Category Archives: People

Comic Donkey and Couple Circa 1940’s

Posted on by
Reply

Old photo, circa 1940’s.

Price:  $6.00              Size:  About 2 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/2″

These type seem to be generally referred to as “face-in-the-hole-board.” Other names include photo cutouts, Aunt Sallys, peep boards, character boards, fat-lady-on-the-beach boards. This handsome and fun, young couple (out for a drive in the surrey – yep, surrey with the fringe on top 😉 ) look to be from the 1940’s era. 

Sources:  Photo Cutouts. https://photocutouts.co.uk/blog/peep-boards-face-in-the-hole-boards-cutout-boards-what-should-they-be-called/ (Accessed June 10, 2023.)

The Surrey with the Fringe on Top. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Surrey_with_the_Fringe_on_Top#:~:text=%22The%20

Surrey%20with%20the%20Fringe,jazz%20musicians%20to%20play%20it. (Accessed June 10, 2023.)

Mother and Son

Posted on by
Reply

Old photo, white border, circa 1930s.

Price:  $2.00         Size:  3 and 3/8 x 5″

Another poor quality shot (but the peering into the past effect is cool) and also, like the prior post, no identifying names. I just like the guy’s stance, (and that slightly askew necktie) his gaze upward and outward, in contrast to the older woman, though closer scrutiny shows she’s looking off in the distance as well, not directly at the camera. I thought at first glance this was a “couple photo” but in looking at their “ages,” no. More likely they’re mother and son.

The Old Houseboat

Posted on by
Reply

Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1907 – 1915.

Price:  $4.00

What confirms this structure’s status as a boat is the name at the stern – though very faint and indiscernible. And since the postcard’s image is so washed out, here’s a darker version:

So, unless someone is writing a book on old houseboats, I don’t see much monetary value here for this card. But we’ve had sales on items in the past – cover of a book on one, fashion example used inside another book, etc. – so, value is relative. Ha, it’s definitely true, sometimes I ask myself later, “Why did I buy this one?”  🙂 (No names, rather light…) Harkening back now to my mindset at the time, it was for the romantic notion of houseboats I’ve had since a child. (At least, I think this can be called a houseboat.) Woven in there somewhere is an antidote for a feeling – a lament, a long-running perception (that surfaces pointedly at times) that our present-day “expectation” is one of making everything ascetically acceptable (a nice lawn, nice-looking house, etc.) – an expectation that, in my opinion, often usurps the more important things in life – real friendship among neighbors, for instance….So it’s refreshing to travel back to the early 1900’s, to a time when a hand-built boat like this one would not automatically be viewed as an “eyesore” but rather, just simply for what it was.

The story from this captured moment….of course, we can speculate all day long, but my take….The houseboat belongs to the older gentlemen with the walking stick, having built it and lived on it for a time in his younger days. He’s got great anecdotes (that the rest of the family have heard a number of times – rolling eyes, 😉 ). He’s here to retrieve some items resting in storage, and he and the family have turned the trip into a nice outing and a photo op. (Note the three hats that have been removed and are laying on the ground in a pile.) Check out the expressions – the rather comical upwards glance of the lad toward the old man, the come-hither expression for the young lady (gorgeous lace collar), the straight-on pose for the woman (daughter or wife of the gentleman?), that air of history and ownership emanating from the old man, and never forgetting to mention, the family dog, happy to be out for the day with his “charges.”

Back to the boat – it’s quite long. I thought at first that the roofed portion on our left was from some building behind it, but no, that part is attached. Note the animal skins that lay draped over the top edge of the cabin (for keeping out the rain?). And the wooden or metal box attached to the cabin’s front wall, left of the doorway – the box meeting some type of practical purpose.

A Hidden Doorway

Posted on by
Reply

Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. Deckled edge. Circa 1910’s. Photographer:  E. Hunter, Schlettstadt. Pt. 773/II. 

Price:  $15.00

An unusual photographic pose if we ever saw one! The whimsical Augustine, wife of Julien Duller, pauses at a “doorway,” her left hand is on the invisible door nob. She’s smiling (with sort of a “knowing” look) back at the camera.

The date is unknown for this card:  The stamp box, one we’ve never come across, is blank except for a small six-pointed star in each of the bottom corners. But we’ll estimate the 1910’s due to the subject’s dress – fitted, column-style in dark wool or maybe linen or heavy cotton; displaying a shawl collar in silk or satin with matching material in a wide band below the bust line; and decorative bands on hip and sleeves. The dress falls below mid-calf to reveal high button-top boots. Her hair is dressed in a short side-part, (dig that one falling curl) up-swept and piled tightly on top for a little height. On her right hand, she wears a pocket watch that was converted into a wristwatch. In the insert below, you can see what’s referred to as “the bow,” which is the part that the chain would have been suspended from – a nice, surprising detail, and possibly an important clue to the postcard’s date, as it was WWI that ushered in the popularity of the wristwatch.

The photographer, E. Hunter, was not found online in any references, but his stamp tells us he was in Schlettstadt, (Sélestat in French and Schlettstàdt in Alsatian) a town in the Grand Est region of France, on the border of Germany.

As for those few words from Augustine, in her beautiful script:  I’m not sure what the first word is but the next would be andenken, and the third looks like genidmet:  translation from German appearing as “souvenir” and “dedicated.” So it’s probably something in the nature of “fond remembrances” but maybe a native German (or Alsation?) can help us out.

Sources:  Pocket watch. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_watch#:~:text=In%20men’s%20fashions  %2C%20pocket%20watches,one%20kept%20in%20a%20pocket. (accessed April 30, 2023).

Sélestat. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9lestat (accessed April 30, 2023).

Miss Lila Sears, Portland, Oregon

Posted on by
Reply

.

Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. AZO stamp box. Photographer:  Bicknell. Circa 1916 – 1918.

Price:  $15.00      

Embossed on the front lower right is the photographer info:   “Bicknell. 326 1/2 Washington St. Portland Ore.”

Miss Lila, very smartly attired and posing rather somberly for the camera, was born in California, October 1894, the daughter of Benjamin F. Sears and Jennifer Wotton. She married Harry W. Kelley, May 7, 1921, in Portland. The date for this postcard has been narrowed down with the help of Playles.com (AZO stamp boxes all four triangles pointing upward are as late as 1918) and the photographer’s address.

The Bicknell Studio

The photography studio of Bicknell would have been Wilfred Bicknell and his wife, Pearl. They’re both listed as photographers on the 1910 Federal Census for Portland. He born in England about 1875, and she born in Oregon about 1881. The Portland city directories start online from 1906 for Wilfred; address 203 1/2 1st Street. By 1909 we’re seeing an additional address for the studio of 214 Merchants Trust Building, switching to 210 Merchants Trust by 1911. (No city directories were found for 1910.)

In 1919, Wilfred married Mayme H. Thuener, August 11, 1919 in Marin County, California. No records were found for a divorce or death for Pearl.

Curiously, no references were found for the 326 1/2 Washington Street, Portland address that’s embossed on the postcard.

When the WWI Draft Registration Card was recorded, Wilfred was in San Francisco, CA. This record shows his date of birth as December 28, 1874. He’s working as a photographer for employer, Charles Bossum at 25 Kearney St. Then 1920 census for Stockton, CA, shows Wilfred is as owner of a photography gallery.

By 1930, Wilfred has run into some tough times. At the time of this census, taken in Stockton, CA, he is a patient at the state mental hospital. (It makes one wonder how much exposure he may have had to chemicals and/or heavy metals from his occupation.)

Sources:  “Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes, A – B.” https://www.playle.com/realphoto/photoa.php. (access April 23, 2023).

Oregon Center For Health Statistics; Portland, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Marriages, 1911-1945 (Ancestry.com).

Oregon State Archives; Salem, Oregon; Oregon, Death Records, 1864-1967. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Portland Ward 5, Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: T624_1286; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0159; FHL microfilm: 1375299. (Ancestry.com).

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Portland, Oregon city directories, 1906 – 1916. (Ancestry.com).

Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941.

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Stockton Ward 4, San Joaquin, California; Roll: T625_144; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 177. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1930; Census Place: Stockton, San Joaquin, California; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0050; FHL microfilm: 2339947. (Ancestry.com).

Martha Reifschneider

Posted on by
Reply

Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. KRUXO stamp box, circa 1908 – 1910.

Price:  $15.00

Portrait of a beautiful young woman, in satin dress with tucks and a ruffled high lace collar…..

This particular KRUXO stamp box, with four-leaf clovers in each corner, is known to be from 1908 – 1910. Here’s the name written on the back:

As you can see, the ending of the surname is a little run together, however, we’re not finding any other potential matches under name variations.
And there’s no guarantee, but still we feel pretty confident that we have the right person in the details below:

Martha is the daughter of George Reifschneider and Katrina Redder, both German emigrants. (The Redder surname is from Ancestry.com family trees.) Martha was born in Iowa about May of 1890. She married Carl Sietmann March 9, 1910 at the home of her parents in Blairstown, Missouri.

Sources:  “K-L. Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes.” Playle.com. Accessed April 11, 2023.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Jefferson, Marshall, Iowa; Roll: 447; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0109. (Ancestry.com).

“Laurel Couple Weds.” Evening Times-Republican (Marshalltown, Iowa). March 16, 1910. Wednesday, p. 9. (Newspapers.com).

Palo Cathedral, Leyte, Philippines, Circa 1945

Posted on by
Reply

Two old photos, Palo Cathedral, Leyte, Philippines. Circa 1945.

Price for the pair:  $10.00         Sizes:  Photo with soldier, about 2 and 1/4 x 3 and 1/8″

Photo of cathedral, about 4 and 11/16 x 2 and 7/8″

The reverse of the photo (without the soldier) shows handwritten:   “Palo, Leyte:  I went to church here the 17th of June 1945.”  

The first church at this location is said to have been built by the Jesuits in either 1596 or 1598. It’s unclear in sources when the Spanish-style structure we see in the two photos above was constructed, (or whether the center portion was the original, though we might assume not due to the history of most early church buildings starting on a smaller scale) however, it is known that the towers were not added until about 1850. It was not until 1938 that the church was declared a cathedral. During WWII the building was used as a hospital by the American Liberation Forces from October 1944 to March 1945. We can see evidence of hospital and military with the Red Cross truck, the tents on our right, and of course, the soldiers and jeeps. Presumably the guy posing for this shot is the one who wrote the inscription on the second photo’s reverse. If you don’t know the history (as I did not) of the Philippine Islands involvement during the war, please see the first source below. If you can pardon a bit of social commentary here from my North American vantage point, it’s important to understand what went on there – to go beyond in our thought process and not just link the country in our minds with the overseas workers we often get routed to today due to outsourcing.

Present-day, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration, also referred to as Palo Metropolitan Cathedral or just Palo Cathedral:  In the 1960’s the cathedral was demolished and rebuilt into what we see below in this Google images search. The cathedral was “roofless” for a short time after the damage (and tragic loss of lives) inflicted November 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan aka Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Sources:  “Liberation of the Philippines, 1945.” Gaerlan, Cecilia. nationalww2museum.org. September 1, 2020. Accessed April 9, 2023.

Palo Cathedral. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Cathedral (accessed April 10, 2023).

“images of palo cathedral leyte.” Google.com search. Accessed April 9, 2023.

Domed Building in the Middle East

Posted on by
Reply

Old photo, white border. Circa 1910s – 1930s.

Price:  $5.00        Size:  3 and 1/4 x 2 and 7/16″

Continuing with sort of an archway theme from preceding posts…..In an unknown location, a goat herd directs his charges up the road.

We’re guessing this scene was somewhere in the Middle East due to the architecture of the stone building with dome. (Tunisia comes to mind but I’m not too certain if the terrain matches.) And, perhaps this was a mosque however we don’t see a minaret which would often be in evidence. We can see that there’s been some additional work on the building:  a half-circle arch was filled in with stone (a lighter color or less weathered by time) and a window added; and maybe some earlier work was done there, too – that portion may have initially been an entrance way.

Street Shrine in Moscow, Russia

Posted on by
Reply

Old photo, white border. Circa 1910’s.

Price:  $15.00           Size:  1 and 3/4″ x 3 and 3/4″

Found at an antique store in California….this snapshot has made its way to us from Moscow, Russia.

In a high and fairly deep archway is a Russian Orthodox shrine (note the shape of the cross) painted on wood we believe, of the crucifixion of Christ; it’s set up in front of a pair of tall, ornate double doors in wrought iron. Was this a permanent display or something temporary for Easter? No other photos were found online for this location, nor were surprisingly, any similar street shrines in Russia. But maybe not so surprising given the political situation that (not knowing the exact date of this photo, so speculating) was soon to be thrust upon the peoples of Russia:  We’ve estimated 1910’s for the photo due to the Bolshevik takeover in 1917 and the subsequent “attitudes” toward religion by the Communist regime. (See the first link in sources below for more.)

Signage in old photos is very often the key to finding a time-frame and pinpointing location, and you’ll have noticed the plaque affixed to the building on the other side of the enclave, but it’s partially cut off from our view, so we can’t see the full wording on it, nor what appears above that, rather faint, and then, of course, we’re only seeing the last couple of block letters in whatever is displayed there denoting something. I’m wondering if the whole building would have been a church or if that’s a storefront or something like that next to the shrine. But note the images of saints and angels appearing on the stonework surrounding the 3-d crucifixion depiction, leading us to think that at least part of the building was a house of worship.

Last, but most certainly not least:  the mustachioed gentleman standing, leaning a little, next to the archway, in suit and visored hat of the type you can find in other circa 1910’s and ’20’s Russian photos, and high peasant-type boots – he’s a working man, holding one of the tools of his trade, a hand-drill. And then, about to lumber into our view, a draft horse that would have been pulling a cart or wagon.

Below,a clipped view of a Google.com search for antique hand drills:

Sources: Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union. n.d. (accessed April 2, 2023).

Nov 7, 1917 CE: October Revolution. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/october-revolution/ Accessed April 4, 2023.

“images of antique hand drills.” Google.com search. Accessed April 4, 2023.

Subway Clearance 10′

Posted on by
Reply

Old photo, white border. Circa 1940’s. Photographer:  Robert C. Gilmore, Montrose, Colorado.

Price:  $10.00        Size:  4 and 7/16 x 2 and 11/16″

It was the photographer’s stamp (with its mountain peak) on the back of this one that drew us in……but circa 1940’s, a young woman poses in front of a subway tunnel – its location is a mystery. We couldn’t find any matching images online, and it seems the snapshot must have been taken elsewhere and the film developed in Montrose. So we’ll look to the photographer:

Robert Clinton Gilmore was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, August 14, 1909 and died November 4, 1988 in Montrose, Colorado. On his WWII Draft Registration Card (given name filled out as Bob) his photography business address is listed as 520 Main St., Montrose. He was the son of Horace Clinton Gilmore and Sophia Elizabeth Maria Boller. Sometime after the 1940 Federal Census was taken, he married Katherine (maiden name unknown). The 1930 census for Montrose has his occupation as farm laborer, and living with parents and siblings, Hazel, Deane (brother) and Lucille. Interestingly, Hazel, Bob’s older sister by about four years, is a photographer on this record. So, this could have been the start of Gilmore photography and Bob took over the business or Hazel could have been working for someone else. At the date of our web post, ours is the only photo found with the Gilmore stamp.

Sources:  Year: 1930; Census Place: Montrose, Montrose, Colorado; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 2339982. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1940; Census Place: Montrose, Montrose, Colorado; Roll: m-t0627-00472; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 43-3A. (Ancestry.com).

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Colorado, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 88. (Ancestry.com).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27318883/robert-clinton-gilmore: accessed 26 March 2023), memorial page for Robert Clinton Gilmore (14 Aug 1909–4 Nov 1988), Find a Grave Memorial ID 27318883, citing Cedar Creek Cemetery, Montrose, Montrose County, Colorado, USA; Maintained by Arleta (contributor 46898856).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26994908/sophia-elizabeth_maria-gilmore: accessed 26 March 2023), memorial page for Sophia Elizabeth Maria Boller Gilmore (19 Sep 1878–8 Mar 1948), Find a Grave Memorial ID 26994908, citing Cedar Creek Cemetery, Montrose, Montrose County, Colorado, USA; Maintained by Arleta (contributor 46898856).