also had relationships with Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes, Roald Dahl, and one of my favorite Shorpy photographers, Gordon Parks.  These color photos of rich, decadent folks have been fun, but I’m glad to get back to newsies, rustic main streets in 1900, and 1929 boiler explosions.
tterrace, is that you?At first glance, I thought for sure that was our community member and contributor tterrace sitting front and center on the picnic blanket. Who knew he was related to Gloria Vanderbilt!
[Well, I was dressing like that then but his clothes probably didn't come from Monkey Wards. -tterrace]
Little AndersonThree years following this picnic Gloria would give birth to Anderson Hay Cooper, known to CNN viewers as Anderson Cooper. In the previously posted photo of Gloria and her four sons Anderson is the baby.
Must be nice.... to be able to just "couldn't resist buying it".
(Kodachromes, Kids, LIFE, Toni Frissell)

Pie Town Barbecue: 1940
... Fair at Pie Town, New Mexico. View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee. Kodachrome... I still find it stunning to see a photo of this vintage with ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 5:29pm -

September 1940. Barbecue dinner at the Catron County Fair at Pie Town, New Mexico. View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee.
Kodachrome...I still find it stunning to see a photo of this vintage with such incredible color. I don't know when Kodachrome was first introduced but it must have knocked people's socks off! No wonder Paul Simon wrote that song.
[Circa 1935. Kodachrome is a transparency film (positive as opposed to negative - the image has to be projected or backlit for viewing), so was not used much for making photographic prints (snapshots), but was widely used for color separations in publishing. Before slide projectors got popular, the public's main exposure to Kodachrome was color pictures in magazines. One of the first to use it in a big way was National Geographic. - Dave]
BBQAwesome image.  Everyone is just going about their business and nobody notices they are being photographed.  It's like the photographer was completely invisible.
Kind of odd that there are no tables or chairs or benches anywhere.  It looks very ad hoc.
[How can we tell from just one photo that there are "no tables or chairs or benches anywhere"? They're here. And here. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Pie Town, Rural America, Russell Lee)

Red Delicious: 1953
... various movies and she did have two arms. Thank you Kodachrome! As much as my nostalgic/living historian/appreciator of all ... In black and white, they're all blondes and brunettes. Kodachrome [RIP] gave us the nice bright colors, the greens of summer ... ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/12/2020 - 5:01pm -

May 1953. "Entertainer Gwen Verdon dressed in a costume as Eve and surrounded by apples." Color transparency from the Look magazine assignment "The New Eve." View full size.
Dis - Arming?This is gorgeous, but I'm trying to figure out where her right arm is. Is it up behind her head? It is a strange angle. I remember her from various movies and she did have two arms. 
Thank you Kodachrome!As much as my nostalgic/living historian/appreciator of all things past-butt likes tintypes and B&W, this beauty was made for color.
In black and white, they're all blondes and brunettes.
Kodachrome [RIP] gave us the nice bright colors, the greens of summer ...
This enchanting redhead would have been a blonde or brunette in this pic if it weren't for good ol' Kodachrome.
To quote a great man [cough cough, Dave], previously seen here!
I just might be purchasing my first Shorpy print.
SinewyIf I had to guess, I'd say it's behind her head under her hair.
And here is another picture from that shoot; she is dressed for the original production of Can Can
Five years laterIn the movie "Damn Yankees", Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets
Wfew!(wiping brow) What a gorgeous shot! Thanks to the Kodachrome stability for giving us these colors.  I'm proud to say that I processed K-14 for five years of my career over the 50th anniversary.  Lots of cleaning gunky cine racks in those dye heavy developers.
[I believe this was actually an Ektachrome, which we lump in with the "Kodachrome" tag. Photoshop deserves probably as much credit as Kodak for this looking the way it does. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, LOOK, Pretty Girls)

Meet the Yardleys: 1970
... Clapclapclap! Tell us how you did it. An unlabeled Kodachrome from the same batch of slides as young Stephen , fast-forwarded ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/29/2022 - 4:26pm -

        UPDATE: Our garden party is on Bontecou Road at Lilburn Drive in Stony Point, New York. While a number of you independently arrived at the correct answer, Johnny Yuma was first. Clapclapclap! Tell us how you did it.
An unlabeled Kodachrome from the same batch of slides as young Stephen, fast-forwarded to what seems to be around 1970. Who'll be the first to Street View this split-level suburb? In the meantime, pull up a chair. View full size.
The Date?First warm day of Spring!
Late in the DecadeI'd bump the year forward a bit, to '68 or '69, judging by the polyester doubleknit and slingback shoes.  Also the car next to "Stephen" is probably a model year later than '65.  The younger man could conceivably be Stephen, at the age of 31 or 32.  Definitely the first warm day of spring, though--an occasion worthy of pearls!
To Heck With Ralph NaderI'd love to have that red first-generation Corvair convertible in my driveway. Hopefully it's a four-speed turbo Spyder.
A clue?Hard to see on my work computer, but it looks like there's an address over the garage door of the house on the left. (Whose owner had excellent taste in cars!)
[Blurrily I say to thee: "Three Lxxxburn Drive." - Dave]
Temporal LocationI think the year could be 1967.  The gold convertible in the background, with the black top, is a 1967 Chevelle, and the gold car in front of it looks to be a '67 full-size Chevy.  There's also a red early Corvair convertible (it looks like a '62) with optional bumper guards parked in the neighbor's driveway, and what looks to be some kind of Mopar parked next to it (maybe a '65 or '66 full-size Plymouth).
I love... everything about this picture. From the old man's socks to the beer glasses (and the bottle of Schaefer), to the dresses to the split-foyer house across the street. The tray, the chairs, the ... everything.
Are we having fun yet?It will take more than a few of those Schaeffer beers to get this party started.  Maybe a little music, a few jokes and invite all the neighbors over. (BYOchair).  So far we have only one smiler.
Parents, mother-in-law, wifeStephen's looking a little worse for the wear, alas.
Raised ranchDon't know about the architechtural style of the other houses (can't see enough of them), but the house with the Corvair in the driveway looks like a "raised ranch," also called a "split foyer."
Possibly 1967The cars in the street appear to be 1967 Chevrolet models.  The mostly hidden car looks like a '67 Impala SS and the convertible with the top up could be a '67 Chevelle.  The Impala body style was new for '67 and the Chevelle was new for '66.
What is it?Behind the "Corvair house" up an incline or hill there appears to be a single home.  What the heck is that appearing between it and the "Corvair house?"  It appears to be a possible rock formation, but it looks as if it might have a door in it.
[The door or opening is in the lowest portion of that structure on the hill. -tterrace]
The YardleysTwo months prior, they were the Snowdons.
Sing alongSchaefer is the one beer to have ... when you're having ... more than one!
30 Bontecou Road, Stony Point, New YorkI do believe this is it. I found it using different letter combinations with the clue you provided. Took about 15 minutes to hit the right one. Google maps did the rest.

Found it!They are in Stony Point, NY.
The split foyer's address is 3 Lilburn Drive.
The house they are at is on Bontecou Road.
Better screenshotHere's a current shot including their house.
3 Lover's Lane?I thought it might be Lover's Lane, but couldn't figure the number.  Maybe it's 3 Lovers Lane?
Clue possibly solved?Just registered as not only do I find this site fascinating, but discovered where the picture was taken (and itching to post my findings).
I tracked down the house in the background as No.3 Lilburn Drive, Stony Point, NY. The "Yardleys" quite likely lived at 30 Bontecou Road.

Party BottleMagazine advertisement, Schaefer Beer, 1967.
Five o'clock somewhere!I applaud the Shorpian sleuthing efforts here, and I especially applaud the Yardleys for the getting the party started so early in the afternoon!
Raised Ranch CityIn 1962 my family moved to Stony Point, NY. into, yes, a raised ranch just a hop, skip and a jump from this very neighborhood. In those days just about every new development in the 60's in Stony Point  consisted of raised ranches (with an occasional split level) erected rather rapidly on what was once revolutionary era farmland. When we arrived one only needed to dial 4 numbers to telephone within the town. The town was transformed between 62-70, and that soon ended. Judging by the length and style of the dresses on two of these women, I also think this is more likely the late 60s. 
This picture is a big hitI shared the Yardley pic on the Stony Point FB page. Of course, before long people who actually knew the name of the Happy Hour family started posting and sharing memories about the neighborhood. Seems that barn up on the hill (Stony Point is extremely hilly) was the starting point for some serious daredevil sledding. Can there possibly be more shots from the area in the batch? Hope so!!
(Cars, Trucks, Buses, Stephen Kodachromes)
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