Mystery On A Blackboard
Above are two beautiful young ladies, most probably sisters, posing on a day out with an unseen grown-up. If the collars are anything to go by, they look to be wearing the same style of white shirt. The younger child, in front, is wearing a hand knitted cardigan over the untucked shirt and her sister is wearing what looks to be a velvet jacket with a very fine line of nice shiny buttons.
Below, on a different day the elder girl again poses in a photobooth. This time she is holding up a sign. I love the slightly quizzical look on her face as she looks directly at the camera, with a slight downward tilt of her head. I am looking for help from my German speaking readers, as I have no idea what is written on the chalk slate she is holding. Maybe the language isn’t German at all? It could be a school photo but with no date on it, I doubt it. Or could it be commemorating a first day at school? If so, and if this is indeed a German photo, I would have expected her to be holding a schultüte (school cone). You can see a schultüte and read about what they are at this link.
So to my German friends, I would be very grateful if you could tell me whatever you can about these pictures.
All the photos date to around the 1930s.
The older one has such intense eyes.
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Thanks Ashley. I agree. She looks like she would’ve been a young lady who knew her mind!
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Not that I would really know for sure but it looks more like cursive Cyrillic script…maybe Russian or Ukrainian or something like that?
I don’t think German uses the breve (the little swoop over the ‘u’ in the bottom word).
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I think swoop is a version of ü. It turns out it is German (I bought it from a German seller, but it might’ve come from anywhere) but I do see the similarities with the script in the link you posted. Thanks for your interest and going to the trouble of looking that up!
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Like this?:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Russian_Cursive_Cyrillic.svg
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Plus if you found this in the US, there were certainly lots of immigrants from that part of the world in the US at the time.
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Lovely find as usual Kate!
A propos, I was looking for a way to send you an article that it might interest you. It’s about a homeless artist named Lee Godie and her extraordinary photobooth photos. Maybe you already know about her… But I’ll give you the link to the article here:
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http://www.vintag.es/2016/12/fantastic-self-portraits-of-lee-godie.html
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Wow, pelly, if Kate hasn’t seen her, she will freak out. What a find. Actually, she has nothing on our dear Kate, the Queen of the Photobooth. Thanks for the link from me.
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Fascinating isn’t it?
And there is also another guy who took hundreds of photobooth photos and nobody knows why…
http://www.vintag.es/2016/05/a-man-took-hundreds-of-photobooth-self.html
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Great find pelly, I hadn’t previously seen Lee Godie, but wow, what a ‘sight’ to behold, as for the link to the man, I’ve seen that before, I believe K actually either linked to him or has him on here somewhere, but he’s generic(only many times over) compared to Lee… lol Thanks for sharing those links. Seems you’ve created a ‘tribe’ in us K, …. & you are our Queen! 🙂 Hugz
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You are all adorable! Thanks for the links, Pelly and the comments Vin and Ted! Lee Godie appears in at least one of my books on photobooth photos but I’ve never seen as many of her images as this! I was very excited to see them all. The man who appears in hundreds of photomatic photos has been mentioned here (great memory Vin!) and my theory is that he was the owner of the booth who kept his tester photos over many years. I vaguely recall reading that he has been identified. . .
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K, maybe you’ll believe us now when we say how much we love you and what you bring to ‘the table’ here. It’s not that I have such a wonderful memory….lol… it’s that you do things in such a way, it makes them UNFORGETTABLE!! I love love love your Photobooth Journal, the tidbits of info, the fun and giggles you incorporate, the realness of you that comes across in them……I adore you, I think you are the “bee’s knees” (assuming bees HAVE knees). 🙂 Carry on woman, you have the rest of us to educate and entertain… the world is your stage and we are all watching. BIG Hugz!!
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I’m speechless, Vin! Thank you, thank you! (As she bows theatrically.) I’ve never imagined anyone felt that way about my hobby! PRESSURE! Eeeeek! I hope I can keep up with your expectations.
Big hugs back to you. I’m so touched. 💖😃
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LOL… ok, enough of the theatrics… NONE of us have time for that, ok, maybe just a bit then.. :-)) but there SHOULD be no pressure…. you’re sharing with us something you love, so just continue to do that and… !VOILA!… no pressure! Piece a’ cake! 🙂
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You are gorgeous and funny! Will keep sharing, same as. Happy Easter!
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An interesting little girl would be fun to see her in later life. Hope someone can translate.
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Thanks Ted. For some reason I see her wearing that same sharp fringe into adulthood. I’d 💖 to see her in later life!
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The text says “mein erster Schultag” and this means “my first day at school. The script is called ” sütterlin script” and was taught in germany until the mid thirties if I’m not mistaken…
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Brilliant Peter! Thank you so much. Not only do we now know what the sign says, but we have a confirmation of the date. Sorry it took me so long to reply.
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Sorry it’s Mein erster schulgang… (my first way to school)…
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Hmm, interesting Peter. So would that change mean that it was the first day she walked to school on her own? Is that something that would have been commemorated by the school community? I’m a tad confused. . .
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No, that’s the same thing like “erster Schultag”, no worries 🙂
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Thanks for clearing that up for me Peter!
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yes, “Mein erster Schulgang”
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Thanks!! Any idea what that signifies. My first day at school makes sense but the correct reading is less clear. . .
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she has also a schoolbag
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VERY well spotted! Would it be a satchel that was worn like a backpack?
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The writing looks Cyrillic to my mind which is used by quite a few languages in Eastern Europe, including Yugoslavia The Cyrillic alphabet varies slightly from country to country. A wild guess would lead me to suggest that these two little girls are Bulgarian.
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Yes, it does have that look about it, Bryan but it turns out that it is German and written in a script that is no longer taught in school. This has been an exciting mystery that we are still getting to the bottom of. (See other comments). Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I’m still trying to get back to your blog to read your article that has “Sex Pistol” in the title. It caught my 👁 but I’m easily distracted. ☹️
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More great photos! I’m happy someone was able to translate…I was very curious.
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Thanks and I’m glad it piqued your curiosity, too!
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I tried to find the languages, doesn’t look German to me, but I came up with 3 other possibilities: Arabic, Esperanto or Lithuanian (which is the one I think most likely). So…..
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Thanks lostfunzone for the translation…..and hungarianphotomaton for the confirmation!
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Thanks for getting so into this Vin! 😄❤️
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Wow, love these old pictures! I still have some glass negatives from my grandfather, dating from around ‘38 or something… You have just convinced me to scan them 😉
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I’m so glad you like them! Yes,scan them and share them. There is always something new to be found in old images newly scanned and enlarged. Until I scanned this photo from our family collection, no one had noticed the smaller details . . . https://prodigy1916.wordpress.com/2016/08/05/220-pierce-street/
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Great post, Kate! With all the comments and translating. Great community.
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I love the blogging community. I just wish I had more energy to engage more extensively.
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Very compelling
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I agree! 😄
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Mein erster Schulgang
Meaning: my first walk to school
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Thank you! And I do love that that was commemorated. 🙂
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