USA 1960s
I just found this. I’m sorry it is not a clean scan! I don’t own this photo but it is a sweet continuation of the New Teeth story, so I hope you will forgive the quality. It was taken on the same day as the last photo in the series and is a fitting conclusion to a little love story.
Happy Saint Valentine’s Day!
I made this strip earlier in the year when I needed to go to the city for the start of a root canal. Ouch! I have never minded the dentist but the long trip from my home to the dental hospital plays havoc with the symptoms of my illness. It is the ramifications of the journey that I dread. Having said that, I make sure to drive in early and park close to the Flinders Street photobooth. That means I haven’t far to walk with my box of props, to take a few strips before heading off to the appointment.
I didn’t much like the results of my Valentine themed pics this year, so chose just one of the nine photos I took, to feature in this post. I thought I might as well show you the full strip it came from, as it was already scanned. What do you think?
Our young man on the right, in 1934. Love those almost identical suits and those hairstyles!
Photoweigh photobooth photos are rare. Between the 1930s and 1970s when the last of these booths disappeared, there appears to have been only a handful scattered across the UK, Germany and France. Although a business called the American Automatic Photoweigh Company Inc. was registered in America, there does not appear to have been any booths operating there.
These English photos from 1934 and 1939, above and below, are even rarer than typical, holiday-souvenir Photoweigh images, as they show the same young man in two close poses with his male friends. There are many photos for sale online which purport to show gay or lesbian lovers. In most instances it is decidedly unclear as to whether the subjects are just pals or in closer relationships. However in this instance, I think it is safe to say the men pictured here are more than just friends.
Again in 1934 but now on the left, in a joyful embrace.
At a time when homosexuality was still criminalised, taking affectionate same sex snapshots to a commercial printer, posed risks to what would have needed to be clandestine relationships. Without access to your own darkroom, photobooths were the only way to commemorate a gay relationship in private and with confidence. Photobooths created images without a tell tale negative or in the case of some Photoweigh machines where a paper negative was supplied with the finished positive, leaving no record in the machine.
Despite the happy and loving nature of these photos, there is a heartbreaking poignancy to them, given the prejudice and suffering endured by the same sex community at the time. The young man who is pictured in all three photos, looks a jolly type. I hope that translated into a fulfilling and happy life despite the obstacles he would have had to face.
You can read more about the history of this type of photobooth here, and see more Photoweigh images here.
Five years later, a solo portrait.
This is a very special post of photobooth photos from one of my blog readers, Sherri. I have tried to present this story mainly in Sherri’s own words.
“My love for photobooth images comes from those that I have of my mother. She was killed in an auto accident when I was just 7 months old, so all I have of her are photos, no memories. My favorite photos of her have always been the photobooth strips. It may sound silly or strange, but I feel like they are the next best thing to having a memory of her. In those strips, I feel like I can feel how she was feeling in the booth, trying out poses, smiling, laughing.
They are all attached to a page in my baby book. (See the full page, below). There are also booth photos of my maternal grandmother (who, by the way, is the person who raised me after my mother’s death).
“I hope that someday relatives will find my posts. So far, I’ve only located one relative of a photograph but not one I’ve blogged about. They said they would love to have the photo and would send me their address, but they never did. I followed up once and still didn’t hear back. I noticed they’re using the photo in their ancestry family tree, so maybe the digital copy was enough for them.
I did find a home for the most recent photo I blogged – Orlo C Mathews and his brothers. Orlo is the survivor of the Sultana maritime disaster. While researching him, I discovered a book he owned (about the Sultana) is housed in the Bedford Ohio Historical Society Museum. I contacted them and they are excited to add the photo to the book. Imagine how much more interesting it will be for people to be able to see a photo of the man who owned the book and survived the disaster! I’m so thrilled with how that turned out! I hope to have more of those moments!
Just like my blogging about photos I find, makes me feel like I’m helping the people in the images to live on, I feel like that’s what you will be doing for me by blogging the photos of my mother.”
Sherri with her maternal grandmother, who raised her.
The complete page from Sherri’s baby book.
What a gloriously sexy couple! At top is my favourite photo of the woman. The third photo is my favourite of the man. I think the final photo is the best of them as a couple.
I am guessing this was taken in the 1980s. It is a found-photo from the USA.
This fabulous photobooth photo and the story behind it, was emailed to me by artist and fellow blogger Ted Giffin.
This is the story –
On the left is Shannon. She was my sweet 16 girlfriend. I followed her around like a puppy. She moved from Indiana to Virginia Beach, Virginia. She went to the governor’s art school where she met Kathy a.k.a Guido, also an artist. She is on the right.
These two girls changed the course of my life. I believed that if I could make art like these two, then I would be beautiful. During my Freshmen year at Art School, Shannon, who at the time loved tape, taped this in my sketchbook. I had been carrying it around in my wallet, with a guitar pick. That blotch on the image, is worn in by the outline of the pick. As you may notice, they were “goth” punks at the time.
This image was made in a Virginia Beach photobooth, circa 1988. It is still taped into that, almost 30 year old, sketchbook…
I absolutely love it. If it hadn’t been accidentally changed by its time in a wallet, you could almost call it a piece of altered art. I also love Ted’s visual art works, which you can see here.
Triptych taken in July 2013 for an exhibition that sadly never happened.
Merry X-mas and O-mas, Merry Kisses and Hugs to everyone who has supported my blog, and supported me during this time of ill health.
Thanks for the comments you left on my last post (as yet un answered, but greatly appreciated). I hope to be able to do some regular writing next year. I have lots of wonderful items to share with you.
Seasons Greetings to all, both long-time followers, new followers and casual readers. Have fun!
Father Christmas and friends. A booth pic found online, with thanks to the original owner.
Photobooth Journal 