Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Four Generations









Three women and a baby. I’m not positive, but it looks to me like four generations. A mother with her baby in her arms, her mother (the baby’s grandma), and HER mother (great-grandma). In any case, they all have the same expression on their face, including the baby.

I love this photo because it is surreal and yet so perfectly “normal.” It is one of those old photographs that really sends me thinking about who these people are: what were their lives like, were they happy, were they hard-working, what hardships did they face? Then it is offset by the sadly funny sternness of the four generations, and it is like seeing through time -- what that baby will look like in 25 years, 50, 75?…

The back is stamped: Hammond / “The photographer in your town” / Porterville, California / Mar 25 1947


[the specifics]
This photo is available in two sizes:

a)
The photo, with its original border, is 5.25 x 9 inches (horizontal). The reproduction is printed on 8 x 10 paper.

b) The photo, with its original border, is 3.5 x 6 inches (horizontal). The reproduction is printed on 5 x 7 paper.

Buy this photo at the Camera Obscura Etsy shop.


Monday, May 28, 2007

Two Vintage Letters with Envelopes, amazing handwriting, digital hi-resolution scans (CameraObscura CD no. 2)

Letter and envelope #1:






Letter and envelope #2:





This CD contains hi-resolution scans of two vintage letters and their accompanying envelopes. Both are to the same gentleman, but 15 years apart. Both are in beautiful fountain-pen handwriting, and could be used in a multitude of ways as textured elements or backgrounds for collage and mixed-media artwork.

1) A letter written 12 May 1907, to “Nephew.” The author (Uncle?) had just returned from Shanghai. While the letter was sent from the United States (from and to San Francisco), it is written on stationery from the Central Hotel, Shanghai. The paper is quite thin, somewhat transparent, and has an excellent red-orange letterhead. The letter is one sheet, but 4 pages total; it opens like a book and so pages 2 and 3 are written on the inside, while page 1 is the front and page 4 the back. (Approximately 5 x 8.5 inches vertical [closed], 10 x 8.5 inches horizontal [open].)

The accompanying envelope is a faded olive green, and says “Palace Hotel, Shanghai” on the back. Cancellation: 7 June 1907, San Francisco. (Approximately 3 x 6 inches horizontal.)

2) A letter written 26 June 1922, to “Dearest.” The author is writing while on a train (“…many people in the car – no one interesting.”). One sheet, written on front and back. (5 x 8 inches vertical.)

The accompanying envelope has a “Southern Pacific Lines” logo on the back. Cancellation: 1922, San Francisco. (3.5 x 5.5 inches horizontal.)


[the specifics]
Camera Obscura's goal is to supply high-quality reproductions of vintage ephemera for artists to use in their own mixed-media, collage, assemblage, and altered-photo artwork. These scans are of original pieces from my collection.

- The scans are at 300dpi (press-quality), full-color RGB mode, each at the dimensions of the original plus a half-inch white border.
- Separate scans of the front and back of each envelope, and each page of each letter, so 9 scans total
- Each scan is supplied in TIFF and JPEG format, so the CD contains 18 files in all.

Need just one scan, or need it right away? Letters and envelopes are also available as JPEG files for download (instead of shipped on CD) in my Etsy Shop.

Buy this CD at the Camera Obscura Etsy shop.


Saturday, May 26, 2007

Vintage Postcards and Envelope, digital hi-resolution scans (CameraObscura CD no. 1)










This CD contains hi-resolution scans of two vintage postcards and one vintage envelope.

1) French postcard to Monsieur Montagu, Pharmacien de 1er classe. An original postcard from the 1890s, offering a free sample of “Dragees Hecnet.” (3.5 x 5 inches, horizontal).

2) German postcard to Paul Maslowski, of an export company in Bonn, about (I think) beads; original, dated 8 March 1921. (3.5 x 5.5 inches, horizontal).

3) Envelope sent to Berkeley, CA, from the Grand Hotel Bellagio, Venice, postmarked 1896. This original envelope has two beautiful blue engravings on the front, and a decorative stamp that says “Saluti da Venezia” on the back. (4.5 x 5.75 inches, horizontal).


[the specifics]
Camera Obscura's goal is to supply high-quality reproductions of vintage ephemera for artists to use in their own mixed-media, collage, assemblage, and altered-photo artwork. These scans are of original pieces from my collection.

- The scans are at 300dpi (press-quality), full-color RGB mode, each at the dimensions of the original plus a half-inch white border.
- Separate scans of front and back of each piece -- six different scans total.
- Each scan is supplied in TIFF and JPEG format, so the CD contains 12 files in all.

Need just one scan, or need it right away? Each postcard and the envelope are also available as JPEG files for download (instead of shipped on CD) in my Etsy shop.

Buy this CD at the Camera Obscura Etsy shop.


Friday, May 25, 2007

And Sylvia the Dog











A couple and a dog. The man wears a World War II naval uniform and stands with a woman in white in front of a house; they hold a rather small, very sweet dog.

On the back of the photo is written, “Mary, Myself, and Sylvia (the dog).” The back is also stamped “Bicknell Photo Services / Jun 30 1942 / Portland, Maine.” Other numbers are on the back in different pen and handwriting; I don’t know what they are, and wonder if they are related to the military, and if this photo was carried by the man when he went to war.

(The back of the photo is shown with the listing because it is so interesting, however it is not part of the reproduction.)


[the specifics]
This photo is available in two sizes:

a)
The photo, with its original border, is 5 x 7 inches (vertical). The reproduction is printed on 8 x 10 paper.

b) The photo, with its original border, is 2.5 x 3.5 inches (vertical). The reproduction is printed on 4 x 6 paper.

Buy this photo at the Camera Obscura Etsy shop.


Double Happiness (double exposure of little girl)











A fortuitous accident led to this double exposure of a young girl in a white dress in front of a white wooden fence in front of a house with storybook shutters and climbing morning glories. This is one of my favorite photographs in my entire collection. It so surreal, and so evocative.

In the main exposure she smiles, with her arms at her sides; in the double-exposure she’s smiling just a bit less, and it looks like her hands are on her hips -- tired of being photographed? The focus of the original is soft, the image very light and ethereal. It always reminds me of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Date unknown.


[the specifics]
This photo is available in two sizes:

a)
The photo, with its original border, is 5.625 x 7.75 inches (vertical). The image area, not including the original border, is 4.25 x 6.25 inches. The reproduction is printed on 8 x 10 paper.

b) The photo, with its original border, is 2.75 x 3.875 inches (vertical). The image area, not including the original border, is 2.125 x 3.125 inches. The reproduction is printed on 4 x 6 paper.


Buy this photo at the Camera Obscura Etsy shop.


A young girl and a younger boy











A particularly lovely tintype of what is probably an older sister and younger brother. The boy sits with crossed legs and wears a ribbon tie and fantastic striped stockings; the girl rests her hand on his arm. They look alike – so serious, as children often do in tintypes.

Date unknown.


[the specifics]
This photo is available in two sizes:

a)
The tintype, with its original border, is irregularly shaped but approximately 3 x 4 inches (vertical). This reproduction is professionally printed on 4 x 6 paper.

b) The tintype, with its original border, is irregularly shaped but approximately 5.625 x 8 inches (vertical). This reproduction is professionally printed on 8 x 10 paper.


Buy this photo at the Camera Obscura Etsy shop.


Sunday, May 20, 2007

Previews: Future Etsy Listings

The following are photos that will be listed as reproductions for sale in my Etsy shop within the next few weeks. Should you have any information or guesses about dates or locations, please leave a comment!



A young women with three small children on the beach. A nanny and her charges on summer vacation? The child on the right holds a flower. Date and location unknown.





Connor and a friend. And some horses. What happened to Connor's nose? Date and location unknown. 1950s?





A beautiful hand-tinted portrait of a woman in a hat and a coat with fur trim, sitting on a rock, surrounded by standing stones. Date, location unknown.




A mother and child. Haunting.

Two Women and a Fountain









Two women in white stand on the edge of a shallow pool – a fountain? – holding hands. The composition of the photo is beautiful and the feeling, while slightly precarious, is happy and balanced.

Around the early 1930s. One woman is named Mary, and they’re in Ohio.


[the specifics]
This photo is available in two sizes:

a)
The photo, with its original border, is 3.5 x 6 inches (horizontal). This reproduction is professionally printed on 5 x 7 paper.

b) The photo, with its original border, is 5.25 x 9 inches (horizontal). This reproduction is professionally printed on 8 x 10 paper.

Buy this photo at the Camera Obscura Etsy shop.


Bathing Beauty







A black & white photo of a young woman posing in fashionable swim attire -- a day in the back yard. Just look at her wonderful handbag.

The original photo is out of focus, but that lends a sweet softness to her girlish features and pixie-haircut.

Date unknown – early 1950s?


[the specifics]
This photo is available in two sizes:

a)
The photo, with its original border, is 3.5 x 3.5 inches. The image area, not including the original border, is 3.125 x 3 inches (horizontal). The reproduction is professionally printed on 5 x 7 paper.

b) The photo, with its original border, is 5.5 x 5.5 inches. The image area, not including the original border, is 4.5 x 4.75 inches (horizontal). This reproduction is professionally printed on 8 x 10 paper.

Buy this photo at the Camera Obscura Etsy shop.


A Grand Day Out











Twelve young people on an outing in their automobiles. Five sit in one car while the other seven pose on and around it (their own car just visible in the background). The couple sitting on the running-board is especially wonderful.

Notable for the tires of the automobile, the calm and dignified expressions on their faces, and the fantastic chance positioning of the house and people in the distance just over the rear tire (see detail image).

Date unknown.


[the specifics]
This photo is available in two sizes:

a)
The photo, with its original border, is 3.75 x 6.5 inches (horizontal). The reproduction is printed on 8 x 10 paper.

b) The photo, with its original border, is 2.5 x 4.375 inches (horizontal). The reproduction is printed on 5 x 7 paper.

Buy this photo at the Camera Obscura Etsy shop.