USA 1966
The wonderful smiles on the faces of this couple prompted me to buy the above strip of photos. I wonder if they were newly together at this stage or just one of those rare couples whose joy in each other’s company never wanes?
I was thrilled to find another example of their togetherness on Tumblr (see below). I’d say this photo was taken some years after the first strip and they still look so happy!
Photo from Tumblr.
As you can see I have three photos in my collection of this highly changeable, style-queen, Jo. I couldn’t share them with you, without also showing you the photo (below) – the one that got away – as I think it is probably the best of the lot.
It hurts to think she has been separated from the rest of her past but considering the price that was paid for her, I am sure she will be well cared for.
Update 26 February, 2013 – (I bid on the photo below at an auction but due to the ferocious competition was unable to secure this photo to add to the other three I’d already bought.)
The one that got away.
Happy St Valentine’s day!
These sweet photographic love-notes are undated but I’d say they were taken sometime in the 1940s, possibly during WW2. They have the look and sentiment of war-time keepsakes, probably sent from the USA to this lady’s lover overseas.
They are so cute and unusual, I cannot understand why any descendants of this woman didn’t want to treasure them forever.
Undated
“Becky 22 yrs. Dec. ’77”
Undated with unidentified friend.
These are the final strips in my series about Becky and her friends. Our little girl has grown up but still loves to pull faces for the camera. And hasn’t she nabbed herself a gorgeous boyfriend?
I wonder where Becky is now? What is the story behind the photos? How did this brilliant series of souvenirs of a seemingly happy child’s formative years, come to be in the public domain?
I wish I knew Becky’s surname so that I could find her, but maybe her friend Pam Meadow will Google herself one day, discover these pictures and be able to tell us more of the life behind this archive.
Here is another of the rarer polaroid photobooth photos. Although the quality of the image isn’t great, I like the effect of the faces emerging through the darkened space.
I am betting that this photo belonged to Wesley and that he wrote the names on the front of the photo, misspelling Jaqueline’s. Yeah, typical boy. Yeah, sexist comment. Oh me, oh my.
Undated. With unidentified friend or sibling. Could this be Robin?
Same unidentified child.
Same unidentified friend and a new one.
In part one I mentioned Robin, who could be a sibling or friend of Becky’s. The shots where he was named were missing from the archive of photos. This group of shots, all of the same, unnamed boy, suggest a younger brother or cousin, possibly named Robin.
In the strip with Becky, our happy, gap-toothed lad seems to be recovering from a fall or fight, having a large scab on his top lip. Fully healed in the second strip, his tousled hair and face-making skills are featured.
Finally, in the third strip he is joined by a little girl, who could also be a cousin to Becky, but I don’t think she is likely to be her sister. They are trying their best to pull faces, but seem unable to match their efforts to the timing of the flashes.
All undated photos, the top ones of Becky are probably from 1972 when she was about 17 years old, making the other strips more or less of the same date.
Undated. With unidentified friend.
Here is Becky and a new friend, once again having fun showing off in a photobooth, bless ’em.
I am guessing that this photo was taken quite soon after the picture, dated April 1969, from the previous post in this series. Becky would therefore be around 14 years old in this strip.
Becky’s pal either has bad teeth or braces. It is too hard to tell which, even with the ability to enlarge pictures with the scanner. I am going for bad teeth, as when I had braces, chewing-gum, (seen being chomped with gusto in the second frame of this strip), was an utter nightmare if it became attached to the wires.
April 1969
Here we find Becky and her friend or possibly sister, Tina. The notes on the back indicate that Becky was in eighth grade when this was taken and Tina was in the seventh.
Tina rivals Becky in the stupid face pulling schenanigans. Quasimodo comes to mind in the last two photos!
Vic Parks on tour.
Vic Parks was a car salesman, real estate agent, radio host, farmer, acrobat, vaudeville performer and
Lou Costello’s stunt man. The above booth photos and a series of other small identity pictures, (see below) proudly sit alongside three original studio portraits of Vic in my collection. You can see the other photos on Mugshots and Miscellaneous.
In the set of undated photobooth photos, above, we see Vic posing in a dapper silk tie and scarf. On the back of one image is written “Let me see, I’ve been away about 6 months now! …more…that…” (The second sentence has been mostly obscured by glue.) For a time in the 1930s Vic toured in an acrobatic/dance show, so I imagine these were taken specifically to send home to loved ones while he was away.
Probably taken in a semi-automatic booth in a photographers studio. Undated; maybe late 1920s.
There are many references to Vic’s relationship with Lou to be found online. One of the more curious is from Stories of the Past.
“January 29, 1959
Have you seen TV and movie star Lou Costello walking down the streets of Calexico lately?
We hate to disillusion you, but chances are it’s Vic Parks, owner of Border Fords. And there is a good reason for the resemblance to Costello. Parks is his stand-in in Hollywood.
Parks has been working with the comedian since 1938. Parks has been in one form of show business or another for many years. He and his wife, Margie, still keep their hand in the entertainment business in Calexico.
Parks continues to double for Costello, traveling to Hollywood or other parts of the country when the shooting of a picture is in progress.”
From the photograph in his obituary article (below), it is easy to see why one may have mistaken him for Mr Costello.
Obituary from the North County Times, 1995. How incredibly alike are they in this photo.
Vic Parks and George Lamar with The Keene Twins circa 1930. Photo courtesy of Brian Murphy.
Above is a publicity portrait of Vic with Leona and Naomi Krummel (The Keene Twins) and George Lamar, Vic’s vaudeville “tumbling” partner. The troupe were at Fays Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island, from March 4 to March 10, 1933.
Brian Murphy, who has given me permission to use this image, has a wonderful photostream on Flickr that show cases hundreds of wonderful vaudeville images and ephemera from the 1920s, 30s and other eras. His father was a vaudeville performer at the same time as Vic. Please have a look at Brian’s archive.
Remember to go to Mugshots and Miscellaneous to see more images of Vic.
Small proof photos from a studio portrait sitting.
“Me and Part of Pam Meadow. 7th Grade.”
“Me and Part of Pam Meadow. 7th Grade.”
“Pam Meadow. 7th Grade.”
“Pam Meadow. 7th Grade.”
Here is Becky again, a little older. This time she is on a day out with her friend, Pam Meadow. In her posing style, Pam is a little more serious and less creative than Becky. Maybe she is just less willing to make herself look like a complete fool. She has gorgeous Becks to do that job for her.
These were all taken on the same day. They are undated, but from the dates on other strips, they were probably taken in 1968.
Photobooth Journal 