A MILITARY MAN, TWO PRETTY WOMEN, FIVE BOTTLES OF WINE, AND LOTS OF SEXUAL TENSION

This vintage photograph is begging for a story. What is going on in this interesting image? A military man is sitting at a table in a bar with two pretty young woman. He is smoking a long pipe as he opens up a bottle of wine. There are four empty bottles lying on the table. One of the bottles is turned over on it’s side. Five bottles of wine is a lot of wine for just three imbibers. We can assume the women are drinking too, because they have glasses on the table in front of them. The military man is sitting rather close to one of the women but is staring at the other woman with a lecherous expression. What is going on in this interaction? How would you describe the look that the second woman is giving him? Is she accepting or rejecting his flirtatious behavior? A sign on the wall advertises the cost of the wine. The sign is written in French. SOLD

Published in: on March 31, 2021 at 2:30 pm  Comments (2)  
Tags:

PORTRAIT OF “MY DONNIE PAL” WEARING A LONDON FOG COAT AND SMOKING A PIPE

This vintage real photo postcard features a young man wearing a London Fog type raincoat and a cap. He is smoking a pipe. The young man’s outfit make me think he looks British. Forgive me for stereotyping. Note the gentleman’s long hair.  The postcard’s addressee is Rose Getchel and she lived in Park Rapids, Minnesota. The sender was Donnie Page (aka “My Donnie Pal”). The postcard is dated 1913. The stamp box indicates the publisher was Cyko and the date of publication was sometime between 1904 and 1920. This vintage portrait postcard is in good condition (see scans).   (SOLD)

Published in: on June 15, 2019 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , ,

PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN AND HER PIPE SMOKING DOG

This unusual cabinet card portrait features a pretty young woman and her pipe smoking dog. The young lady is flashing a terrific smile which is highly unusual during the cabinet card era. It is very understandable that she is smiling as she poses for this humorous photograph. It is my guess that the woman is a teenager. She is wearing a very busy dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat. Her canine friend is wearing a wide collar and seems to be begging for the girl’s attention. One wonders if this is a photograph of a professional dog trainer who performs in carnivals, or if this image is a reflection of a creative subject or photographer. The identity of the subject and the photographer are unknown. The dog appears to be a Boston Terrier.    (SOLD)

Published in: on December 10, 2017 at 12:32 pm  Comments (2)  
Tags: ,

AN OLD WEAVER SITTING AT HIS LOOM SMOKING A PIPE (OCCUPATIONAL CABINET CARD)

weaver

This is a fascinating occupational cabinet card featuring on old weaver sitting at his loom. He is smoking a pipe as he poses for a photograph from an unidentified photographer. The location that this photograph was taken is unknown. I wish I knew more about weaving so I could explain a bit more about the occupational component of this image. All I know is that weaving on a loom looks extremely complicated and requires excellent coordination between the weaver’s hands, eyes, and feet. (SOLD)

Published in: on August 11, 2016 at 11:51 am  Comments (3)  
Tags: , ,

OLD MAN WITH PIPE IN BALLSTON, NEW YORK

Mr E. H. Chapman posed for this cabinet card photograph at the studio of J. S. Wooley in Ballston, New York.  He inscribed the back of this card indicating that he turned 67 years old on September 17th, 1895. He gave the card to an unidentified person, to mark the occassion.  Mr Chapman’s eyes show a certain wisdom that only comes with age. His pipe and straw hat add much character to the image of this older gentleman.  Ballston, NY is in Saratoga County, and north of Schenectady. Research reveals that Edw H Chapman was President of the Ballston town board in 1856 and was involved in the manufacture of woolen goods and in 1867 had a business manufacturing bricks. Research also reveals that the photographer of this cabinet card is Jesse Sumner Wooley (1867-1943). At age 13 he worked for a photographer in Saratoga and in 1887 he opened his own photographic studio in Ballston Spa. He became a noted photographer as a result of his taking expeditions and chronicling them in the form of lantern slide/stereoptic lectures. In 1893 he and noted landscape photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard took a photographic expedition exploring the Adirondacks and they prepared a photographic lecture about this trip. Wooley also took similar expeditions to Florida (preparing a photographic historical presentation), the Chicago Exposition (Worlds Fair), New York City (100th anniversary of George Washington’s inaugaration), and to California (Yellowstone National Park). The Florida stereoptic lecture is one of the few professional lantern slide/stereoptic lectures that survive today.

Published in: on December 17, 2009 at 10:12 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,