Dovecote, Old Manor, Bucklebury

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Annieoakley

A dovecote, dovecot or doocot (Scottish) is the term used for the structure built to house pigeons or doves. These are buildings of historical interest and much has been written about them. They are sometimes round, sometimes square or multi-sided, or even beehive shaped, generally containing pigeon holes for the birds to nest in, and are either free-standing or attached to another building, a barn, for instance. The dovecote seen in this photo is likely the square-shaped building on the left with the cupola, rather than it’s immediate neighbor.

The handwriting on the back of this one was a bit tricky to decipher. Other possibilities were tried, but thanks go to my hubby for getting the best guess on that last part which appears to be Bucklebury. The village and civil parish of Bucklebury is located in West Berkshire near Newbury and is now well-known for it’s connection to the Middleton family and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate, and can’t forget to mention Prince George.) There is another area listed on the map as Bucklebury, about 25 miles east of the first-mentioned village, and located near Bracknell. So, exactly where this photo was taken is a mystery. Perhaps someone will recognize what manor home these buildings belong to, if they are (hopefully!) still standing. The estimated date of the photo is from the 1910s – 1920s.

Old photo, sepia tones, white border. Back shows “.Velox” photographic paper. Circa 1910s – 1920s. Size: About 4 and 1/2 x 2 and 3/4.”

Price: $15.00

Sources: Dovecote. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dovecote (accessed February 6, 2015).

Bucklebury. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucklebury (accessed February 7, 2015).

S.S. Cacique At Panama

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Annieoakley

Old snapshot, sepia-toned, white border. Circa 1922. Size: 5 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/2″

Condition: Good though “wavy” overall (does not lay flat). This photo was taken from someone’s photo album or scrapbook. Small crease in top left corner of white border. Click on image to enlarge for details.

Availability status: SOLD

S.S. Cacique: built in 1910 by the Short Brothers of Sunderland, England; 6,202 gross tonnage; owned by W.R. Grace & Co., purchased in 1914 from New York & Pacific Steamship Co. (Ltd.) a subsidiary of W.R. Grace & Co.; requisitioned by the United States Navy 1918-1919; returned to her owner after her navy service, scrapped in 1934 at Osaka, Japan.

This photo was an exciting and rare find at an antique and vintage paper fair in California. As of the date of this post, it appears to be only the second one in existence of Cacique, (the other is a US Navy photo) and if so, the only one with the view of her name on the hull! Update: (See the comments on this page from Alan G. and Alan R. There are other photos still in existence.) The clarity and details are incredible. On the back is written, in pencil: “US freighter, SS Cacique, Panama, c. 1922.”

S.S. Cacique was owned by W.R. Grace & Co., a company founded in Peru by Irish brothers, William Russel Grace (1832-1904) and Michael Paul Grace (1842 – 1920). The brothers got their start in the mid-19th century using sailing ships to transport guano (among other items), after initially working as chandlers (dealers in ship supplies). While their Peruvian based ventures prospered Michael Grace stayed in Callao to look after the company’s interests, and brother William went to New York, establishing W.R. Grace & Co. in 1865. William R. Grace became the first Catholic Irish-born mayor of New York City, elected in 1880, and was elected a second time in 1884. It was during his second term that the Statue of Liberty was received as a gift from France. A philanthropist and humanitarian, William R. Grace, with the help of his wife and brother, founded the Grace Institute in New York City in 1897, an educational and vocational school for immigrant women, whose legacy continues today. (As per usual, we see how one photo, postcard, trade card or whatever leads us down some totally unexpected paths!)

To follow the history of a shipping company can be understandably a bit of a complicated process; it’s a topic not easily researched within a week or two, what with ship name changes, subsidiaries, chartered ships, etc. all interwoven and interdependent with trade and shipping law, and in general influenced by and influencing the political, economic and social scene of the day. For a fascinating and in-depth look at the earlier Grace years, see author Lawrence A. Clayton’s Grace: W.R. Grace & Co., the Formative Years, 1850 – 1930. But just to clarify one point on Cacique’s ownership: According to a Who’s Who In America entry, William R. Grace established the New York & Pacific Steamship Co. (Ltd.) in 1891. A separate source, a 1915 U.S. Congress publication regarding Foreign Vessels Admitted To American Registry, under the Act of August 18, 1914 shows “Cacique: Rig: Steam Screw. Service: Freight. Gross tons: 6206. Net tons: 4543. When built: 1910. Home port: New York, NY. Present owner: W.R. Grace & Co. Former owner: New York & Pacific Steamship Co. (Ltd.) Former flag: British.” So, while Cacique changed flags and the official ownership name in 1914, as evidenced by the ad and text below from the Frank Waterhouse & Co. publication, the vessel’s parent company had not changed.

1917 advertisement and entry shown in Frank Waterhouse & Company’s Pacific Ports. A Commercial Geography, Commercial Dictionary, Transportation Guide and Marine Manual of the Pacific Ocean, with Full Information for Importers and Exporters.
Note the subsidiary companies (specifically New York & Pacific S.S. Co.)

United States Navy photo of U.S.S. Cacique (ID 2213) during her WWI service. This photo may have been taken at the time of her inspection by the 12th Naval District on December 27, 1917. Cacique made two round-trip voyages between the United States and France during the remainder of World War I and the first months after the Armistice in November 1918.

Regarding the smokestack colors: The Grace line’s steamship colors changed in 1913 from green with a black top to the smokestack that we see in the top photo which, if we could see it in color, would show what became known as Grace’s signature stack colors (used from 1913-1969) of green with a white band and black top. The excellent The Ships List website contains detailed entries for the numerous vessels in the Grace Line. Cacique in these photos here is not to be confused with two other Grace ships under the same name. The first was a vessel built in 1893 that was lost to fire in 1908 off of the Ecuador coast; (owned by New York & Pacific Steamship Co., Ltd. and listed as chartered by W.R. Grace & Co. at the time of her unfortunate demise, which tragically included lives lost); the other Cacique being the ship Garfield, built in 1918, renamed Nosa Chief in 1929 and then Cacique in 1935, and scrapped in 1946. Also, not to be confused with another Cacique: built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Ltd. in Newcastle, England 1908, sunk by a torpedo from a German submarine on February 20, 1917, (21 lives lost) and owned at the time of her loss by Cie. Générale Transatlantique. (Cie. is the french abbreviation for company.)

Sources: USS Cacique (ID-2213). n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cacique_%28ID-2213%29. (accessed November 1, 2014).

“Grace Line (W. R. Grace & Co.), New York, 1882 – 1869.” The Ships List. Web accessed November 10, 2014. [http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/grace.shtml]

William Russell Grace. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Russell_Grace. (accessed November 2, 2014).

Michael P. Grace. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Grace. (accessed November 2, 2014).

Clayton, Lawrence A. Grace: W.R. Grace & Company. The Formative Years, 1850-1930. Ottawa, Illinois: Jameson Books, 1985. Web accessed Nov. 1, 2014. (Google eBooks.)

United States. Cong. House of Representatives. Foreign Vessels Admitted To American Registry. 63rd Cong., 3rd sess. Washington: GPO, 1915. Web accessed Nov. 2, 2014. (Google eBooks.)

Frank Waterhouse & Company’s Pacific ports. ed. Welford Beaton. 3rd ed. Seattle: Terminal Publishing Company, 1917. Web accessed Nov. 2, 2014. (Google eBooks.)

Baltimore. The Merchant’s and Manufacturers Association of Baltimore. Vol. 15, No. 11 (September 1922): p. 25. Web accessed November 10, 2014. (Google eBooks.)

Moody, John. Moody’s Analyses of Investments, Part 2. Moody’s Investors Service. (1917): p. 2013. Web accessed November 10, 2014. (Google eBooks.)

Who’s Who in America. A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of the United States, 1901-1902. ed. John W. Leonard. Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Company, 1901. Web accessed Nov. 2, 2014. (Google eBooks.)

The New York Lumber Trade Journal, Vol. 60. (March 1, 1916): p. 33. Web accessed November 10, 2014. (Google eBooks.)

Naval History Heritage Command. Department of the Navy – Naval Historical Center. US Navy photo of USS Cacique. Web accessed November 10, 2014. [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-civil/civsh-c/cacique.htm]

“Cacique.” Tyne Built Ships. Web accessed November 23, 2014. [http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/C-Ships/cacique1908.html]

Girl In Warm Coat

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Annieoakley

Antique photo, circa 1890s – 1910. Size: 3 and 3/4 x 6 and 3/4″

Price: $7.00

An old photo, perhaps from the 1890s or early 1900s showing a young girl wearing a warm-looking winter coat, gloves, and hat. Our subject looks to be maybe eight to ten or eleven years old, is posed standing at an angle to the camera, with her head turned a little toward the photographer but without a direct gaze. She has a bit of a thoughtful look, a little off to one side. In general, for photographing people the angled pose is considered to be flattering, so this photo may have been taken by a professional photographer, or at least someone who knew a little about photography. And it appears to have been taken outside if what we are seeing in the background are leaves, but it’s dark and hard to discern. We can’t make out her legs as whatever she is wearing there blends in. The coat is a light color, of a plush material, falling maybe at or just above the knee, and has a somewhat wide, flat-laid collar. The coat must be fastened from the inside as the front shows three braided rope decorations where the buttons or fasteners would normally be. Her hat is another story altogether, and looks like something normally worn in spring or summer. Maybe this photo was taken at Eastertime or for an occasion like a confirmation or first communion. But anyway, the hat is a pillbox type with a large decorative flower off to the side. The girl’s blond hair is pulled back by a large white or light-colored bow.

This photo has the look of another on this website under the title of “Mystery Building” just in the feel of the photographic paper and the condition, and this is the main reason why I think this photo may be from around the turn of the century. Searching online for similar coats and hats is not yielding any definite clues at this time.

Incidentally, the origin of the word “plush” is from the French peluche. From Wikipedia, the description for plush is “a textile having a cut nap or pile, the same as fustian or velvet” and was originally made from mohair or worsted yarn.

Source: Plush. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plush. (accessed November 6, 2014).

Ethel O. (Shore) Cockey

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Annieoakley

A beautiful photo of a beautiful lady, Ethel Olive (Shore) Cockey:

According to the obituary information posted on Find A Grave, Ethel O. Shore was born March 5, 1905 in Arlington, Kansas, and died June 8, 1969 in Dodge City, Kansas. She married William Powell Cockey, Jr. on June 6, 1928. She worked as a nurse’s aid, was a member of the First Christian Church in Dodge City, the American Legion Auxiliary, and the Ford County Heart Association Council, and she worked with the Red Cross.

Ethel would have been 23 when she married, and this photo could have been taken either before or after her marriage, and it’s probably from the late 1920s or early ’30s. The background is interesting. It looks like she was posed before a piece of artwork that was drawn to have the viewer looking out a paned window to an outdoor scene, but is that a tree on the left or is it water at a shoreline? If you look closely at the photo you’ll notice that Ethel’s eyelashes were enhanced by, it would seem, the same person that wrote her name at the top. Perhaps this was the photo artist but whoever it was did a good job.

Ethel Olive Shore is on the 1910 Federal Census taken in Arlington, Kansas with her parents Victor H. and Ella M. Shore. Victor’s occupation shows here as Foreman for a “Section Gang” and this is likely referring to railroad work, as his WWI draft registration card shows Victor Hugo Shore, Section Foreman for the A.T. & S.F. Railway Co. (Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) in St. John, KS. The 1920 census taken in St. John shows this family with an additional member, Myrtle, age 9, and a boarder, Jessie Smiley.

Size: About 3 and 1/4 x 5″

Old photo, circa late 1920s or early 1930s.

Price: $20.00

Sources: Find A Grave memorial 107614561. Web accessed October 27, 2014. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=107614561&ref=acom. (Findagrave.com)

“United States Census, 1910,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M2ZW-TGX : accessed 27 Oct 2014), Ethel Olive Shore in household of Victor H Shore, Arlington, Reno, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 146, sheet 11B, family 77, NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1374466.

“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K66V-YHD : accessed 27 Oct 2014), Victor Hugo Shore, 1917-1918.

“United States Census, 1920,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MFXG-W25 : accessed 27 Oct 2014), Victor H Shore, St John, Stafford, Kansas, United States; citing sheet 7A, family 62, NARA microfilm publication T625, FHL microfilm 1820552.

Girl In Hat

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Annieoakley

Studio photo of unidentified girl, circa 1920s. Size: 4 x 6.

Price: $5.00

Here’s a charming studio photo of a beautiful little girl, perhaps around eight to twelve years old. How to describe her hat? Well…cloth, perhaps satin or silk, with a turned up brim, much larger in the front, with pleats or folds. The crown’s material is folded over to the side….The perhaps square neckline on her dress or blouse shows under a vest of a lighter color that has two decorative cloth buttons at the shoulders. She wears a short pearl-type necklace and probably matching earrings. Her hair is either short or pulled up under her hat, she has a direct gaze and wears a slight smile. We can clearly see that this photo was at one time in an oval frame. Back to this hat…this particular style wasn’t showing up while browsing online through all manner of hats for girls and women. One thing is clear on the subject of hats – the styles are limited only by the imagination. What one could dream up, one could make or have made. This photo is estimated to be from the 1920s.

Update, April 10, 2024: We have a potential i.d. for this young girl, from another portrait photo found later. See what you think: Katheryn Earhart, Elizabeth’s Best Friend.

Hondarribia, Basque Country, Spain 1959

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Annieoakley

This vintage color sea coast photo is labeled on the back as “Fuonterrabia Spain ’59.” This would be the town of Fuenterrabía, Spain, located in Gipuzcoa, Basque Country, on the west shore of the Bidasoa River’s mouth, across from France. In the Basque language the town is called Hondarribia, which means “sand ford.” In Spanish it is Fuenterrabía, and in french it is Fontarrabie. It looks like this was taken from a balcony, showing a view from above of calm water, moored boats and a tree-lined, sandy walkway with some parked cars visible in the distance. There are a couple of people in the photo, also: a gentleman walking next to a boat which is up on the sand, and another person that must be on top of maybe a high pile of rocks on the other side of our line of view. He’s not perched in the tree, 🙂 though it kind of looks that way. I’m guessing that on the map below we would be on the yellow beach area to the left.

Vintage color snapshot with white border, dated 1959. Size: About 6 and 3/4 x 3 and 1/2″

Price: $4.00

Sources: Hondarribia. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hondarribia (accessed October 5, 2014).

Hondarribia – Google Maps. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hondarribia,+Gipuzkoa,+Spain/@43.4020316,-1.8837576,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd5109a0535dceff:0xf8a3a87ebc694056 (accessed October 5, 2014).

Tibidabo, Barcelona, Spain

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Annieoakley

Here’s an unusual circa 1960s black and white photo, showing a woman in a knee-length dress and a cardigan, wearing flats and carrying a somewhat large purse and a newspaper. She may have just gotten off the bus or just be crossing the street. Upon closer inspection we notice she also has her glasses in the same hand as the newspaper. She’s a nice looking, middle-aged lady, wearing a slight smile, eyes downcast, focused on watching her step on the wet street, or maybe not wanting to look at the camera, probably out running errands for the day. A front and partial side view of a bus is prominent in the photo, and we see a couple of gentlemen to either side of the bus. We also notice a woman through the bus window, getting ready to exit. The sign in the bus window possibly states Servicio Nacional [?] That second word is hard to make out. There is a partial view of a tiled roof with what looks like a tiled overhead extension running above the street in the background, plus some cars lined up on the right, probably parked. (Don’t they seem close together!)

This could be a typical street scene somewhere on the Avenida Tibidabo (Tibidabo Avenue) in Barcelona, Spain, or maybe a scene taken on the route up to the mountain of Tibidabo. This mountain overlooks Barcelona, and at 512 meters (1680 feet) is the highest mountain in the Serra de Collserola range. It’s known for both it’s amusement park and Catholic church at the top. Since the word “Tibidabo” is displayed (very prominently) at the bottom of the photo, we wonder if this would be one of the tourist variety; the type where the photographer takes the shot of passersby, and then offers to sell them the photo. There is no photographer or other identifying info on the back, other than what looks like the initials “MY” – who knows what that might be. “Fibidabo?” is written lightly in pencil, and that’s just evidence of probably the last owner of the photo taking a quick guess at the word on the front. (The internet sure makes quick work of searching.) The photo is in fairly good condition except for a prominent crease at the bottom right. If you enlarge the image you can see it.

Pegaso: A Spanish make of trucks, buses, tractors, armored vehicles, and for a shorter time sports cars. Note the logo on the bus and the barely discernible nomenclature in script on the grill work below the logo. (How we love these ah-ha moments!) Pegaso (Pegasus – we are used to seeing the winged horse) was under the parent company Enasa, which was taken over by Iveco in 1990. The Pegaso name ran from 1946 – 1994, and their operations were headquartered in Barcelona.

Price: $35.00 Size: About 4 x 5 and 3/4″

Sources: Tibidabo. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibidabo (accessed October 5, 2014).

Pegaso. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegaso (accessed October 5, 2014).

Just A Pretty Girl

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Annieoakley

Here’s a vintage sepia-toned photo of a beautiful young woman with a wavy bob hairstyle, wearing a sleeveless “evening-wear” type dress fashioned partially from tulle (a sheer fine netting made from silk, nylon or rayon) . The photo looks to have been hand-tinted with the pale sea-green and pink coloring on parts of the dress. She wears a short strand of pearls and has a beautifully sweet, but confident, maybe a little worldly expression. This is postcard size but not a postcard. There are no markings on the back, but it evidently had just been saved in a scrapbook. Besides the obvious missing right corner, there are lots of foxing type marks on the photo, especially noticeable is the mark on her right cheek, but well, we’ll just call that a beauty mark 😉 If we look closely at the dress itself, we see a little more detail: Is that a rose-like faux flower on the left side, or could it have been a corsage? Also, we see part of a satin or velvet-looking ribbon running horizontally (under her left forearm) on the dress dividing part of the tulle with a heavier fabric of perhaps taffeta or silk.

Studio photo, circa 1920s. Photographer unknown.

Price: $6.00

Under The Arbor

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Annieoakley

Sepia-toned, faded photo dated December 27, 1919. Size: About 2 and 1/2 x 4″

Price: $5.00

Here’s a lovely, though light (I seem to say this a lot) old photo, dated December 27, 1919. It shows a beautiful young woman with her young son of about four years old (They must be mother and son, I think. You can see a resemblance.) They are standing underneath a wooden arbor that has some type of vine growing on it. If this was taken in December it may have been taken somewhere temperate in winter, unless it was unseasonably comfortable that day. We certainly don’t see any snow, and since the photo was found in a California antique store, it may be that it’s from the West Coast. But it’s some type of waterside scene, at river or lake or next to a peaceful ocean inlet, as we notice the reflection of some trees under the piece of land jutting out on our left. Is that a small boat there on the water? And there are some houses or cottages, some utility poles and in the bottom left corner what looks like a wooden plank walkway. But getting back to the subject of the mother and child – the woman is holding and admiring what may be a cutting from the vine, while the happy boy looks at the camera. It’s just a beautiful image from another century.

An Unusual Pose

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Annieoakley

Studio photo in cardboard frame with oval setting. Circa 1891 – 1910. Photographer: Peter Tschirhart. Studio location: Sand Beach, Michigan.

Price: $15.00 Size including frame: About 6 x 4 and 1/4″

Ha, what to name this one? There are already mother and daughter type titles for other posts on this website, if memory serves, but what strikes the viewer about this one is probably the wonderful casual pose of the child with the elbow resting on the mom’s shoulder. The child looks into the camera while the mom gazes a little off into the distance. It’s a beauty of a photo. Unfortunately, the two subjects were not named, but we do at least have the photographer’s stamp on the back which is barely readable.

The photographer’s name and location is P. Tschirha ..?. – Sand Beach, Michigan. Sand Beach Township is located in Huron County, at almost the tip of the thumb, and this photo was found in an antique store in Dearborn, MI, this year, 2014.

Since the last couple of letters were so hard to read for the photographer’s name, I googled it and found a German family name under this spelling ending in “rt” – so the likely last name would be Tschirhart. The 1891 Polk’s City Directory for Sand Beach showed a Peter Tschirhart under this profession, voila! From there it was easy to locate Peter on the 1900 Federal Census record taken in Sand Beach. This record shows him born in Canada April 1843, married to Annie E., born Canada, December 1857, and daughter Katherine M., born Canada, April 1884. Peter’s profession is photographer, the couple has been married about ten years, and although Katherine is named as a daughter, the census indicates Annie had two children and none living, so this may indicate that Katherine is a stepdaughter and Peter was previously married, or possibly just be an error on the census. Year of immigration to the U.S. for the family is given as 1890.

The 1910 shows Peter and Annie boarding in Sand Beach, Peter is about 66 years old and retired at this point. (Annie’s information re children shows mother of five, three living.) Well, there are more census records and more to look up for this photographer and his family, but I’ll leave that for another post, under the photographer heading (quite behind on these but will get to them.)

Sources: Polk’s Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1891. p. 1422 (Google Books snippet view.) Accessed 18 Aug 2014.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Sand Beach, Huron, Michigan; Roll: 715; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0019; FHL microfilm: 1240715. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Sand Beach, Huron, Michigan; Roll: T624_649; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0019; FHL microfilm: 1374662. (Ancestry.com).

Laurel Cottage Genealogy

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Category Archives: Old Photos

Dovecote, Old Manor, Bucklebury

S.S. Cacique At Panama

Girl In Warm Coat

Ethel O. (Shore) Cockey

Girl In Hat

Hondarribia, Basque Country, Spain 1959

Tibidabo, Barcelona, Spain

Just A Pretty Girl

Under The Arbor

An Unusual Pose