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The Actors’ Agency – Part 5

March 3, 2016
The Actors' Agency, Vintage Photobooth
14 Comments

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Here is another one of a series of photobooth adorned file cards from a Parisian acting agency. I had previously thought that all the photos in the series were from the 1960s, however the seller has told me that some come from the 50s as well. This one looks to me to have a definite 50s feel to it.

Each card shows an actor in a pose which they hope will entice someone to give them work. Along with Rose Marie Arotce’s address and telephone number on the front of the card, there are details listed on the back. Rose Marie’s height in metres is recorded as 1.68.  She was a model (not surprising due to her height, sophisticated style and beauty) and also a comedienne. I am very impressed that she is listed as a comedian, as even now it is a difficult field for a woman to work in. I imagine it would have been much harder some 60 years ago. The abbreviation GRC appears on this card and some of the others. I have still not worked out what it might be short for.

None of the actors, in the cards I procured, ever made it big in the acting profession, however I have set myself the task of searching IMdB to discover if any of my new photobooth friends worked at all in film and televison.

If you would like to see some of the other cards in this series, please click here.

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Toledo, Ohio – Part 4

March 2, 2016
Ms Toledo, Vintage Photobooth
22 Comments

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This is the last set of photos of beautiful Ms Toledo wearing another selection of stylish hats. To read more of how I came to give her that name and see more pics of her, please click here.

As with the other images in this series, these photos are approximately 38 x 44 mm in size.

Toledo, Ohio – Part 3

March 1, 2016
Ms Toledo, Vintage Photobooth
4 Comments

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This is the third post of photos of the same young, beautiful woman, who I have named Ms Toledo. To read more of how she came to have that name and see more images of her, please click here.

Once again Ms Toledo is showing off a gorgeous, though somewhat precariously place hat and a fashionable hair style or two.

Most of the photos, including these ones, are approximately 38 x 44 mm in size.

Toledo, Ohio – Part 2

February 29, 2016
Ms Toledo, Vintage Photobooth
8 Comments

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This is the second set of photos of images of the same young, attractive woman, who I have named Ms Toledo. She has been named thus, due to a stamp on the back of two snapshots that came with the photobooth photos. Each is stamped with the name of the processor, The Gross Photo Supply Co. in Toledo, USA.

Ms Toledo has a fabulous flare for fashionable hair dos and hats, more of which will be seen in subsequent posts.

Ms Toledo bears a striking resemblance to an Australian actor and comedian, Marg Downey, (see photos below.) Marg obviously stowed away on Dr Who’s tardis in order to get these booth gems.

Most of the photos, including these ones, are approximately 38 x 44 mm in size.

To see the other posts of Ms Toledo please click here.

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Toledo, Ohio – Part 1

February 28, 2016
Ms Toledo, Vintage Photobooth
14 Comments

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This is the first of a series of posts I will be doing, of images of the same young, attractive woman. What do we know about her? She was a Christian, indicated not only by the ecclesiastical choice of back-drop but by the cruxifix she is wearing. I know that she came from or visited Ohio, USA in the 1940s, as gleaned from the back of two snapshots (below) that came with a collection of photobooth images of her. They are stamped with the name of the processor,  The Gross Photo Supply Co. in Toledo. I also know that she was fond of photobooth photos.

The two photos above measure 80 x 105 mm and 38 x 44 mm respectively. The larger is a common sized enlargement of a booth photo. Booths, in this era, were commonly located in photographic premises which offered a multitude of services, including enlarging, hand colouring and framing.

Look out for more posts of Ms Toledo in the coming few days. I hope . . .

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Stylishly well dressed.

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Looking fetching in a proto-bikini!

 

Sweet 16, 17, 18, 19, Eek!

December 21, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
43 Comments
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Catherine at 16

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Catherine at 17

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Catherine at 18

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Catherine at 18. To a sweet boy, Catherine … (?)

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Catherine at 19

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Catherine at 20

This is Catherine. Catherine comes from the USA. She was very curious about the new Photomaton machines she had read about in the news. When the first booth arrived in her town in the mid 1930s, she was one of the first to try it out. Each year, on the anniversary of her first visit, she would sit for a new strip of photographs. She added them to an album, where she kept a page especially for her booth photos.

Catherine was sweet on a boy when she was 18 years old. She had a photobooth portrait hand coloured to give him, but being shy, she lost the courage, so ended up keeping it for her album.

At the age of 20, sick of her lack of confidence, she decided to try a new look. Her dad said she was a beautiful young woman who had sabotaged her looks with those dreadful eyebrows, heavy eyeliner and dark red lipstick. Her mother said, “It is the fashion, dear. Let her be.”.

If anyone can work out what Catherine’s surname is, please let me know. I have tried many combinations of letters but none of them come up with a name recognised by any of the genealogy sites on the net.

Karl Ek At A Century Of Progress

December 19, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
16 Comments
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I love his terribly serious expression and crooked tie.

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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.

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

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Comedy Duo

December 18, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
9 Comments

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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

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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

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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

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