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Walker Evans: 1937
The photographer Walker Evans in a February 1937 portrait by his colleague Edwin Locke. 35mm negative, ... emotions. (The Gallery, Edwin Locke, Portraits, Walker Evans) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/28/2007 - 12:26am -

The photographer Walker Evans in a February 1937 portrait by his colleague Edwin Locke. 35mm negative, Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Pow!This is a stunning, powerful, portrait! Have to order a copy immediately!
[Order received. Thanks. - Dave]
IndeedWell Johnny you truly are correct, an amazing photo, what wonderful emotions.
(The Gallery, Edwin Locke, Portraits, Walker Evans)

Fall Colors: 1942
... Office of War Information. View full size. Like a Walker Evans I wonder if Lee was aware of/paying homage to Walker Evans' famous FA ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/27/2022 - 5:32pm -

October 1942. "Scrap and salvage depot, Butte, Montana." 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Like a Walker EvansI wonder if Lee was aware of/paying homage to Walker Evans' famous FA photo of Bethlehem, PA, with the cemetery in the foreground and the town in the distance.
Taylor Tot Strollerfor little kids slightly left of front and center in the image. I have a photo of me in one of those a few years later than this image.
Healthiest spot in town ??That wouldn't be true in most places, of course, but in one of America's most contaminated cities, this location on the southern outskirts of the city (note the MILW Station tower), well removed from the "The Hill" - and presumably out of the direction of the winds that blow therefrom - may be eligible for consideration.

All metalToday that heap would be 90% plastic. 
One man's junk ...The site now is probably an upscale housing development.  The owners are warned to drink bottled water instead of the 'glowing' tap water.
Stroller/walkerI recognize that stroller/walker with the rattan back and wooden handle. There was a removable handle to allow it to be pushed like a stroller, and with the handle removed, it was a walker. I had one as a tot in the early '50s, and it hung around for quite a while.
PoisonvilleDashiell Hammett based 'Red Harvest' on events in Butte, which he renamed Personville, aka 'Poisonville'. He had a different sort of contamination in mind, however.
So many car partsMiddle right is the firewall and cowl of a car.  It has an integral gas tank.  Model T?  Beyond that and to the right is the rear of a sedan.  To the left in front of the tree is a stainless steel radiator surround.  At the left edge, orange with surface rust and sporting some chrome trim, is a hood or door or ... ?  Below that looks kinda like a black fender.  Probably more parts to find.
Still available?Dang! I see just what I need to get that old Plymouth running again.
I had one 11 years later ...Me in my Taylor stroller, 1953.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Russell Lee, WW2)

New York Public Library: 1915
... that seems to have been based on this photo. Walker Evans on postcards The Feb '09 issue of Antiques magazine has an article on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 8:10pm -

The New York Public Library as seen from the intersection of East 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. July 14, 1915. Copyright Office Collection. View full size.
my favorite hiding placeThis is my favorite spot to go to on the weekends. The designs on the inside are amazing, not to mention the quiet.
Postcard viewI have a postcard view that seems to have been based on this photo.  

Walker Evans on postcardsThe Feb '09 issue of Antiques magazine has an article on Walker Evans, "America in 3 by 5." His collection of more than 9,000 cards are the basis for the recent MOMA exhibit "Walker Evans and the Picture Postcard." Included in the article are several of his photos, including "Main Street, Morgan City, Louisiana" (1935) and a 1929 postcard shot from the same vantage. 
Evans, quoted in a 1962 interview, said "The picture postcard is a folk document ... honest and direct little pictures." Antiques points out that the production of the cards wasn't so direct. While the photos may have come from largely anonymous local photographers, the business was multinational. Black-and-white photos, prior to WWI, anyway, were sent to Germany where color was added by engravers who'd never been near the scene, adding "florid sunsets and blue skies with great puffy clouds," but leaving the subjects somewhat understated.
The article is worth seeking out, both for the reflection on picture postcards, as well as some background on a great American documentary photographer.
Steve Miller
Someplace near the crossroads of America
Missing sculpture elementsA photo of the opening day of the Library on May 23 1911 shows that none of the six sculpture elements of the metope above the entrance had yet been placed. In a later photo one can notice that one element had been placed on the extreme right of the metope. What is strange is that on the above photo, who supposedly has been taken in 1915, no sculpture element at all appears on the metope. What has happened? Any idea welcome.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, NYC)

Hard Times: 1935
... West Virginia." Large-format nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the FSA. View full size. Interesting recent NYT article: "On ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 6:06pm -

July 1935. "Interior of unemployed man's house. Morgantown, West Virginia." Large-format nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the FSA. View full size. Interesting recent NYT article: "On the Path of Walker Evans."
What is itThe item stuffed behind the mirror? Is is the same thing as what is on the dresser on the right? It looks to me like a kleenex box - but I don't know if they had those back in 1935.
Also I thought the carpet was all one piece, but it looks like multiple carpets "tetris-sized."
[That's a thermometer behind the mirror. - Dave]
TimelessOne of the more interesting studies we've been treated to yet. Wonderful.
Meeting of artist and subjectThis photo is typical of the dignity that Evans captured in the lives and surroundings of ordinary people. I can also say, as the descendant of unemployed Appalachian people of the 30s, that there was dignity there to be captured.
DignityThese people may be poor and struggling, but everything is clean and orderly.  They may be short on money but not pride.
No Job, But Not UnappreciatedGreat photo.  The man who lives in these modest digs has won the attention of some woman.  Either that or he's unusually gifted at laundering and starching doilies!   
It Just So Happens.......that CBS's excellent television show "Sunday Morning" had a segment on Walker Evans, his postcard collection, his photography and post card history in general.  It was aired this morning.
New slogan for Dave:  "Everything's up to date on Shorpy."
Interesting scene, butWhat stands out when I look at this image is the application and condition of the wallpaper.
Farm Security AdministrationThis picture is on the FSA website.  Many other pictures by Walker Evans.  Very interesting site.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/fsa/welcome.html
Modest but niceThey may have been of modest means, but the house looks nice, as evidenced by the trim, and the banister on the staircase (most houses were well-made then), and the furniture appears to be of good quality as well.
No Sneaking Around That HouseThose floor boards creak with every step.
Picture-in-PictureI like the picture above the mirror.  Perhaps that is where this unemployed gentleman grew up.  Horses and no cars would seem to indicate an earlier date than 1935.  Looks like a lovely place.
WowThis pic is what great photography is all about.
Bygone craftsmanshipBetter construction & better furniture indeed. Compare this to the trash-out foreclosures of today, where dumpsters full of imported crap must be hauled off to the landfill before the owners can start replacing floors, windows, cabinets, and basically everything including the kitchen sink. On the other hand, we've already cut down all the nice trees they made this stuff out of.
Pictures of homeIs that the old homestead pictured over the mirror? Maybe our guy had to move to the big metropolis of Morgantown when the old place was obliterated by a coal mine. 
The many rugs reminds me ofThe many rugs reminds me of my Granddad's house, where you'd hardly ever see the wood floors. The idea was that every 6 months, all of the rugs would be taken out and beaten. Even into the 1990's when he was in his 90's he did that.
Morgantown EmploymentStanton_Square has been greatly moved by this photograph and has experienced considerable ruminations on how to respond.  The typographic servant  of Stanton_Square has deep connections to Morgantown, having spent many formative years there.  I am very curious as to where this photo was taken.  The most likely location is the nearby mining community at Scotts Run where Walker Evans spent several months. Other Morgantown industrial regions of the time include the glass factories along the Monongahela River or the Sabraton neighborhood.  Several decades ago I frequented the (still operating) Seneca Glass Factory and a few old houses nearby and felt a similar aura of proud, tidy modesty. The Library of Congress has a handful of Walker Evans panoramas of houses in the region Morgantown but I am at a loss to confidently identify their location. 
Ironic to this photo, Morgantown was recently recognized as having the nation's lowest unemployment rate (Dec 2008).
(The Gallery, Rural America, Walker Evans)

Drish House: 1939
... among other things. See this . Immortalized by Walker Evans as the "Tuscaloosa Wrecking Company" in a series of photographs taken ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/02/2013 - 5:50pm -

1939. Tuscaloosa, Alabama. "Drish House, 23rd Avenue & 18th. Brick and stucco built with slave labor ca. 1825-1832. Originally a plantation house, later used as public school." 8x10 negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size.
Death Lights in the TowerThis ghost story fits well with the old mansion.  Kathryn Tucker tells the tale with great southern charm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gcPl-0OUKo
Here is a wonderful picture of the home still in its splendor from a 1911 picture.
Here it isView Larger Map
No RespectAlso used as an auto parts warehouse during the depression, among other things. See this.
Immortalized by Walker Evansas the "Tuscaloosa Wrecking Company" in a series of photographs taken in 1936. Here are six of them at the Metropolitan Museum.
+82Below is the same view from February of 2021.
(The Gallery, F.B. Johnston)

Texodus: 1936
... View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. Walker Evans was my real window into what people had during the depression. what i ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/17/2012 - 10:16pm -

August 1936. Drought refugees from Abilene, Texas, following the crops of California as migratory workers. Said the father: "The finest people in this world live in Texas but I just can't seem to accomplish nothin' there. Two year drought, then a crop, then two years drought and so on. I got two brothers still trying to make it back there." View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange.
Walker Evanswas my real window into what people had during the depression.  what i have mostly seen were those "grand" lives that appeared in the astaire and rogers flics and those in the "thin man" movies.
thanks so much for these great pics of everyday life during the great depression.
cast iron frying pandon't leave home without it
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dorothea Lange)

Royal Crown: 1941
... Why can't we have product names like that anymore? Walker Evans? It appears Daly shot this pic but I would swear that Walker Evans was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 4:33pm -

Somewhere in the South, possibly Miami. Another snap by Daly from the summer of 1941. Medium format nitrate negative. View full size.
Refreshing - DeliciousPa-Pi-A
I'd love to see this photo in color! 
OvertownThis photo was almost assuredly shot on NW 1st Place in Miami's oldest black neighborhood. Called Overtown by the locals, it was officially designated as "Colored Town" when the city was incorporated in 1896. 
Overtown was the scene of Miami's hottest night life (think jazz) up 'til the late '40s and early '50s when the Model Cities urban renewal projects changed its character.
Today it's pretty much ghetto, with only about a fifth of its pre-war population.
Here's a shot of 1526 NW 1st Place today:   
Want a drink?I counted: Sun Spot, Vanti (pa-pi-a)Coca Cola, MB root beer, Delaware Punch, RC cola, Nehi, 7up, seems people were thirsty back then.
Pride of the RegimentThe soft drinks ads are closely paced by those for tobacco products.  Cigars listed are Tampa Nugget, El Producto, and John Ruskin, while smoking tobacco is represented by Model and George Washington Cut Plug.  Cigarettes seen are Avalon, Camel, Kools, and the classic ad for Raleigh.

Lots of signsIn today's collector's market those signs would be worth a small fortune!
The Raleigh girlis hott
Did the building cross the street?The 6 appears to be painted over a 7.
I knew about Sir Walter Raleigh cigarettes, but I never knew about John Ruskin cigars. Why can't we have product names like that anymore?
Walker Evans?It appears Daly shot this pic but I would swear that Walker Evans was standing behind the lens.
Raleighs and AvalonsRed Skelton started doing his comedy show for Raleigh (not Sir Walter Raleigh - that was their pipe tobacco brand) Cigarettes starting in September 1941, with Harriet Hilliard and bandleader Ozzie Nelson. Before that Skelton appeared on Avalon Time, sponsored by Avalon Cigarettes. Avalons were a budget cigarette selling for 10 cents a pack.
BC powders   BC powders are still sold widely down South! Being a Northerner I never knew about them till I resided in Nashville for a spell! Yes they do work but the powders need a chase of a mint julep or laced sweet tea!
(The Gallery, Bicycles, Miami, Stores & Markets)

Needful Things: 1935
... Bethlehem, Pennsylvania." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. Paul ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/07/2023 - 9:48am -

November 1935. "Household supply store. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Paul Bunyanesque ax handleIt would take a real he man to handle that tool. Window is a picture of modern day antique store. 
Broom with InstructionsIt seemed funny, until I realized that I've been misusing brooms all my life.

Not to second guess, butA good place for the Shorpy logo would have been on one of those coffee mugs. (I always have coffee with my morning Shorpy.)
It Slices! It Dices!Any vegetable and also any fingers or knuckles that happen to get in the way. That wooden dicer is similar to one that my mother-law had if that is what it is. It does look dangerous. 
Professionals only!
InstructionsIn today's world, the broom's instructions would be longer.  Do not eat the broom. Unwrap the broom before using it.  Remove the wrapper prior to using the broom. Position the straws down.
I'm trying to remember the putty like stuff we used to use to clean the wallpaper when I was a kid.   Absorene or something like that.  I expected to find that in the window.
Also trying to imagine what that huge hypodermic would be.
[Baking syringe. SAUSAGE STUFFER!- Dave]
Pardon meI wish to speak to the manager about those brooms you have stored with the bristles pointing up.
Interesting ImplementsAlongside the eggbeater style, umm, eggbeater, I want to know what the giant steel syringe is for!!
And yes, that wooden mandoline is a tool to be cautious with.
Mandolin slicerThat thing hanging on the left looks like a mandolin slicer.  I have a contemporary version of the same thing, only made out of plastic.  Generally you have a guide that you use to push the vegetable/potato/whatever across the slicer, which keeps fingers away from the blade (in theory).  Out the bottom come nice, thin slices.  Perfect for making potato chips.

Furmace cement is still a thing

In the lower left corner, there's a tin of what I thought was "Furnace Cream," which I thought was odd.  (Keeps your furnace young-looking?)
Turns out it's furnace CEMENT:  it's glue that isn't affected by heat (up to 2000°F!).
And it's still available from Rutland in the handy 8 oz. tub, although the packaging has been refreshed a little.
Tin syringeSausage stuffer.
The SyringeI believe is a sausage stuffer. Casings were slipped on the end and ground pork, fat and spices were pushed into the casings which were twisted in between each link.
Window ShoppingReflection of a person, next to the hanging egg beater, across the street on a balcony doing a little window shopping.
Rutland Furnace CementIt certainly is available today, but one ingredient (in the original name) is missing!
About that slicer"Perfect for making potato chips."
Yep, that or heaps of sauerkraut. And, from personal experience, the ends of fingers.
Re: Furnace cement is still a thingBesides the packaging update, I'm guessing the formula has been modernized as well since it looks like asbestos was the main ingredient back then.
A Posulation from a Shorpy Postulant.I respectfully submit that the appliance drawing so much attention is a hand-held sausage stuffer.
Barrel tapTo the right of the alarm clock, at the bottom of the window.  Also, I go through about four of those brooms a year to sweep snow from my outside wooden stairs and to sweep snow and street grime from the concrete walkways.  They do wear down, but it sure is sweet using a new one.
The Magic MineralBy the mid 1930s asbestos was finding it's its way into all sorts of products including the Rutland's furnace cement in this picture. Asbestos was cheap, versatile, and virtually fire proof. In the 1930s studies funded by the asbestos industry itself showed a link between cancer and asbestos. This information was suppressed for decades but by the 1970s the evidence was overwhelming, marking the beginning of the end of the asbestos industry.
Two thingsNot 100% sure, but the large "syringe" looks like a sausage stuffer.
They do indeed still make furnace cement, but I'm sure it no longer contains any asbestos!
Baking syringe, or sausage stuffer?I think that's a sausage stuffer. Found this whilst searching:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/74266214/large-vintage-tin-sausage-stuffer
Baking syringe?!!No, though I suppose one could could find a way to use it in baking. Maybe for piping, but it would be pretty unwieldy to use. It's a sausage maker. 
Copper CityThat wash boiler was made in my hometown of Rome NY, By a division of Revere Copper.  The company later produced the line of well-known Revere Ware cooking utensils.  At one time there were many factories in Rome that produced copper products, such as wire, cable, tubing, sheets and consumer products such as wash boilers.  There used to be a sign on the outskirts that proclaimed that 10% of the copper processing in the US was done in Rome.  "Copper City" indeed.  
That big syringeCould that syringe be a sausage stuffer? Perhaps the economy model, I usually see them with a base to clamp to a counter or tabletop. 
Watching WalkerI'm sure he looked suspicious to her.
"Hours of Fun"This would make a heck of a jigsaw puzzle.
That syringe... is for making sausage. Fill it up with mince, put the casing on the end, push the plunger down.
The laws are made in HarrisburgThe giant syringe is a sausage stuffer. Load it up with meat, put the casings on the end, and push the handle. My family just made sausage patties.
The large syringeJust a guess, but I think the large syringe is for filling sausage casings. In my grandmother's time, animals on the farm were slaughtered when the weather got really cold, I think November was the usual time in southern Indiana. The kitchen would be a busy place for a couple of weeks as the meat and by-products were prepared. Making sausage was one of the most important tasks.
Reflections on a windowIf you look closely you can see Walker Evans and his tripod where the brooms are, as well as a person who looks to be sitting on a stoop across the way above the wash boiler.

(The Gallery, Kitchens etc., Stores & Markets, Walker Evans)

McCollum Grocery: 1936
Moundville, Alabama, in 1936. Photo by Walker Evans. [Update Nov. 9, 2007: This would seem to be in Greensboro , not ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 4:18pm -

Moundville, Alabama, in 1936. Photo by Walker Evans. [Update Nov. 9, 2007: This would seem to be in Greensboro, not Moundville. Although the mayor of Haleyville has another theory. - Dave] View full size.
Mmmmmmmmm Bacon Skins.....Mmmmmmmmm Bacon Skins.....
Loftis CafeCurb service at the spot next door.  Looks like someone's waiting for that next customer....
Grocery CompanyI love this picture. The man lurking in the doorway and the car parked in the street to the left. Wonderful!
Sally
Which Ville?The only problem is that it is not from Moundville, Alabama or even close by. After I found the image on the site, I excitedly told my sister, Belinda N., who lives in Moundville of the image. Although she didn't immediately recognize it, she emailed a reporter from their local newspaper and he published the image in his column. Dozens of Hale County's residents told of where the building was and history seemed to be moving along swiftly as it should. Then, they received an email from the mayor of Hayleyville [Haleyville? - Dave], Alabama. The image was of a store in his town and the store occupying it had just closed in October of this year. Having the writing on the wall proved to be the "writing on the wall"! Due to the passage of so much time it was an easy mistake to make but it should be corrected for future readers of the blog. Time blurs our recollections of the past and sometimes even the past itself, if we but let it. 
[Things are still a little blurry. The caption information is from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs division. Thanks for the info. Below is a different view of the same store. Click to enlarge. The caption here is "County seat of Hale County, Alabama," which would mean this is not Moundville or Haleyville, but Greensboro. - Dave]

FoundView Larger Map
GreensboroThese photos are definitely from Greensboro, Alabama.  The C.A. Johnson store existed here into the 1980's, when it burned.  
(The Gallery, Stores & Markets, Walker Evans)

Shack at Osage: 1935
... interior. Shack at Osage." 8x10 nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Admin. View full size. But is it Art? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/07/2021 - 11:27am -

July 1935. "Scott's Run mining camps near Morgantown, W.Va. Domestic interior. Shack at Osage." 8x10 nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Admin. View full size.
But is it Art?This could pass for a conversation-provoking installation at some museum.
Not sure why the scan from the graduates - to Santa - back to the graduates - then on to the broom and the crowbar - all set off by the rocker, is so visually satisfying.
Always keep a crowbar handyEvery well-appointed homeowner should have a broom and crowbar at hand, to keep things neat and respectable.
In the arms of MorpheusSent hither by the creaks and groans of a most excellent willow(?) rocker.  When man is fully evolved, we'll be able to rock and sleep at the same time.
Walker's eyeInitially I made a flippant comment about the crowbar and broom, but now what stands out is Walker Evans' artistry. You can be sure every detail is deliberate, like the sunlight down in the right corner. In almost every picture he is saying, "Here is America, folks."
About that chairI found similar chairs selling online for between $600 and $1600. I bet the miners would be surprised. 
Someone had a keen sense of humorThe crowbar and the graduates, with Santa Claus hawking Coke thrown in for good measure. That's wit and whimsy at its best.
Another take on the crowbar.I see the crowbar being used to take apart wood crates that are used for firewood. You can see some wood crates in pieces near the wall and stove. Of course, the broom is to clean up the mess.  I confess that I’ve never stood the broom up that way but it is probably the right way,  so it won’t bend the bristles.
Coca-Cola Slogans through the Years"The Pause that Keeps you Going" is neither the best nor the worst Coke slogan. 
Among the best: "The Pause that Refreshes" (1929)
Among the worst, and clearly the invention of the boss's son: "Whoever You Are, Whatever You Do, Wherever You May Be, When You Think of Refreshment Think of Ice Cold Coca-Cola" (1939)
That rug on the floorThat floor and the rug remind me of a quote from my father. He was talking about the house he and my mother moved into when they were first married.  " ... and when the wind blew the rugs flapped on the floor!"
Rug?I thought that was linoleum.
[It's a linoleum rug. - Dave]

Almost Heaven, W VaThis is not. The shabby oil cloth rugs, the oddments of corrugated tin and cardboard hiding the holes in the walls. This is no way to live.
Life sizeJoseph Cornell.
(The Gallery, Mining, Small Towns, Walker Evans)

The Fields Family: 1911
... by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Hine and Evans I will never stop admiring and wondering at the foresight of ... what no one else wanted to see. I remember reading Walker Evans's qualms about "parading" the misery and want of the impoverished people ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/11/2008 - 4:26am -

May 1911. Fries, Virginia. "T.J. Fields and family. Work at Washington Cotton Mills. The father cards, two girls spin, boy on right end picks up bobbins. Been working a year or two. Mother and smallest children not in photo." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Hine and EvansI will never stop admiring and wondering at the foresight of photographers who so carefully recorded what no one else wanted to see. I remember reading Walker Evans's qualms about "parading" the misery and want of the impoverished people he saw while doing the "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" with Agee. But it was visionary to recognize that they and the others were seeing history that would be of such value, and showing America parts of itself it never really knew.
What We SawThe pictures here on Shorpy were taken mainly by professional photographers that were historians, whether they knew it or not. Some, like Hine, were crusaders out to prove a point. Much of this was from the beginning of the 20th  Century. Many of the later photos, of the depression era, were made by people in government employ who probably knew  they were recording the history of some terrible times. The rest of us went to the movies and saw the America that many of us wished we lived in.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)

Family Portrait: 1936
... sharecropper cabin in Hale County, Alabama. Photograph by Walker Evans for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Lewis Hine ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 8:52pm -

Summer of 1936. William Edward "Bud" Fields, wife Lily Rogers Fields and infant daughter Lilian at their sharecropper cabin in Hale County, Alabama. Photograph by Walker Evans for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Lewis HineWhat a fascinating and beautiful collection.
[Agreed, although this photo is by Walker Evans, not Lewis Hine. - Dave]
No guile,no deceit, no looking away: a direct gaze, right at the camera.  This is us, they seem to say: poor, proud and as honest as our home is bare.
Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska
The DoorWho is that coming through the door behind them?  Creepy.
Fourth person...The only creepy thing I see on this picture is called poberty.
[Let's not forget ignorance. - Dave]
Are there not four in this picture?Am I imagining ghosts, or isn't a fourth person peeking around the back door?
Fourth PersonThe caption mentions nothing about the mysterious (and somewhat sinister looking) individual, peeking through the door behind them.
[It's Grandma - probably Lily's mother. - Dave]
Older man, younger womanI am fascinated by the age difference. Maybe there is hope for me yet.
Where is Lilian nowI want to know where the baby is now-- what is life like now? She'd be roughly 73-ish. How does it affect someone to be in a "historical" photo? Especially one documenting rural poverty of this kind.
Fields family"The Most Famous Story We Never Told" (Fortune magazine). Includes a brief interview with a grandson of Bud Fields and other descendants of the Hale County families depicted in Evans's photographs and in the book "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men."
More on Walker Evans here.
The FieldsesAt least they live in a cabin. There was a photo recently showing a family living in a tent.
Family Portrait: 1936Notice the clean white sheets. I imagine the work it must have taken to keep them that way. It says a great deal.
Newspaper Decor?What's in the clipping on the wall? I can't quite tell. Thanks!
[I don't know if it's from a newspaper, but it says "The little Drakes." - Dave]

Fields BandannaI seem to recall reading an interview with Lilian Fields who said that her father had some kind of abscess or skin lesion on his chest when the photo was taken.  He draped a red bandanna around his neck to conceal it.
(The Gallery, Great Depression, Rural America, Walker Evans)

Birmingham: 1936
... Steel, Birmingham, Alabama." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans. View full size. Birmingham "square top" house A ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/01/2023 - 12:57pm -

March 1936. "Workers' company houses and outhouses. Republic Steel, Birmingham, Alabama." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans. View full size.
Birmingham "square top" houseA classic view of a Birmingham District company town with the typical "square top" houses. Thanks for creating this photoblog!
Birmingham "square top" housesThere are still some of these square top houses out in Titusville, near the old gravel quarry that's been converted into an artist colony. 
Nice hips...In construction vernacular, those square top houses would have what we call a hip roof. Sometimes called a hipped roof, as well. No ridge, all hips.
Square top housesIn the real estate business, those are commonly known as "foursquare" style.
(The Gallery, Birmingham, Walker Evans)

Red Injun: 1935
... Street] of Selma, Alabama." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. If ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/01/2023 - 12:43pm -

December 1935. "Main street [Broad Street] of Selma, Alabama." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
If $3.85 seems a little pricey for that tricycleJust keep walking.
Magazine Stand sign title!The sign on the news stand advertising SNOWED UNDER in the latest Liberty
magazine:  the same year Warner Brothers made a B-picture starring George Brent
using that story.  Not a very good movie, either!
Photoplay CutieThat is Canadian born actress Norma Shearer on the cover of that mag. Also that was the month that featured a story about Shirley Temple.
I don't wanna be fixedBelow is the scene today.  The first two story building on the right is where Keeble McDaniel's "fixings for men" was located.

Time has flownI assume there was once a clock there.
Snowed UnderLawrence Saunders' short story "Snowed Under" will be made into a film about a playwright who is working under a tight deadline and just happens to be snowed-in in his remote cabin with his girlfriend and two ex-wives.  Hilarity ensues.
Very strange thereAt first, I also thought that the round object on top of the streetlight was a clock but upon closer inspection I'm 100% certain that that's an old tire. 
[That's a metal casting for the clothing store's street clock. Not an old tire. - Dave]
eBay treasuresStrewn all over the sidewalk. Just like that?  Appalling!
Wagon WheelsThose wagons are quite collectible today. The one in front with the questionable name, is similar to one featured in a recent Shorpy post and a later version in the 1992 movie Radio Flyer. 
The Photoplay magazine is one of many publications , a Hollywood idea from the 1920s that promoted movie stars, and added to the allure and enticement of that behemoth of an industry. 
(The Gallery, Bicycles, Stores & Markets, Walker Evans)

Sprott, Alabama: 1936
... store at Sprott, Alabama." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Sprott I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/28/2022 - 12:09pm -

August 1936. "Crossroads store at Sprott, Alabama." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
SprottI wonder if this is all there was to Sprott.
On the map, Sprott
Is just a dot.
Limerick contest!There was a young lady from Sprott ... 
How about thisThere was a gaunt yogi from Sprott
Who asked the boys, Am I not hot?
Whenever she lotused,
The boys winced and noticed,
And thought to themselves, "You are knot."
Part of This Place Still Standing?Check out this link for "Then and Now" photos of this scene:
http://www.marvhamm.com/my_family_page2.html
Great linkObviously not a lot has changed at that interchange over the years.
There once was a lady...There once was a lady from Sprott
Whose friends knew her simply as Dot.
When asked whence the label
She spawned a short fable
And replied "It's a sinister plot."
There once was a lady...Bravo!
My Mom, Eleanor MitchellMy Mom, Eleanor Mitchell Butler, and most of her brothers and sisters were born "in Sprott", up the dirt road from the store. Mom was born in 1918.
Coca-ColaAh, the good ol' days before that nasty stuff called Pepsi started creeping in...
More on SprottCheck this site for more pictures and info.
What was Sprott like?Curious about the background to this iconic photo of the general store. Can anyone name any of the specific people in that photo? What was this place like? Were most of the people that lived there Sharecroppers? I notice there are bars on the windows, was this a dangerous community? When was the little store built?
Finding RootsMy grandmother was born here in 1918 I believe. Her family name is Perry. I am looking for information about the city, possible familial connections still there and I am starting here. Anyone have any idea about where else I can look?
(The Gallery, Gas Stations, Rural America, Stores & Markets, Walker Evans)

Backyard Railyard: 1935
... Phillipsburg, New Jersey." 8x10 nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. Washday ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/11/2023 - 2:36pm -

November 1935. "Crowded housing in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Phillipsburg, New Jersey." 8x10 nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Washday in BethlehemClothes on the line ... it must be Monday.
Don't fence me inKnowing Walker Evans as a scholar and influence on American photography, I thought of two photographs by Paul Strand (1890-1976). It's interesting that the first Strand fence was taken 19 years before Evans's, and the second 15 years after.

Liquor in the backWhile I was employed at the Collinwood yard in Cleveland, the residents whose property abutted the tracks sold cold quarts of beer and shots of liquor through the back windows of their garages to thirsty railworkers.
Phillipsburg, NJ?This source says it's Phillipsburg, NJ.  Doesn't look like Bethlehem.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/267118
[The Library of Congress, where these negatives reside, says Bethlehem. - Dave]
Wrong LoC-ationLooks like vjmvjm is correct -- here's the same row of houses in Phillipsburg, NJ
DepthThe depth of field in this photograph is amazing!
In reply to JazzdadAgree it is astonishing. The resolution and depth mostly to do with the 8x10 nitrate negative, probably low speed no/low grain stock, long exposure.
Plus of course the photographer's impressive skill.
(The Gallery, Railroads, Walker Evans)

Barbershop Row: 1936
... Negroes and shop front." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. American ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/06/2023 - 3:55pm -

March 1936. Vicksburg, Mississippi. "Vicksburg Negroes and shop front." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. 
American Pie 2I think that's a '29 Chevy. The 1930 models were very similar, but the windshield was tilted back ever so slightly.
Something Going OnDown the street
How did they do it?The detail is wonderful as usual but I'm amazed at the tonal range in this and the previous photographs. The people on the shopfronts are in full sun yet you can still read the circus poster in the shadow inside the open door. I could do this digitally but it would take a lot of work. The photographers really knew their stuff.
[Having a negative the size of a windowpane helps. - Dave]
Let the Devil take your cold666 for colds and fever.  Not the marketing name I'd pick, but the company is still in business.

Reminiscent of "Porgy and Bess"This photo and the previous one "Sweet Home Alabama" both immediately reminded me of the scenes from 1959's Otto Preminger UNFORGETTABLE film named above starring Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge and an all-star cast of outstanding African-American talents.  At the time, there were some protests that the characters were Negro stereotypes which offended some African-Americans, but to this "sheltered life" caucasion Caucasian (me), they were incredibly strong, spirited, deeply emotional and never-to-be-forgotten people who have stayed with me all these years.  I think it was one of the best movies EVER, in spite of all the controversy it provoked.  The street in the movie was CATFISH ROW and the characters were largely fishermen who sold their wares but in my opinion, it opened up a whole new way to tell a story with music.  Cannot believe it was fifty years ago.
Just outside frame left:Robert Johnson unpacks his guitar and gets ready to entertain the men on barbershop row.
668The neighbour of the beast.
American PieChevy with California plates. What year is the car?
Monticello Drug Co.666 cold preparation and cold tablets are still made by Monticello Drug Co.
Founded in 1908 by Tharp and Thurston Roberts, who "obtained a patent on a prescription known as Roberts Remedies #666. This prescription with a high concentration of quinine within the ingredients became the best selling remedy for malaria, chills, fever, influenza, colds, constipation, and bilious headaches. The 666 lines included the liquid, tablets, salve, and nose drops."
"During the depression years, the business continued to grow in spite of the economic situation because the medicine was kept available and affordable. Dr. Roberts was once asked, “How can you make any money when you are only asking 25 cents and 35 cents a bottle?” He answered, "You sell a lot of bottles"; and that he did."
666 for colds666 for colds was manufactured in Jacksonville Florida, the factory (no longer there) at the foot of the old Acosta bridge (also no longer there) I think it was grain alcohol and creosote, or something equally nasty.  It must have been sold throughout the South.  Odd name for  a cold remedy from the heart of the Bible Belt.
Barbershop QuartetBy my count, four out of five stores shown in the photograph are barbershops. Today, in the mid-size city in South Carolina that I live in there is a short line, about a half block long, of five or so brick buildings of which I can remember only one not containing a barber or beauty shop. The lone holdout was a pawn shop. So what is with this clustering of barbershops?
Whoa!I'm getting dizzy looking at these buildings
666You may scoff at the name, but 666 cough syrup is still hugely popular in the black community. A lot of white people have no idea what it is. The first time someone asked for it at the drug store I work for, I had no clue.
Vicksburg BluesThis would make a great cover for a Delta Blues album. Maybe it already did.
666 for Colds Fever666 is such a big deal now; I wonder if it was in 1936.
Red, white, red, white, etc.Clever paint scheme on the barber shop.
Dilapidated Much?I find the photo very intriguing. Even being from the South I've never seen anything like that, things were so much different back then.
Helluva ColdThat would have to be one devilish cold or fever for me to take "666" brand liquid, tablets or salve.  
Regarding the cluster of BarbershopsMy guess is that unlike more affluent establishments, each of these shops probably had one chair and one barber.  So if one guy was busy, you'd go to the next.  If they weren't near each other, you'd be more inclined to wait for your guy to free up.  This way, everyone gets some bidness.
The FactoryTaken in Jacksonville around 1980.

VburgMy wife and sister-in-law inform me that this was at 1004-1006 Washington Street in Vicksburg, next to the river. Off-frame to the right would be the intersection with Jackson Street. Today it's an empty lot. The barely visible building in the background is the railroad depot.
The Nassours, who owned the grocery, are still a prominent family in town. If you go to Vicksburg today, look for a pink-and-white building at 2710 Washington Street -- the "Nappie Roots Styling Salon." I kid you not.
VicksburgThanks for that info about where this photo was taken.  As a grad student, I lived near the corner of Monroe and Jackson for one summer while working at the Waterways Experiment Station.  Although living in this "city" was quite the culture shock for a native New Englander like me, it didn't look nearly as run-down as this picture. 
AhaMy aunt has a painting in her living room of a country road with an old barn in the background and on one of the trees is a sign with the 666 on it.  I always wondered why it had that number on it and why she'd want that number in her living room.  Now I see it was just a weird name for a cough syrup.  
Roberts Remedies No. 666I stumbled upon your website while researching a bottle that I found recently.  It is an old bottle with a cork stopper and the label (mostly intact) for Roberts Remedies No. 666 from the Monticello Drug Co.  It sold for 50 cents.  I found the "General Directions" interesting:
One teaspoonful in water every three hours until it acts well, then three times a day.  As cure for Malaria, One Tablespoonful in water every three hours for three days, then three times a day for eight weeks.  CHILDREN IN PROPORTION TO AGE.
Vicksburg Red Beans and RiceHad lunch (Red Beans and Rice) in ol' downtown Vicksburg today on the way back East from Louisiana and thought of this series of photos on Shorpy as I was shaking the Tabasco into the plate. Could have used a trim too.
More than 15 times as effective as Vick's Formula 44
(The Gallery, Stores & Markets, Vicksburg, Walker Evans)

Father Duffy: 1937
... into the Coke, and consumed together. Working With Walker It's interesting to note that the photographer, Peter Sekaer, assisted Walker Evans for a time. Still there but boy has Times Square changed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2013 - 1:17pm -

New York, 1937. "Times Square with Father Duffy statue still wrapped up." Sculptor Charles Keck's likeness of Francis P. Duffy, the New York Army National Guard chaplain decorated for his service in France with the 69th Infantry Regiment during World War I. Duffy Square and the statue were dedicated on May 2, 1937, by Mayor LaGuardia. Photo by Peter Sekaer. View full size.
Camels, peanuts and CokeNew York really does have it all.
Peanuts and CokeWhen I was young and Coke was sold in glass bottles, there was nothing better than a bag of salted peanuts poured into the Coke, and consumed together.
Working With WalkerIt's interesting to note that the photographer, Peter Sekaer, assisted Walker Evans for a time.
Still there but boy has Times Square changedView Larger Map
Storied characterBesides being portrayed by Pat O'Brien (who may have played as many priests as Bing Crosby over his career) in "The Fighting 69th" (1940), Father Duffy is said to have inspired the character "Fightin' Father Feeny" in Al Capp's "Li'l Abner."
RE: DonT's CommentHey, DonT--
Did you grow up in the South? I always did the bag of salted peanuts into the Coke bottle thing too, and suspected it was a Southern delicacy.
Duffy SquareThe northern part of the Times Square "bowtie," north of 46th Street, officially is known as Duffy Square, but as a practical matter the name doesn't get much use.  Most people simply refer to the whole assemblage as Times Square.
Father Duffy's statue is still there, but has been somewhat overshadowed by the TKTS theater tickets stand and its rooftop viewing area directly to the statue's north, and by an early 1960's statue of George M. Cohan about 100 feet to its south.
While much has changed in the ensuing 76 years, there are a couple of surviving buildings.  The Taft Hotel on the right is now an exclusive boutique hotel called The Michelangelo, while the building on the left with the Camel Cigarette sign is the Brill Building, which has housed many music publishers and producers ever since it opened in the early 1930's.
Have it all?Don't forget Ballentine Ballantine Ale and Beer on the left.
The Coke and Planters sign are on the back of the building last seen here:
https://www.shorpy.com/node/15565
And then there's the Brill Building, also known as Tin Pan Alley, where music publishers made their home. 
((Gads!  I misspelled Ballantine?!! I'll have to turn in my Rebus bottle cap collection!!!))
+6Here's Father Duffy uncovered six years later in August 1943.  That's my mom in the middle with her friends during a visit that year. 
PlantersI would love to have seen the Planters sign at night - lit up in its glory!
+76Another photo of Father Duffy I took earlier this month.  Still looks just as good all these years later.  
Taft HotelThe Taft may be a boutique hotel now, but in the '60s, it was my idea of New York sophistication. In '61, I was a member of the staff of our Jr. High newspaper (yes, there were such things), up in the Big Apple for the Columbia U. Scholastic Press Association convention and staying at the Taft. Three year later, back to the Taft as a member of our High School concert band, playing at the World's Fair out in Flushing. The Taft had valet service and house detectives and all the things I came to expect in a big city hotel.
From Coke to PepsiAnyone else notice that the Coca-Cola sign in the original has been replaced by a Pepsi-Cola ad in Kilroy's picture from 6 years later?
(The Gallery, NYC)

O Little Town: 1935
... steel mill. Pennsylvania." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Sledding ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/07/2023 - 11:29am -

November 1935. "Bethlehem houses and steel mill. Pennsylvania." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Sledding meccaI can see kids grabbing their home made sleds and shooting down the street at Mach 1. I know I would have done the same. Wonder what the slope grade of that street is anyway? Yikes for cars and peds in winter.
HymnO little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie,
the residents choke
on the factory smoke
that darkens the morning sky!
This is State Streetfrom all evidence.  The street crossing nearest the camera is Mechanic.  North of that is Evans with Third at the top.  All houses are still standing from what I can see.  The narrow brick house at the near left corner of Mechanic is 318 State Street and is currently for sale at $74,000.  The house with the corner door at right with Salada Tea on the glass pane is 315 State (shown below).
Mechanic St.My Dad grew up on Fourth St in the 1930's. He was one of those kids who did sled down Mechanic St. He said it was a fantastic ride!
(The Gallery, Factories, Walker Evans)

Tuscaloosa Wrecking: 1936
... Wrecking Co. & Auto Parts." 8x10 nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Per Groucho ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/26/2022 - 2:30pm -

Alabama, 1936. "Antebellum residence converted into Tuscaloosa Wrecking Co. & Auto Parts." 8x10 nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Per Groucho Marx, We went ivory hunting in Alabama, because the Tuscaloosa there
Still Standin'It's been moved to a vacant lot, but apparently it's still there:  The Drish House.

Dr. John R. Drish houseThis house had seen, and now has seen, better days.
It was built in 1837 on a 350-acre plantation, with the columns and Italianate tower added just before the Civil War. Dr. Drish died there in 1867, his wife Sarah in 1884. It was the Jemison School from 1906 to 1925. After its time as an auto parts warehouse and Walker Evans's visit, it was purchased by Southside Baptist Church, which built a brick sanctuary on one side. Threatened with demolition, it was leased to the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa County in 1994, and after designation as a "place in peril," acquired by the Tuscaloosa Preservation Society in 2007. It was finally renovated starting in 2012 and opened in 2016 as a venue for weddings and other special events.
Of course it is said to be haunted.
The good with the sadIt is good the Dr. John R. Drish mansion has been saved.  It is sad much of the charm has been lost.

+85Below is the same view from February of 2021.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Walker Evans)

Strop Mall: 1936
... Negroes and shop fronts." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Electric ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/06/2023 - 7:25pm -

March 1936. Warren County, Mississippi. "Vicksburg Negroes and shop fronts." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Electric meter IDWalker Evans, in his 1936 photos of Black-owned Mississippi businesses, accidentally captured some interesting views of a pivotal time in the history of electricity metering. In 1933, Westinghouse introduced the Type CS, with a "future-proof" socket mount which became an industry-wide standard the following year, and remains so today. To speed adoption by utilities, Westinghouse licensed the socket mount design, but retained the right to supply conversion kits, which were available for all 1914-1934 single-phase meters by the four largest manufacturers.
Here we see two stacked meters in what was called a "meter loop". Many electricians still use that term, even though we've forgotten the original meaning. In this case, the wire loops down to the meter, and then back up to feed an existing service that previously had the meter indoors. You can see four wires at the top of the riser: hot and neutral in, then two metered hots back out, to serve the two customers. It's 120 volts only, of course.
The top meter is a General Electric I-16 (1927-1934). The one on the bottom, I'm pretty sure, is a Duncan MD (1926-1934), although it might be the earlier M2 (1915-1926). I don't think I've ever seen a glass-covered M2, and I don't know what the insides look like. I do happen to own an M2, with a 1919 serial number. I could easily open it up and look, but I don't want to destroy the intact 1958 lead seal.
So much to work with hereI'd love to see this one colorized.
Nail SalonWhat's the deal with all the nails?

Difficultto believe that 666 was a popular product in the Bible Belt, even if you had one devil of a cold.
At home with 666I was curious about whether 666 Cold Preparation is still available. It seems not: the internet lists it but always as unavailable.
Still, I found it, in a way, near where I live: at the Smithsonian. And I discovered that 666 was headquartered in my home town of Jacksonville (where it moved in 1908 from Monticello, Florida). Large signs were visible from the Acosta Bridge into downtown; I must've seen these hundreds of times, which perhaps it why I get a warm (cold?) feeling when it turns up on Shorpy.
My Question ExactlyWhat's the deal with all the nails?
That's a LOT of nails, and they aren't arrayed in any sort of pattern that makes any sense to me. It's more like a tornado blew them against the side of the building.
Shingle nails, probablyI’d be surprised if the front hadn’t been shingles at some point. There’s still a garage across the street from my parents’ house that’s sided with brown, square shingles, maybe about 12”x12”, colored to look a bit like brick.
Pecker Wood?My first thought was the nails would discourage woodpeckers. Other than that I have nothing.
The 666 nostrum, however vile tasting, receives thumbs up from old timers who used it back in the day.
I'm Nosy 1936 Ford truck (half-ton or delivery.)
Mark of the BeastCurrently I've got a bad case of whatever is going around. Ergo I'm gonna need a case of that 666 stuff.
Posters and barbersI see two posters for a movie starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy at the Saenger Theater.  This theater opened in 1922 and was destroyed by a tornado in 1953, taking the lives of five of the children watching a movie.
I see one poster for a performance by Walter Barnes.  Born in Vicksburg, Barnes was raised in Chicago and became a jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and bandleader.  In the 1930s he and his 16-member ensemble toured the South, helping originate what became known as the “Chitlin Circuit.”  In 1940 Barnes and all but two of his musicians were killed in a fire at the Rhythm Club in Natchez, Mississippi.
I think the nails are there so you’ll know where to get a nail when you need one.
I believe this photo of Barbershop Row, also taken by Walker Evans in Vicksburg in March 1936, was either up or down the street from the Strop Mall.
Nail gun proving groundsYa'll can have that 666 - I'm going for some Chill Tonic from the good people at Grove's.
Liability RowNo responsibility accepted if the building collapses on you.
(The Gallery, Stores & Markets, Vicksburg, Walker Evans)

100 Startling Sensations!
... Charleston, South Carolina." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. Now 99% ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/11/2023 - 2:37pm -

March 1936. "Nineteenth-century shop front. Charleston, South Carolina." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Now 99% less sensationalThe Plenge Chemical Co. relocated to 140 East Bay Street in 1927. I wish I could say that this facade withstood all perils and is still there, gloriously restored. Alas, that would be a complete lie. And the extremely bland building that occupies this space now will only evoke one single sensation -- utter boredom.
Rid your house of flies and mosquitoesI was curious as to what product The Plenge Chemical Co., Inc. manufactured.  I have to wonder what testing was done to conclude their product was harmless to human beings while being death to insects.
Click to embiggen

ChucktownWhere the startling sensation you'll remember most is not the heat, but the humidity. Or as some (not me) say, the stupidity.
Another beautyAnother wonderful photograph from Walker Evans.
The pride and craftsmanship in creating this simple building speaks volumes of how society has devolved, considering The_Bishop's comment about the bland structure now on this site.
ScaleAh, the good old days of ornate mail-order cast iron or terra cotta columns and ornaments you spiked onto your storefront however you fancied. (The days when plate glass really was deadly plate glass, when white paint was white lead, and when boarding up required actual boards instead of plywood.)
What gets me is the scale. I estimate about 4-foot-8 between columns for a total store width of perhaps only 18 feet. On a busy urban sidewalk, a passerby would hardly have noticed it. 
Sign o' the timesPalmetto Sign Co.
94  Queen  St.
CHARLESTON,  S.  C. 
EST. 1913
(The Gallery, Charleston, Stores & Markets, Walker Evans)

Chez Heinz: 1936
... in New Orleans, Louisiana." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/14/2023 - 6:00pm -

January 1936. "Negro house in New Orleans, Louisiana." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Somebody didn't want their picture takenThere's a man on the front porch in a rocker facing the building. Shy or in time out?
Or maybeOr maybe he doesn't like staring into the sun.
Look closelyYou'll see that more than one person has their back to the camera. There is even one hiding behind the pillar on the left side. I think it's pretty obvious they don't want their picture taken.
BeliefsSome people have religious beliefs that do not allow them to be photographed. This would not be uncommon for this area and era.
I think you are missing the obviousIf you look closer you will see that the women at the bottom left is blurry as she is going into the house while being talked to by her friend. The man may simply just be avoiding the heat of the noonday sun. The children are all looking out on the porch to the right. Even though it is true that many Amish believed that if your picture is taken then your soul is "trapped" or taken away, I doubt this is the case here. Just a slice of life. People just going about living at the time.
Perhaps It is None of thoseIt could simply be a slice of life. The distance from the house. The blurry woman as she is going into the house on the left while her friend stops to say something. Also look at the children. They are looking out. The man simply may be just too hot facing the noon sun. 
Porch SittingBeing from this area and state, porch sitting is quite a common occurence. You will frequently find people just sitting on their porch watching passersby. If you don't have a porch, a nice shade tree will work just as well. It is a real good day when a friend drops by to sit and drink coffee, tea, etc. and have a game of cards. As far as religious belief, the Amish religion is not something we see in our area. However in New Orleans there is alot of Voodoo practiced. I do not believe that this is the case here, however just someone who does not like to have their picture taken. My father-in-law is one of those people. If you bring out a camera, he will leave the room before you have a chance to photograph him. This can make for very frustrating holiday's especially when you are trying to preserve memories for your children. Also makes it hard when preparing obituaries once the person dies. You often see very old photos of the deceased in our papers.
It's about povertyIf I lived in a house like this, I might be resentful about someone wanting to take a picture of it. Let's hope that people are not still living like this today! By the way -- I grew up in a community in North Carolina where there were lots of houses equivalent to this.
Living like this todayYou obviously haven't taken a trip to the inner city of some of America's larger cities. This house is in good condition compared to some that I have seen in urban America. America still has many people living in poverty.
(The Gallery, New Orleans, Walker Evans)

Furnished Rooms: 1936
... Birmingham, Alabama." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. 9 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/03/2023 - 4:50pm -

March 1936. "Detail of boardinghouse. Birmingham, Alabama." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
9 rooms, sidewalk viewIf this be it


then it had about a dozen years of defiance left: a 1947 aerial shows a building, a 1950 Fire map has a ghost image. (And for those unconvinced by mere wordage, those fire maps show a two-story wooden house with a facade-wide front porch.)
The camera angle is greatWalker Evans placed his camera level with the top step and cropped his photo at the bottom of the steps, giving you little sense of depth but a lot of sense of height.  You're looking straight through the house at a rough wood fence or shed behind the house.  Inside, you can see a small hanging light and an arch.  I'm guessing the ground floor rooms had at least 14-foot ceilings.  The gingerbread on the porch posts form points which look Moorish.  It must have been quite a house.
I did a quick search for a current 2416 address in Birmingham where this house might have been.  My best guess is there's an industrial building there now.  Dave, there is a small sign above the front door.  I can read an '8' but am uncertain about the rest of it.  Can you read it?

Engrossed In SewingIt appears the lady in the upper right window was unaware of the photographer. I am sure she couldn't even fathom a bunch of people 87 years later would be viewing her.
(The Gallery, Birmingham, Walker Evans)

A Place in the Sun: 1936
... last glimpsed here . 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. 1st or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/14/2023 - 6:12pm -

January 1936. "Negro house. New Orleans, Louisiana." The abode last glimpsed here. 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
1st or 2nd problem solvedWhy not just look at the "Metadata" for each image? Oh wait, 8x10 nitrate negatives in 1936 didn't record "Metadata".
Coming ... or going??If one consults that prior photo -- it was posted 16 years ago! -- it will be seen that most of the comments centered on the man sitting in the (now) vacant rocking chair. Specifically that he was facing away from the camera; interpretations ranged from the prosaic -- bashful, miffed at the photographer -- right up to the exotic -- voodoo priest (okay I exaggerate, a little).
None of that interests me; what I want to know is: was this shot taken just before that one, or just after??
The shadows seems ever-so-slightly shorter, but with no sense of time or direction. I'm not sure that helps any.
I think we have a winner, but at any rate a consensus: "going".  The key is the (very slight) lateral movement in the shadows; I had noted the vertical movement, but forgot about the horizontal movement, which is ultimately more useful since the sun may move up and down in the sky, but it always moves west. The only possible complication would be if the negative had been reversed - an oddly common problem I have discovered - but the billboard tells us it's correctly positioned. The other question, "why?"(take two so similar shots), I'm afraid we may never have an answer to.  Thanks to DFP and 'kines' for your deductions.  - N 
Using my little grey cellsI conclude today's photograph was the second of the two.  First, the man at left on the balcony -- it makes more sense he came out onto the balcony, stared at Walker Evans, then took his place at the corner; than it does he left the corner, walked towards the center of the balcony, and then turned to look at Walker Evans. Second, there is garbage at the curb.  In the 2007 post there is no discernable garbage at the curb; but today there is at least one piece of white paper; probably dropped by one of the many small children running around because children are more likely to drop garbage than they are to pick it up.  N'est-ce pas?
Re: Coming ... or going??This photo was taken after the one posted here in 2007.  So ... he is going.
When I first considered the challenge of Notcom's question, I thought to myself that it would be very unlikely the two photos were taken far enough apart to be able to find a clear difference in the shadows when comparing the two photos.  But I found at least two places that allow an unmistakable comparison.  The only opportunity to screw this up would be to misinterpret this virtual gnomon as I'm still sipping my first cup of morning coffee.  Being winter helps, as the sun is very low in the sky in the south, so the house is facing south, or at least approximately.  So the sun is progressing to the left of this photo behind the photographer as it moves west in the sky and the shadows are moving to the right.  Of the two places I used for comparison in the photo, the most distinct is the shadow cast by the center handrail (serving nonexistent steps) on the pattern of what appears to be cement at the base of the porch.
It is so nice to have a lazy Sunday morning to be able to afford the time to contemplate something so esoteric and trivial, and share with others.  Some day I'll retire and nearly every day will be like this.
Off your rockerMaybe it's just me but someone may want to turn that rocker around so the back faces the wall!
(The Gallery, Kids, New Orleans, Walker Evans)

Outside Counsel: 1936
... Vicksburg, Mississippi." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/21/2023 - 5:35pm -

March 1936. "View in the Negro quarter. Vicksburg, Mississippi." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
"Negro quarters"These little homes are at least clean and look well built.
A far cry from the recent "playscape" disaster photo!
Can you spot the difference ...Screen door hinges ... right side vs left side
Foundation pillars ... wood vs block
Number of steps ... four vs three
Thickness of steps ... 2x vs 1x
Window screen ... up vs down
House address ... on wall vs on post
Railing ... front overlaps side vs side overlaps front (hard to explain)
Roof pitch ... steep vs less steep (compare shadows)
Front tar paper ... 8 strips vs 7 strips
Front roof support beam ... prominent vs hidden or smaller or missing
A Seeming Lack of UtilitiesYes, perhaps better than the "playscape" but marginally so. I'm seeing one power pole in the background, and no power lines leading to these buildings. Do you suppose there are water, gas, or sanitary facilities? Likely not, though this is a limited view and we don't see the other end of the buildings. I'm not seeing outhouses. Others of Evans' photographs from this LOC Vicksburg group do show power lines at least passing by such housing, if not leading to them.
I've just recently discovered the metadata that Shorpy attaches to these photographs, and I am grateful for it. Thank you, Sir.
[We don't attach any metadata to these images -- it's already there. - Dave]
Sweeping the Yard.How many noticed the broom leaning against the rail. That is for sweeping the yard. I know it is dirt. As a kid that was something I was tasked with completing when we stayed with my aunt.
(The Gallery, Vicksburg, Walker Evans)

White Ribbon: 1936
... New Orleans, Louisiana." 5x7 inch acetate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. Zero ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/13/2023 - 5:28pm -

February 1936. "Frame houses. New Orleans, Louisiana." 5x7 inch acetate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Zero lot lineThree charming, and narrow zero lot line homes.  Yes, they leave you staring at a blank wall on the side, but at least your neighbor isn't staring back.  You have privacy in that respect.  And privacy is good when you're probably sleeping on that balcony, if not on the roof, on hot summer nights, waiting for a breeze to blow through.
Lard CanFrom The Encyclopedia of Chicago:  "The Cudahy Packing Co. was created in 1890 ... Over the next 30 years, the company added branches across the country ... By the mid-1920s, Cudahy was one of the nation's leading food companies, with over $200 million in annual sales and 13,000 employees around the country ... During the 1970s, after it was purchased by General Host, Cudahy was dismantled."
"White Ribbon" was the Cudahy Packing Company's brand of lard. Wonder what the can was repurposed for? I'm guessing tobacco juice.
[It's a garbage can. - Dave]
Radio Repairman?The fellow at 234 is advertising tubes for 35 cents.  Could it be he's helping folks in the hood by selling replacement tubes for their radio sets so they can continue to listen to WWL?  Or is it just some voodoo-hoodoo potion they are selling?
[Or is he selling patched-up innertubes. - Dave]
Dilapidated and De-lovelyIf a building wasn't weathered and dilapidated, Walker Evans just wasn't interested in photographing it, and I'm very thankful for that. He must have felt like a kid in a candy store in the towns and cities of the South in the '30s and '40s before people felt that they needed to get rid of those old beauties.
Once UpscaleThe stone curbs and catch basins indicate that this was once in a popular part of the city. I've seen many of the two-story single shotgun style, but never with the side balcony with wrought-iron.  They were likely luxury homes thirty years before the photo.
(The Gallery, New Orleans, Walker Evans)

American Gas: 1935
... Virginia." Last seen here . 8x10 nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. Three ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/18/2023 - 10:42pm -

June 1935. "Filling station. Reedsville, Preston County, West Virginia." Last seen here. 8x10 nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Three Faces of EthylA fine trio of so-called "clockface" pumps, an interim step between the earlier, archaic "visible" dispensers, and the modern "computer" models that display both quantity and price.


The mechanical equivalent of the traditional fish-to-caveman-to-3 piece suit progression.
Check that erl fur ya?Oil rag, usually carried in a back pocket, but this one’s a little too far gone for that.
Oh those signs and gas globes.There is just a large fortune there today. I sure hope they were salvaged and saved. Beautiful picture of Americana.
Two Signs!They want you to know they take cash only.  (Must have had a problem with credit cards in the past.)
[You missed a sign! - Dave]
In a huffThe fellow in the middle is a bit peckish with his benchmates today. He wore his brand new, mail-order toupee for the first time and nobody mentioned it.
Before ol' Mr. Gibson bought itHere's another view of Gibson Motor Co., along with a pic of the same building in a previous life, as Central Garage. After a virtual tour of Reedsville I can't seem to locate any structures that appear to be similar, so it seems you've gotta go to the Citgo to gas up now.
Railway Express Agency... In full color
(The Gallery, Gas Stations, Small Towns, Walker Evans)

The Banana Stand: 1936
... (we guess) George himself. 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. Oyjters? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/28/2023 - 1:42pm -

February 1936. "Roadside fruit. Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana." The oyster-and-banana stand last glimpsed here. Special appearance by (we guess) George himself. 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Oyjters?Or Am I ready wrong?
OystersI Am reading wrong. Sorry.
Arresting photoThat should be a good business to own. I hear there's always money in the banana stand.
Coke coolerThe bottles are upright in the chest immersed in cold water and trapped by a track holding them loosely on the neck. Your coin released one bottle that you slid along until it was clear of the track. Similar mechanism --
The Coke coolerin the picture is not like the one shown by GWBnye. The one in George's Place has a hinged top, which would open from either side, and the bottles below were in a bath of cold water and ice. You just pulled up your choice and paid the man your nickel, plus the 2 cent deposit if you were going to take it away from there.
Coke Cooler IIIThose coolers with the floating ice and ice cold water were the best.
I surely missed them when the machine age took over and the sodas while chilled never really tasted as good as the ones from the ice chest coolers and wiping the dripping water off of the glass bottles seemed to cool you down before you even had a cooling sip.
Plus one always got a soda from the icy guys since they never got hung up on the way down.
I still chill my beverages, adult and otherwise, during my summer BBQs in a chest of ice and I swear they do taste better than those from the refrigerator. 
(The Gallery, Stores & Markets, Walker Evans)

Fifth Street: 1935
... on a hillside street." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size. Out the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/07/2023 - 11:42am -

November 1935. "Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Stepped row of houses on a hillside street." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Out the doorand skateboard to church in record time.
Still thereIt's all pretty much extant.  At some point most of the wooden porch rails were replaced with metal and some well-advised handrails for the steps were added.

Your classic tradeoffI would love the view from the top house but I'd rather live in the bottom one when it's time to lug home the grocery bags.
Steepness!Bet it's slippery in the rain and snow!
Whatever that is hanging from the power line reminds me of the old sneaker trick boys used to play on the unwary going home from school. Bullies or unworthy friends.
BreathtakingAll Shorpy photos are gems, but this is one of those that takes your breath away. 
The beauty of the composition, use of telephoto lens, the 8x10 nitrate negative and all the extreme resolution and depth it provides, and the photographer's processing skills combine to form this artistic masterpiece.
(The Gallery, Walker Evans)
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