A small selection of photos from a series of negatives and contact prints taken by some young Chicagoans in the late 30s/early 40s. Click here to see them all.
The Duck Hunt
A small, strange set of hand-tinted photos documenting a duck hunt. Click here to see them all.
Chicago Cab
A few photos taken by a Chicago cabby in the 70s including several great portraits of his fellow drivers. Click here to them all.
Names on the Land
In honor of National Poetry Month (and the possibility that we might actually be able to travel this summer) I bring you the travel diary of a young man who took a road trip from Ohio down to the Grand Canyon and then up through California to the Pacific Northwest in the summer of 1928. While there is a fair amount of description, the poetry comes from the long lists of place names he provides- this was pre-interstate so making your way across the country usually meant driving straight through towns rather than bypassing them on via a highway. This will probably be tl:dr for most but for the few who might enjoy such a thing I’ve scanned it in it’s entirety. Click here to see it all!
Grave Robbing
A little something for the season: Some photos from a police file regarding a grave robbing here in Chicago in the early ’80s. Warning: There are a couple of photos that some might find disturbing!
Oh What [Fragile] Webs We Weave
A series of damaged paper weaving exercises by one Jennie Ford from an early 20th c. album.
A Soldier’s Box
I couple of years ago I picked up a cigar box filled photos and ephemera kept by a Korean War era G.I.. The photos were odd- mostly direct negative nude prints. The ephemera was straight up early 50s humorous erotica: Tijuana bibles, a pamphlet about urination, etc… Very tame but definitely not safe for work.
They Shoot Horses Don’t They?
It’s 1933- the Depression grips the country but in the dancehalls south of Boston are filled with music and dancing. Marathon dancing. For your viewing pleasure: a small album documenting some of the dancers who competed in some Massachusetts walkathons in 1933/34. Most interesting (to me anyway) were the handbills that I found tucked inside which I’ve scanned for your viewing pleasure. I’ve amended it with a few other dance marathon photos from my collection. Enjoy.
Camp
A series of negatives documenting what appears to be a summer camp for physically and developmentally challenged children in the 1950s.
Contagion!
Another series of damaged negatives, this one documenting a West Coast road trip. Or a super spreader event perhaps? Either way it doesn’t end well. There are images that some may find disturbing so look at your own risk.
