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Vintage Photobooth

Halloween 2016

October 30, 2016
Vintage Photobooth
20 Comments

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I made these strips in my favourite photobooth in Melbourne some months ago. I so rarely get to either of the two remaining chemical booths in Melbourne, that I need to take the opportunity to get festive when the occasion arises.

Last year I was only able to get to a colour digital booth. Black and white is more suited to the Day of the Dead of course, so I was glad I planned ahead.

My skeletal friend disappeared into the background of one or two of the pics, so I added a light smattering of permanent marker to make sure you knew he was there!

Happy Halloween to you all!

Eye of Providence

October 4, 2016
Vintage Photobooth
31 Comments

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Above is a slightly strange portrait of a young man in a photobooth. There is a lot we can guess about why the sitter chose such a lunatic expression for the photo, if we look at another from the same strip, that was once glued into a notebook.

The collage came to me the way you see it, here.

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It did not take me long to find out that the man in the triangular hat is Aleister Crowley. Mr Crowley was, amongst many other things, the founder of the religion and philosophy of Thelema. He identified himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century.

On Crowley’s hat is emblazoned the Eye of Providence (or the all-seeing eye of God). Most frequently the symbol shows a realistic depiction of an eye often surrounded by rays of light and usually enclosed by a triangle. It represents the eye of God watching over mankind (or divine providence).

In the case of Crowley’s organisation the eye is depicted as the ancient Egyptian Eye of Horus in the mistaken belief that the symbol dates back to Pharaonic times.

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One of hundreds of different versions of the Eye of Providence

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Aleister Crowley

Aspects of the counter culture of the 1960s is said to have been inspired by some of Crowley’s writings and beliefs. The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa were all known to have been interested in, if not influenced by him. Rightly or wrongly Crowley has been associated with Satanism and Black Magick.

And all this is leading me back to my photobooth man and his wild staring eyes. He may have been a devotee of Crowley and a Thelemite. He may have been a Satanist dabbling in the black arts. Or did he see himself as a possessor of rare vision, a man with an all-seeing eye?

He may have been looking to associate himself with the counter-culture image of rock idols of the late 1960s or early 1970s, or perhaps, he was just a very scary guy with a penchant for crayons and scissors. We will never know, but I do so love these pieces of vintage ephemera!

And just in case you’ve already forgotten that spaced out look, here is our possible acolyte once again. Sleep well tonight!

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Teeny, Tiny Puppy

September 6, 2016
Vintage Photobooth
41 Comments

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In this photobooth photo from 1930s Germany, you could almost miss seeing the tiny dog swaddled in a blanket. By the size and angle of the hand, it appears to me that this slightly nervous looking girl is not the one holding the petite pup. I won’t stand by that observation, as it could simply be an illusion of perspective created by the hand’s relative proximity to the camera, but it seems to be a hand too large to belong to such a small child.

The composition of this image is striking though, no doubt, unintentional. It nicely emphasises the diminutive size of both child and canine. I also like the fact that one can see the bottom of the backdrop curtain, a feature mostly obscured in early booth photos.

Fake Fur Fabulousness

August 19, 2016
Vintage Photobooth
37 Comments

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I bought this photo from a gentleman in Serbia. As for the other two photos I have posted from the same seller, I hope this is a Serbian woman, or in the case of this having been taken in the late 1970s or early 1980s, (the most likely possible dates of the image) a Yugoslavian woman.

I was very taken with the look on this young lady’s face. The position of her poised hand, gently resting on her chin, gives her a quizzical, thoughtful appearance. This is intensified by the lovely, faraway look in her eye. I wonder if she chose this position to make sure her ring was captured in the frame? Her fake fur coat looks warm and cozy but not like any real animal I can think of, save for a hyena.

As with all my photos, I wonder how this little gem escaped its home and made it onto an auction website? Maybe this was given as a token of affection to a boyfriend; the one who gave her the ring, perhaps? And as relationships come and go, the owner may no longer have cared enough to keep the image. Unfortunately, we will never know, but she is loved and respected here at least.

 

Handsome Smiley Dude

August 9, 2016
Vintage Photobooth
9 Comments

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Hi Mr Smiley!

I love this kindly looking and open faced gentleman. He is stylish, cool and no doubt fashionable for the era in which this was taken. I am thinking 1950s due to the format and finish of the pic, but wonder if it could actually be earlier?

He is sporting what I would call a matinee idol moustache. It reminds me of Errol Flynn’s but is slightly less prominent. And what does the well dressed man about town need to keep his presentation up to scratch? A comb, of course. You can see his peeking out of his breast coat pocket.

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Oh, Errol!

This is a larger than usual photobooth photo which measures 63mm x 86mm, as opposed to the standard size of 40mm x 50mm. It comes from the USA.

About A Boy – 1965

August 4, 2016
About A Boy, Vintage Photobooth
16 Comments

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This is the sixth and final part of a series of photobooth strips of the same American boy. I think he would have been 14 or 15 years old when he sat for these photos.

In this group of snaps, our handsome subject is looking like he is close to getting his man face but is still not quite grown up. Sadly, he has lost his unrestrained joy at making faces for the camera. Maybe he was just concentrating so hard on holding up his friend, that he forgot to smile. Either way, it is the tiny pup that has now become the star of the show. He is a cute little canine, who appears to be a lot more cooperative in the portrait taking stakes than my own pooch, Snowy.

Well before coming to the end of this series, some of my loyal commenters wondered what he might look like now, or where he might be? Unfortunately without a name to add to these photo treasures, it is highly likely we will never know.

To see the other photos of this young man, please click here. And while you are clicking, you could try hitting here to see another long series of photos of a girl called Becky or here to see another girl growing up in a photobooth, Donna.

About A Boy – 1964

August 3, 2016
About A Boy, Vintage Photobooth
7 Comments

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This is part five of a series of photobooth strips of the same American boy. For each year that there are photobooth pictures in this group, I have estimated his age. In these photos I think he would be 13 or 14 years old.

With an unusual hat and ill-fitting jacket, the young extrovert of earlier photos is still in evidence. He is still showing some joy at having his photo taken, but not nearly as much as in earlier photos. Rather than a lumberjack coat, this time he is wearing a lumberjack shirt.

Do you think his mother bought the jacket two sizes larger than needed, as mums do in the middle of these growth spurt years? Or could the jacket be his dad’s or a hand-me-down from an older brother? I imagine this boy to be an only child due to his appearing in so many photos without a sibling, so do not particularly like the hand-me-down hypothesis. And what type of hat is that? I have no clue!

To see the other photos of this young man, please click here. And while we are at it, you could click here to see another long series of photos of a girl called Becky or here to see another girl growing up in a photobooth, Donna.

About A Boy – 28 May 1963

July 26, 2016
About A Boy, Vintage Photobooth
18 Comments

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This is part four of a series of photobooth strips of the same American boy. I estimate that he would be 12 or 13 in these photos.

There has been a gap of three and a half years from the time the last photos in this group were taken. Our young man is looking more grown up and acting that way. Gone are the crazy faces and comical poses. The photos suggest a growing maturity but happily his inner comedian is still there. You will see what I mean in the next post, as we continue to follow his progression from boyhood to young adulthood.

To see the other photos of this young man, please click here.

About A Boy – 21 December 1959

July 25, 2016
About A Boy, Vintage Photobooth
4 Comments

 

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This is part three of a series of photobooth strips of the same little American boy. My estimate is that he would be 9 or ten in these photos.

I wonder if the first strip was deemed unsuccessful, resulting in the second one being taken with a different background and a properly adjusted seat? I like the way the second strip shows a progression from not quite ready, to small smile, to bigger smile, to wide eyed grin. We can still see the cheekiness and spirit on show in previous strips, albeit slightly toned down.

Having been taken on the same day, he is wearing the same lumberjack coat in both strips. Being slow to pick up on fashion trends in those days, this style of boy’s clothing didn’t make it to Australia until the 1970s. It is a trend that is currently being revived in some retail outlets today. Blah! But I digress! It is interesting to me that with a less reflective background, his hair looks much darker and by adjusting the seat he looks older than in the first strip.

To see the other photos in the series, please click here.

About A Boy – November 1958

July 21, 2016
About A Boy, Vintage Photobooth
30 Comments

photoboothAboutABoy01

This is the second in a series of photos of a young American having fun in a photobooth. I think he may have grown up to be an actor, given his love of performing for a camera and the range of faces he came up with in these two strips!

It is easy to imagine his mum or dad standing outside the booth encouraging him to play the fool. It is just as easy to think that they may have chastised him for his behaviour. Having said that, there is always the possibility that he passed the booth on his way to or from school and used his pocket money to make the photos. However, this is the least likely scenario as the photos have all been dated in an adult hand, not to mention that they are in much too fine a condition to have been part of a childhood collection.

This little boy appears in these strips in an outfit very similar to one that my brother wore around the same era. It is very much of its time and thus looks very daggy and dated. I am sorry eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith. Bowties are not cool.

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Sorry Doctor, they aren’t!