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Vintage Photobooth

Karl Ek At A Century Of Progress

December 19, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
16 Comments
photoboothAcenturyOfProgress

I love his terribly serious expression and crooked tie.

photoboothAcenturyOfProgress

This is a special item in my photobooth photo collection. It is always great to get a pic with an ornamental frame, even better if the frame is dated, as is this one. Making this photo even more special to me, is that it is accompanied by a detailed card that identifies the sitter, the event and the sitter’s status at the event.

On top of all that, I found inside the holder for the card, a fragment of newspaper (below) that tells us that chair-pushers had to pay for their own uniforms and that they were paid $0.30 per hour, being an average of $10 per week. Even in 1933 I would imagine that was not great pay. Given that Karl kept that bit of news, one could conclude that he was employed as a chair-pusher at the event.

The Century of Progress Exposition ran in Chicago for two seasons from 27 May, 1933 to 12 November, 1933 and from 26 May, 1934 to 31 October, 1934. Originally intended to showcase Chicago’s past, the exposition came to symbolize hope for Chicago’s and America’s future in the midst of the Great Depression. I imagine the job opportunities for young people this event offered, might have been one of the few prospects they had of getting employment during this difficult time.

Using my less than proficient search skills, I managed to find a US census record for 1940 that names a Chicago resident, Karl Ek, who was born in 1914. It could be the same Karl, as from the image he appears to be in his late teens or early 20s, fitting in well with the date of the photo. Interestingly the Karl named in the census had a sister named Winifred who was also born in 1914, making it possible that this Karl was a twin. The actual birth dates including the day and month were not listed in the report I found. If not a twin, one could imagine that he had a very fertile mother and an overly eager father. Or a very fertile father and an overly eager mother.

photoboothIdentityACenturyofProgress1933

The card in its folder. It is embossed on the front with the title of the event. Unfortunately it wouldn’t scan well.

photoboothIdentityACenturyofProgress1933#2

Comedy Duo

December 18, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
9 Comments

photoboothComedy duo

This battered example of a photobooth photo has great appeal for me. It puts me in mind of a Marx Brother’s film (any one of them, really), where an unbearably posh woman is ridiculed and tormented by Groucho, only to fall for his charms. She is the straight ‘man’ to his clown.

Who are these two and what was the occasion that took such an unlikely pair to a booth? Her face is rounded and attractive. She appears to me to be gentle and motherly. She is wearing a fur trimmed hat and a fur collared coat, set off with a collection of large costume jewels. Why is she with this, possibly drunken, sailor?

I have no idea about naval ranks, but isn’t this the uniform of a very young seaman? He looks way too old to be in this outfit. So was this a fancy dress party?

I cannot figure these two out. I love them nevertheless.

Christmas Preliminaries

December 15, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
15 Comments

photoboothFatherXmasDon'tOwn

This utterly gorgeous booth photo was one that got away. (Melodramatic sob!) I don’t have any photos of Father Christmas in a photobooth to call my own.

So what do I want for Xmas this year? You guessed it! You have to have a cool US $100 or more to buy one of these rarities on Ebay.  I will forgive you if you don’t buy me one.

The Actors’ Agency – Part 4

December 14, 2015
The Actors' Agency, Vintage Photobooth
22 Comments

photoboothHenriGilbert

This is Henri Gilbert. He is looking for acting work in roles such as;

  • the romantic lead
  • a creative yet misunderstood, young (insert type – artist, writer, architect) trying to make his way in the world
  • a studly surf life-saver
  • an agile song and dance man

He has been waiting all his life for his big break. He doesn’t realise he grew old whilst waiting.

This is one from a group of file cards from a Parisian acting agency. The back of the card is blank. According to the seller, none of the actors in the cards I procured, ever made it big in the acting profession. The ones that did, were too expensive for me to buy!

There are some wonderful photos in this series, so stay tuned to Photobooth Journal for more updates

photoboothHenriGilbert02

 

A Short Life

December 8, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
23 Comments

photoboothJuniorBetsonjpeg

There is a certain amount of melancholy in old photos of any kind – the subjects may now be dead, now older and less able, now older and less attractive, at places that are no longer recognisable or for countless other reasons. For photobooth photos the melancholy is in all that, plus sometimes in the mystery of how such photos (particularly more recent ones) find their way onto web auction sites.

This is definitely the most melancholy of all the photos in my collection. Someone has created a personal in memoriam card from newspaper clippings, a piece of clear plastic and a photobooth photo.

According to a local newspaper from Hagerstown Maryland, The Daily Mail, (dated the 12th of March, 1956, page 2), Junior Betson was the third fatality in what must have been an horrific accident. From the information above, his injuries were extensive. The incident took place on the 4th of March. He managed to hold on for seven days but died on the 11th.

To me Junior (he was never meant to live long with that moniker, was he?) looks older than his twenty two years. He appears to be a Rebel Without A Cause in attitude, hairstyle and dress. Maybe it was a drag race or some other testosterone fueled stupidity that caused the accident. Maybe it was just an unfortunate mistake with a stop sign or red light being missed. I hope he managed to pack in a lot of great living into those few years.

A Beautiful Girl

December 5, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
7 Comments

photoboothUnusualGirl 1

An unsual pose for an unusually beautiful child.

A photobooth photo from Germany. It was probably taken in the 1930s.

Colourful Scary Clown

December 1, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
12 Comments

photoboothCOlourClown

I think this clown is too weird to be called anything other than terrifying. The thought that he may have offered his services for children’s parties is quite disturbing. He has what appears to be an all seeing eye on his forehead making him look like a cross between a demented yogi and a cyclops. On the top of his curly green wig appears to be two ends of ribbon suggesting a bow? I can see that one of his three button badges has a photo of a clown on it but cannot be sure if it is a self-portrait.

Another badge says Clowns of America International, so presumable he was a member of the organisation. There is also another badge  with a Peanuts character rip-off of Snoopy and Woodstock with Bully For You written on it. I ask myself what that is meant to convey? To me it convey’s weird and scary!

Below are some enlargements of this American booth photo. Below that is a link to a fascinating history of clowning focussing on contemporary clown trends in the USA and exploring the origins of the form which exists in some way or other in most cultures. Please click on the image to read.

photobooth 5 photoboothBullyForYou badge photoboothClownBadge

View at Medium.com

The Actors’ Agency – Part 3

November 28, 2015
The Actors' Agency, Vintage Photobooth
14 Comments

photoboothJacquesBrieulle

Jacques, the aspiring actor, had a pretty mean hairdo and moustache. I wonder if this was perceived as cool and rebellious in 1960s France? I imagine him being cast as the cool younger side-kick of some streetwise old con man. Or as a jazz musician. Both generally had the same unsalutary reputations, so either/or will do.

This is another one of a series of file cards I have from a Parisian acting agency. The photos in the series are mostly from the 60s. Each card shows an actor in their best actory/actorish pose. Most show the applicant’s address and telephone number. The back of this card is totally blank, so one wonders if Jacques ever inquired why he never got any work?

None of the actors, in the cards I procured, ever made it big in the acting profession. The ones that did, were too expensive for me to buy!

There are some more great photos in this series, so keep watching for more updates!

photoboothJacquesBrieulleDetail

 

Sparkle Shirley, Sparkle!

November 14, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
26 Comments

I want to blog but don’t feel well enough. This is a reblog of a post I did in January 2012. Most of my audience will not have seen it. Apologies to those that have.

Photobooth Journal's avatarPhotobooth Journal

This little girl’s name is Arline Michlinger. The above photos were taken in the USA on the 10th of January 1938 (top row) and on the 21st of January (bottom row). At the time, Shirley Temple, probably still the most recognisable child star of all time, was at the height of her fame.

There is something about the practiced poses of this young lady that suggests to me that her mother may have had ambitions for her daughter to be a baby star like Shirley.  The pose with hands clasped under the chin is very reminiscent of Shirley (see photo below), as is the one with the cheeky sideways glance.

Here is the same little girl posing with her mama, who is as equally relaxed in front of the camera as her daughter.  They were also taken in 1938, but on the 25th of May. These are the first hand coloured photobooth photos I…

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The Actors’ Agency – Part 2

November 3, 2015
The Actors' Agency, Vintage Photobooth
18 Comments

photoboothheleneBOUIX

Hi! I’m Helene, Helene Bouix! You might remember me from Don’t Worry, We’ll Think of a Title. I was the ditzy blonde. No? Well, I also had a speaking role as the (dead) flaxen side-kick in The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. Oh, you’re not familiar with that one? Okay then. Hmm. Oh, yes! I was recently cast as the platinum bombshell in The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?. Oh, you didn’t catch that either? Never mind. I want work with your agency. I feel I may be getting type-cast.

This is one of a series of file cards from a Parisian acting agency. The photos in the series are all from the 1960s. Each card shows a young actor in their best Hollywood pose (à la française, bien sûr!!), along with their address and telephone number. The back of this card shows Helene’s height in metres (1.66), the year of her birth (1924) and GRC. I have no idea what that could stand for. Anyone out there have an idea? For some reason it also needed to state that she is blonde. Oh, really?

None of the actors, in the cards I procured, ever made it in the acting profession. The ones that did, were too expensive for me to buy!

There are some great photos in this series, so stay tuned to Photobooth Journal for more updates!

  • All titles in this post are from genuine 1960s movies.

photoboothHeleneBOUIX