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I am an avid collector of intriguing old things including postcards, newspapers, photographs, advertising cards, souveniers, etc. All of the pictures in this blog are from my private collection. If you wish to enlarge any picture, simply click on it.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Not Your Average Carte-de-Visites

Thought I'd post a few of the beautiful carte-de-visites I've collected over the years. It never ceases to amaze me how miserable some of the people can look in the studio photos. Take a look at the first two beauties and tell me they weren't forced in there at gunpoint!


"Has anybody seen my glasses?


I believe this one must have just finished a jar of particularly sour gherkins.

To make this a more pleasant experience, the next one is just plain cute and should bring a smile to your face. Enjoy what is left of the weekend! Gotta go!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Orphan Photos For Sepia Saturday

Once again digging through a box of “orphan photos” and became an on-line detective. Thought I’d share a few and some links to go with them.


This first picture I was able to ID by zooming in on the water tower and finding “Moirs Limited Chocolates Bread Biscuits”. Google quickly directed me to Halifax, Nova Scotia. I then found a Facebook link to old photographs of Halifax and then the following link which confirmed this was Halifax.

Here is a link to a photo of the old town clock at the left in this picture.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=314736756157&set=o.96551691468&theater

Check out this link below to see the assembly line at Moirs Chocolate Factory in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=377632891157&set=o.96551691468&theater

This next photo is a group shot of finely dressed people in front of "Lord Construction" "Work and Win Plant". Judging by the car and Work and Win slogan, I imagine this was taken during World War I. I did find a reference to a Lord Construction Company in Providence, Rhode Island that equipped/outfitted ships for the Emergency Fleet Corporation which was in operation from 1917 to 1920 to support the war effort. Check out the shiny shoes and the nice watch chain.


The last one I need some help with. It appears to be a BIG mock up of a World War I ship. Look at how many people are working on it. There is a subway entrance in the foreground. This was probably a set for a "Liberty War Bond" drive during WWI. Do you agree? Any ideas as to what city?


Followup: Brett Payne nailed the answer immediately after I posted the picture. Here is the link he directed me to:

http://longstreet.typepad.com/thesciencebookstore/2009/03/a-battleship-in-union-square-the-uss-recruit-1917-the-invention-of-the-word-landship.html

Monday, March 28, 2011

Beautiful Postcard, Tragic Ending

I've had this card in my collection for a while and decided to look up the tail number (N-Number) to find out if it was still flying. I am a private pilot and go to Oshkosh, Wisconsin almost every year for the world's largest fly-in. There are thousands of planes still flying that were built in the 1940's and I often see beautifully restored ones while at the show.


A frequent sight....trios of beautiful women playing guitar as I shuffle off of one flight and onto the next!



I was saddened when I Googled the tail number NC25684 and was directed to a plane crash website and found this:

• 1945 •

Date / Time: Wednesday, January 10, 1945 / 4:10 a.m.
Operator / Flight No.: American Airlines / Flight 6-001
Location: McClure Canyon, near Burbank, Calif.

Details and Probable Cause: “Flagship Douglas,” an American Airlines twin-engine Douglas DC-3 (NC25684), departed New York City on the morning of Tuesday, January 9, on a cross-country flight designated “The Sun Country Special” and bound for the Lockheed Air Terminal at Burbank, with stops along the way at Washington D.C.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Memphis, Tennessee; Dallas and El Paso, Texas; and Phoenix, Arizona.

While the plane was en route, company ground personnel neglected to obtain and transmit regular weather updates to the pilot, which would have alerted him to the fact that conditions at Burbank were were varying between “marginal” and “below minimums” due to the dense fog and poor visibility present at the Lockheed Air Terminal.

Upon arrival over Burbank at 4:06 a.m. on the morning of January 10, the cockpit crew attempted an instrument approach to the airport that was unsuccessful due to the foggy conditions. The “missed approach” procedure for the runway the DC-3 was attempting to land on calls for an immediate, climbing right turn over the departure end of the runway and, upon reaching 3,500 feet, radioing a request for further instructions from the company ground station.

However, upon its missed approach, the plane overflew the runway, made a left turn, and vanished into the fog. The pilot in command then radioed controllers that he could not maintain visual ground contact and would be diverting to an alternate airfield to the north at Palmdale, where weather conditions were improved.

It was at this point in time that the captain apparently began the standard “missed approach” procedure -- but only after the plane had already made a left turn. By deviating from the prescribed standard “missed approach” procedure -- making a left turn first -- the subsequent right, climbing turn that the plane performed now put it directly on a course into the Verdugo Mountains that rise beyond Burbank.

Two minutes later, while flying blindly through the thick fog, the DC-3 crashed, exploded and burned on a ridge of McClure Canyon of the Verdugos, approximately 2-3/4 miles northeast of the Lockheed Air Terminal. All 21 passengers -- 17 U.S. Army members and four U.S. Navy personnel -- were killed, as was the aircraft’s crew of three: the pilot, first officer and stewardess. The plane remained overdue at Palmdale and missing until around 9:30 a.m. when the fog lifted and personnel with binoculars in the Burbank control tower sighted the wreckage on the distant mountain ridge approximately 1,034 feet above the elevation of the airport.

The Civil Aeronautics Board’s report on the accident noted that “the possibility of an accident became a potentiality” when American Airlines ground personnel failed to obtain and transmit important weather information to the pilot -- a situation that the board believed “constitutes negligence on the part of the company.”

But the board also felt that this factor did not relieve the pilot from his responsibility of conducting a safe flight even though it did place him in a disadvantageous position. In its final conclusion, the CAB found the probable cause of the accident to be “the pilot’s attempt to use the standard ‘missed approach’ procedure after having followed another course up to a point where it was impossible to apply this procedure safely.”

Actress Donna Reed, 23, narrowly avoided the same fate as those aboard the doomed plane. Reed, who had traveled to Juarez, Mexico, on January 8 to obtain a divorce from her husband, Hollywood makeup artist William Tuttle, was returning to California on the night of January 9 and had boarded the airliner when it made its scheduled stop across the border at El Paso, Texas. However, the actress was bumped from the flight just prior to takeoff to make room for a military officer holding a wartime-travel “priority” pass.

Fatalities: 24

From: http://www.jaydeebee1.com/crash40s.html

I guess Donna Reed lucked out this time. So sad for those who lost their lives, they were all military men serving our country.

It is amazing that researching one little postcard can tie up an evening. Must be something wrong with me! I've been "From Here To Eternity".

Sunday, March 27, 2011

1914 Automobile Photos

While sorting through a box of paper goods, I came across these great old automobile photos and thought I'd share them. The details are great and the clothes the people have on are very interesting. Check out the ladies' bonnets to keep the dust out of their hair. One photo has writing on the back that states "July 5, 1914.....View from Newton St. W. Boylston." The folks were obviously out for a joyride around the Wachusett reservoir.


Nice group shot. Note the American flag in the background and the clothes the people have on.



Check out the ladies' bonnets and the railroad crossing sign. "Look Out"


Guard rails hadn't been perfected at this time!



Check out the happy dog! I don't know if the details will show on the blog, but there is a Hampton Beach pennant hanging on the front of the first car near the windshield. The clothes are quite dapper!


American flags on the windshield.......muskt have dressed the cars up for the 4th of July weekend.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Old Photograph for "Sepia Saturday"

I thought I'd post a picture of my Grandfather, Charles Langan O'Maley of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and 3 of his fellow police officers from the Gloucester Police Department on their new Harley Davidson ? motorcycles. Can any members out there let me know if these are Harleys? The picture was taken at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester in 1931. I remember as a kid back in the 1960's having "Popper" pull this picture off of the shelf and having me "guess" which one was him! He later became the Captain of the police department (before they had chiefs) and is mentioned throughout the book "Behind The Badge" by Ingersoll and Foote. The book is an interesting listing of the actual police logs for Gloucester including back in the days of prohibition. Pretty rough and tumble town back then! My Grandfather is second from the left.


Other officers as noted on the back of the photo are Left to Right:
Wilkinson
Chas L O'Maley
John J. Coyle
George W. O'Maley

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Early Aviation Postcards

Interesting card from 1910, only 7 years after the first powered flight.
"Brookins in the clouds"


The card states: "They have a lot a high-fliers down here. They are regular birds. Thats the Wright way to do it. Everett"



From: http://www.firstflight.org/shrine/brookins.php

Walter R. Brookins
1888 - 1953
The First Civilian Pilot, 1910

The Wright brothers realized that if the science of aviation were to develop, it would first be necessary to win public acceptance of flight throughout the United States. This required that a demonstration team be assembled to fly exhibitions. The first pilot hired for the team was Walter Richard Brookins, a Dayton native and long-time student and friend of the Wrights.

Brookins learned to fly in 1909 at the Wrights’ flight school near Montgomery, Alabama, on what is now a portion of Maxwell Air Force Base. He made his first solo flight after only two and one-half hours of instructional flying. This qualified Brookins to be appointed the Wrights' first instructor to train pilots for the new Wright Exhibition Team.

Brookins soon became one of the most legendary exhibition flyers in America, setting world records for altitude, cross-country flight and endurance. In 1910 in New Jersey, he flew to an altitude of 6,175 feet in a Wright biplane, becoming the first to fly a mile high.


This one is at the "Albert Whitted Airport, St. Petersburg, Florida. The Sunshine City"


Here is a link to the airport preservation society.

http://www.awaps.org/history/mainhistory.asp


The card was stamped in February 1942 and addressed to Sgt. Warren F. Snowdale, 32nd Bomb Squad band, New Orleans, Louisiana. The text of the card states: "Hi Warren, Just a few lines to let you know I am well and hope you're the same. How is everything? Best regards. Best of luck and happiness. So long, Emeric

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Old Postcards

I have a number of old postcards from all over the world. It is interesting to note the date on the postal stamp, to read the contents of a card, and to imagine what was going on in that time period. It is a great way to "escape" and get a little education at the same time.

I wonder how Tommy made out in World War II? Whatever became of his "sweetheart", Miss C. Erdman of Hartford, Connecticut?


Just found a second card from Tommy to Miss Caroline Erdman dated June 20, 1941 and mailed from Camp Wheeler, GA.



He addresses her as "Tootie" and lets her know he has been relocated to Camp Blanding, FL. He is Pvt T. A. Hubbs, Service Co, 169 Inf, 43 Div.




Just found this info on ancestry.com. It is Thomas A. Hubbs's Army Enlistment record. Appears he mailed the first postcard just two days after he enlisted at Fort Devens.


U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
Name: Thomas A Hubbs
Birth Year: 1916
Race: White, citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: Connecticut
State of Residence: Connecticut
County or City: Hartford

Enlistment Date: 13 Mar 1941
Enlistment State: Connecticut
Enlistment City: Hartford
Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Branch Code: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life

Education: 4 years of high school
Civil Occupation: Shipping and receiving clerks
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 66
Weight: 161


Source Information:

National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival Database]; World War II Army Enlistment Records; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

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