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Vintage Photobooth

Not One Of Us

January 8, 2012
Vintage Photobooth
4 Comments

So far on this blog I have not revealed the actual dimensions of any of the photos I have posted. I suppose I have assumed that either it was irrelevant, or that people generally know how big a photobooth photo is.  There is actually a considerable variation in sizes. Different types of booths produced different finishes, dimensions and formats of strips.

This pic, measuring 37 x 50 mm, is by no means the smallest type of booth photo around but it is small enough to lose a lot of the details of its condition without the magnification a good scan provides. Until scanned, this image looked to have a very minor mark across it but as you can see, what is minor in the original, is major in the blown-up version. I toyed with the idea of using a gel rubber to try to gently remove what appears to be a pencil line, but decided against it for fear of ruining the image.

From the costume and jewellery the sitter is wearing I would say this photo was taken in the early 1930s. The style of clothing is very similar to that worn by my Grandma in the same era. In fact this lady’s robust size is also reminiscent of my granny, who was a cuddly lady her whole life. The sitter also has a softness of feature and air of patience and kindness about her that I find very appealing. So having formed a strongly positive opinion of this woman, it was with some horror I read the note on the back of the image – “this is no relation of ours, thank god”. I take personal offence at this disparaging remark and wish to redeem the reputation of this lovely woman by saying I would be very pleased to be related to her. I thank god I am not related to the writer of that mean-spirited little note.

Yes, My Heart Belongs To Daddy

January 5, 2012
Vintage Photobooth
6 Comments

Imagine if we were all able to strike such a stylish pose in an instant? It isn’t surprising that this beautiful young woman had that skill, as she is Jean Willes, an American actor who appeared in over 60 films and numerous TV shows between 1934 and 1975.

Her films included No Time for Sergeants in 1958, Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1956, Elmer Gantry in 1960 and Gypsy in 1962. In 1956 she played opposite Clark Gable in The King and Four Queens. Although not a top box office name Jean seems to have had a very good career.

Willes’s second husband was American NFL football player Gerard Cowhig to whom she sent the, very cutely addressed, valentine card, below. Jean died in 1989, aged 65.

I was thrilled to get both items at a bargain price, thanks to the Or Best Offer option that is sometimes seen on listings at everybody’s favourite, online, garage sale. Still it is sad that items such as these end up in the public domain. Jean had a son but maybe no grandchildren to whom these could have been passed?

A still from Poseidon

A PR photo for a Three Stooges short.

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2012
Vintage Photobooth
18 Comments

With party hats and cheeky glints in their eyes, this lovely older couple look to me to be celebrating something. Was it the arrival of a new year?  These undated photos were taken in a photomatic photobooth at the Hotel Morton – “Rich in the things that make people happy”- in Atlantic City, USA, probably in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

This photo, the third in the series was also taken at the Hotel Morton, on a different day but, no doubt, on the same visit.

According to the postcard, below, the Hotel Morton was noted for its homelike atmosphere and excellent cuisine. It was centrally located and close to beaches, the Boardwalk and the Steel Pier. The hotel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Atlantic County, New Jersey on July 15, 1977 and then inexplicably demolished  around 1985.  The site is now occupied by the Trump Taj Mahal, a casino. Ah, progress!

Hotel Morton Circa 1945

Printing on the back of each photo.

Photomatic Driver Identity

December 17, 2011
Vintage Photobooth
1 Comment

This photomatic photobooth picture was offered for sale as an “old chauffeur’s badge” identity photo. It was said to be for a driver who “had to have their photo in their bus”.

Firstly it is not a badge. Like most photomatic photos there is a pop-out cardboard stand on the back, no pin. Hmm. Are bus drivers actually referred to as chauffeurs? Is this a bus driver’s uniform or a chauffeur’s uniform? Is it really a form of identification without a name or any other details attached?

Sure, the wear and tear suggests this picture may have been on display somewhere for an extended period, but there are many other explanations, other than the one proposed by the vendor. I have seen the same wear and tear on photos of lovers, rakes and dolly birds, pictures unlikely to have been used as ID.

This could have been a simple love token, made by a happy man for his lady.  Maybe it was a spur of the moment purchase. Was it made when a booth presented itself unexpectedly, on taking a different route home one evening?  Maybe it was a planned gift presented with a bunch of flowers?  Or could it simply have been a personal souvenir to celebrate a first or last day at work? Whatever the case, given its condition, it was proudly displayed somewhere.

As with most of my photos, I’d say the circumstances behind this picture will remain unknown. The photo is thin, there is rust on the frame, the surface is battered, faded and dull. Yet one thing radiates as brightly as on the day it was taken – a glorious, broad-mouthed smile. I love it!

The “Mirror” And Charlie McCarthy

December 16, 2011
Vintage Photobooth
1 Comment

One of the things I love about collecting photobooth photos, is the myriad possibilities that arise for discovering new and fun things. This image shows a woman wearing a badge that, a quick online search has confirmed, represents the face of a very famous wooden dummy.

Edgar John Bergen was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist. At the peak of his fame he was probably the best known practitioner of his craft in the world. His success was undoubtedly the result of a partnership with a character he created, with the help of a carved block of pine, named Charlie McCarthy. This character was so endearing and believable that the pair conquered vaudeville, movies and the airwaves across America from the 1930s to the 1960s.

This photo has another interest for me. With each woman wearing similar blouses and hairstyles, the parts in their hair on opposite sides, one can imagine it is one woman leaning on a mirror, which eerily reflects how she will look in 20 years time.  The photobooth has become a time machine. Inscribed on the back of the photo in pencil are the words “Left to right, Mrs Polichuk & a friend of Mrs P.”

Edgar and Charlie

Badges similar to the one worn above.

Festival of Britain Photobooth

December 12, 2011
Vintage Photobooth
12 Comments

Del and Janie

This is the second vintage photobooth photo from Del’s Family archive, taken at the Festival of Britain. The festival was a national exhibition held around England during the summer of 1951. It was organised to give Britons a feeling of hope in the aftermath of the second world war. It also promoted British interests in science, technology, industrial design, architecture and the arts. The Festival’s centrepiece was in London on the South Bank of the Thames, where this photo was taken.

On Del’s Facebook page, her sister Jannie posted this booth photo from the festival. Not only did I love the image of the two of them as toddlers but the name of the photo studio prompted a few questions. Was this really a photobooth photo, as I had assumed? Maybe it was a studio shot taken by an itinerant photographer who’d set up shop for the festival?

I started to search for more information about Cyril Astor and he turns up in some interesting places.

The Oxford English Dictionary, as well as providing all of the known definitions of words in English, uses quotations to illustrate the usage of the words. Here is one of the quotations for the trade name of what I mostly refer to as a photobooth –

“Photomaton

The proprietary name of a machine that takes photographs automatically; a photograph taken by such a machine. Also abbrev. as Photomat.

1963 Trade Marks Jrnl. 22 May 691/1 Photomaton.+ Photographic apparatus and parts thereof+Cyril Astor Photomaton (London) Limited,+Rhyl,+North Wales; manufacturers and merchants.”

This led me to a patent application that Cyril made in 1966. The Patent Index says that he applied for patents to make improvements to the Photomaton machine in the early 1960s.

“Abstract of GB962798 962,798. Rollerways. CYRIL ASTOR PHOTOMATON (LONDON) Ltd. March 2, 1962 [Dec. 16, 1960], No. 43458/60. Heading B8A. [Also in Division G2] Film is conveyed through a processing tank by a plurality of vertically-spaced sets of rollers, each set being individual…”

Another example of Cyril’s work from the festival.

Although his company was registered in London he traded out of Rhyl, North Wales, where the other of Del’s booth pics was taken.

In addition to being an inventor and photographer, Cyril ran a successful hire company for his booths. He advertised this service in Billboard magazine on the 26 November, 1966.

On the back of each of the cardboard photo frames it says, “Photographer: Cyril Astor. You can obtain three beautiful postcard sized enlargements by sending this photograph with name and address to Cyril Astor, 28, North Drive, Rhyl, North Wales. Together with postal order valued 5/-. It is never too late to send and you get this photo back.”  I imagine it is too late now, despite the claim, but it does make me think there could be some fabulous photobooth postcard gems out there to be discovered!

From The Festival of Britain “Memories” Website

Another fabulous photo found online. I cannot remember where this photo originated.

Jannie and Del

December 11, 2011
Vintage Photobooth
2 Comments

This is one of two gorgeous booth pictures from the family collection of my friend Del and her sister Jan. They both look very cute in their matching smiles, sundresses and crooked fringes. This picture was taken in the mid 1950s in the seaside resort town of Rhyl and probably came from a Cyril Astor photobooth located near the beach front. (I will tell you more about Cyril in my next post.)

Situated on the north east coast of Wales, Rhyl has long been a popular tourist destination for people all over Wales and North West England. In a recent email, Del said “Rhyl was the only place I thought was the seaside when I was a child.  I didn’t know other places had beach and sea!”  The family went there on a day trip at least once a year.

I love Jannies little fingers, resting on her sister’s shoulder, just poking out from behind Del’s hair. They were obviously good friends in childhood as they still are today.

SHE Heard HER Broken Heart…

December 6, 2011
Vintage Photobooth
4 Comments

In my post She Heard Her Broken Heart Would Heal in Time I mused about the possibility that the subject (above) may have been a man, not a woman. I had comments from people who thought “definitely” a man, another saying she looks like a cartoon, (yes, she does!) and that she is very androgenous etc.

I have since found for sale, from the same on-line merchant, more photos of the same subject.  I am much closer to believing it is a lady but still not 100% sure.  If it is a bloke, then he was very consistent in his depiction of his feminine persona.  Any thoughts?

The Dimmest Man On The Planet?

December 5, 2011
Vintage Photobooth
12 Comments

I quite often buy photos based on the title used by the seller. Of course the price has to be right and there needs to be something else that appeals; a look in the eye, a familiarity of features, a special item being worn or held. However, some of the more creative titles make imaginary theories about a person’s life spring so readily to mind, that it can be the deciding factor on whether to purchase or not.

This poor guy, listed under the title – THE MOST BORING MAN on THE PLANET! – got my sympathy. What was he trying to do? He looks completely unaware of the reason he got into the booth. Could it be that he didn’t realise that the flashes indicated the pictures were being taken? To me it looks as though he is still waiting for something to happen. Maybe he still is…

She Heard Her Broken Heart Would Heal in Time

November 20, 2011
Vintage Photobooth
19 Comments

Actual Size

Another favorite from my collection. Look at the broad nose, flat chest and vague signs of a five o’clock shadow. Is it just me or is this also a man in drag or is it simply that there were not as many woman using depilation techniques and make-up in the 30s and 40s? The lack of an adam’s apple could be evidence I am wrong. Maybe it is just me. And my Dad. He also thought it was a man.

I do have a penchant for the androgenous sitter in any photo.  I am always on the look out for them. Somewhere, I have hidden away, a brilliant cabinet card photo of a very posh looking “lady” who is the spitting image of actor/author/polymath (and one time comedy partner of House star, Hugh Laurie), Mr Stephen Fry. If you know what he looks like, you will understand that that makes her a very unusual looking woman.

I bought this from one of my favourite online sellers, Albert Tanquero. Check out his store if you have an eye for the curious. The title of this post, She Heard Her Broken Heart Would Heal in Time was used by Albert in the listing of this item. I do love a bit of romantic creativity in an Ebay seller!