Dynamic Symmetry

Photo

2011-07-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

Cowboys and Indians

2011-07-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

Cowboys and Indians

2011-07-14T05:26:00.000-07:00

This one has both...

Cowboys and Indians

2011-07-13T05:22:00.000-07:00

Sideways belt again...

2011-07-12T04:54:00.000-07:00

Here's another one:

Amazing photo...

2011-07-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite photographs. It captures its moment so beautifully. We've all seen Dorothea Lange's amazing pictures of migrant workers before. This one is by Jack Delano (another fantastic photographer who worked for the FSA) and isn't quite as famous, but should be.

Governors Island Jazz Age Lawn Fest

2011-07-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

No, I wasn't actually there-- but I wish I had been. Found this on the From Me to You tumblr here.

Oh, and that is Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra in the above cinemagraph.

Sideways Studded Belt

2011-07-08T06:49:00.000-07:00

Nice jacket. And check out the studded belt, worn sideways. I've seen that before and always wondered about it. I'm guessing it was to keep the buckle from rubbing up against things that you might lean on.

Cowboys and Indians

2011-07-07T06:24:00.001-07:00

Photo...

2011-07-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

Hollywoodland Panorama

2011-07-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... can't seem to get this to post at full-resolution...

Vintage Cool...

2011-07-05T09:24:00.002-07:00

Photo

2011-07-01T07:11:00.000-07:00

Vintage cool...

2011-06-30T06:19:00.000-07:00

Quite a Crowd

2011-06-26T17:11:00.001-07:00

You really have to see this full-size to appreciate it.

1937

2011-06-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

Favilla Teardrop Ukulele?

2011-06-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

This is my travel uke, and it is a bit of a mystery. It sure looks like a Favilla Teardrop, but it is not branded anywhere that I can see. When I first got it, I thought it was just a knock-off or something, but it certainly has a nice loud bark like a a real Favilla. This uke has apparently had a busy life-- the color on the fingerboard has worn away in the usual spots on the first four frets, it has chips and scratches all over it (but no cracks in the body, amazingly), and apparently someone knocked a piece off of the bridge at some point in its life. To make it tune-able, unfortunately I had to remove the cool old red, bell-shaped tuners and replace them with generic ones, and to make the bridge work, I added the round metal piece from the end of a guitar string-- it just holds in the nook of where the bridge broke off. It definitely has character, and it is pretty fun to play. Anybody out there know if Favilla made any un-branded instruments?

Japanese American relocation 1942

2011-06-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Vachon

2011-06-24T06:55:00.001-07:00

Photo

2011-06-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

The Gypsy Coeds

2011-06-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

In 1937, six girls from Bradford, Illinois began a series of road trips in a 1926 Model T Ford that they dubbed the "Silver Streak." They traveled all over the country, visiting first the home of the Dionne Quints and then the World's Fair, Niagra Falls, and many interesting other places. They even got to meet Henry Ford himself. By the end of their journeys, they had driven over 71,000 miles in the Silver Streak. Must have been some great adventures...

With Henry Ford

Golden Gate Exposition

Yes, that is Don Ameche

Ford Plant

Silver Streak in 2005, still owned by one of the girls and driven periodically

For more information, check out his webpage:

http://www.riggsboysracing.com/26%20T%20tour.htm

And this photostream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwbruckner/with/368771160/

FSA Color Photos

2011-06-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

I love early color photography. It can really change how you think about a particular era. Most of these were taken by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. For the workwear enthusiasts out there, check out the Lee bucklebacks in the first pic and the detailing on the shirt in the second. The two-tone jacket in the third pic is pretty awesome as well and should be reproduced by somebody.

Better than new? Frye Brando Engineer Resole

2011-06-22T05:20:00.000-07:00

I got these Frye Brando boots about a year ago. They had served me pretty well so far, but the thin over-soles and heels were wearing through to the leather, so it was time for a re-sole.

The local shop called the Wooden Shoe is the only shoe repair place within an hour's drive, so I decided to take them there. It took about a week for them to do the work and I am pretty happy with the results. Here's what $60 got me:

--New Biltrite composite soles, stitched down
--New rubber heels
--Shoe shine
--Brown edge dressing
--Speech from the owner about how I should polish my boots more often.

I could have done without the last three items, but it's okay-- natural wear and tear will do its job. (And I do condition the leather with Pecard's and Kiwi neutral on the toes and heels when I feel like it.) Overall, I am very pleased with the work, and these Biltrites should last considerably longer than the stock soles. I kind of like the look, too...

1930's Bicycles

2011-06-18T06:50:00.001-07:00

These were for sale at the local antique market the other day. I wish I could remember the make of the blue women's bike-- I do recall that the tag said 1937. Everything on it looked original. They were only asking $150 for it. The men's bike looked like it had been restored-- decently, but not greatly. It is a Murray Aeroline. $300-something for it.

Velocette

2011-06-16T05:12:00.000-07:00

The story of my vintage Bulova military watch

2011-06-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

So, this is my watch. Cosmetically, it's condition isn't immaculate, but it has character and I wear it everyday. It is very special to me for reasons that I'll explain later. It is unmarked on the face, but it is a Bulova A17A Navigator's model. I have yet to confirm absolutely a date for its manufacture, as some websites state that these were made already at the end of WWII, while others say that they didn't start making this particular style until the 1950's. I regulated it myself through trial and error, and the 17J 10BNCH movement usually runs about +/- 3 seconds a day, which if you ask me is pretty remarkable considering it is at least 60 years old. What is really interesting though, is how this watch came to be mine...

A few months before my grandmother passed away, she moved into an assisted living home and my Mom, my sister and I went to go visit her in her small town in Minnesota. While there, we decided to visit the local antique shop downtown. My usual watch, a cheap automatic Seiko had quit working on me, so I was perusing the smalls cases looking for a replacement, and there it was-- this amazing old military watch looking up at me from amongst the costume jewelry and whatnot. I got the owner to unlock the box and I checked it out. To my amazement it still wound, set, and ran smoothly. Since my birthday was just a few days away, my sister said she would buy for me. I said "thank you" and took it with me to look at the town museum they have set up on the second story. When I came back down, the shop owner was talking to my sister. "Who are you in town visiting?" she asked. I told her my grandmother's name and she said, "That's interesting-- because that is your grandfather's watch you are holding in your hand..." She told me to keep it and that she couldn't charge me for it. Apparently when my grandmother moved, she held a rummage sale to get rid of a lot of the stuff she didn't want to put in storage. This watch was in a shoebox from that sale, mixed in with a bunch of what the shopkeeper called "plastic junk." It was the only thing that she didn't throw out.

Let's hit the road

2011-06-12T05:37:00.000-07:00

Photo...

2011-06-11T14:52:00.001-07:00

Eyvind Earle

2011-06-11T11:29:00.001-07:00

Eyvind Earle was a landscape painter who also worked for Disney. His dreamy pictures are highly stylized and gorgeous.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Vintage Cool...

2011-06-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard already, Google no longer limits the LIFE image search to 200 results. Just add source:life to the end of your search and see what you can find.

Let's try this again...

2011-06-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

It has been about a year since I've updated anything. So I going to give it another go...

Random sketch from my sketchbook

2010-07-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

New Boots

2010-07-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

Just picked these up off eBay for $20 + Shipping. They are Hitchcock brand boots. I had never heard of the brand before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but for $20, figured there wasn't too much to lose. I must say I am pleasantly surprised by them-- Biltrite soles, Goodyear welt (albeit plastic, not leather), and they definitely have the vintage style I'm looking for. Threw in some insoles, and they are pretty comfortable, too.

Vintage Hamilton Carhartt Bandana

2010-07-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

Today I spent a few bucks at the local antique mall and picked up a cool old bandana made by the Carhartt company. This is the same Carhartt that is around today making the clothes worn by construction workers all across America. After looking around on the internet, I haven't been able to locate much information about this particular design. I'd really like to find a date for it. There is an identical one on the e-workers website (scroll to the bottom), which looks to have a bit of info. Unfortunately, I cannot read the Japanese... Another website mentioned 1920's but wasn't very clear about it.

If you've got any info, let me know. Personally, I think the design is pretty cool-- quite different from most of the other bandannas I've seen. Lately, a few old bandannas have gone for ridiculous prices on eBay. I kind of hope this one isn't worth that much, that way I can keep it and not feel bad about not making a profit off of it.

Here's more pix:

Happy Fourth!!!

2010-07-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

52nd Street, July 1948

2010-07-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

Photo of 52nd Street, New York, taken by William Gottlieb. You really need to view it full-size to appreciate the details.

Here's another view, from the daytime, with Toots Thielmans, Adele Girard, and Joe Marsala:

For more, check out the William P. Gottlieb Gallery at the Library of Congress website. He took photos of many of the famous names in jazz, and a lot of them are in color.

2010-06-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

Skilcraft U.S. Government Pens

2010-06-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

I usually don't get too excited about ballpoint pens, but I got to use one of these a while back, and must say they are pretty cool. They have an interesting backstory, too. Would pair nicely with a Field Notes notebook. Here's some info from the Washington Post:

"The original design -- brass ink tube, plastic barrel not shorter than 4 5/8 inches, ball of 94 percent tungsten carbide and 6 percent cobalt -- has changed little over the decades. It costs less than 60 cents. The pen's roots date to the Depression. The 1938 Wagner-O'Day Act required the federal government to buy certain products made by the blind, thereby creating jobs for a then-marginalized population. First came mops and brooms, but the program eventually expanded to include a full line of cleaning and office supplies under the brand name Skilcraft."

Read the entire article here

On the road...

2010-06-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

Early Color

2010-06-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

I love the old color photographs that were taken between the the wars by the FSA and the OWI photographers. For the longest time, it was difficult for me to picture the time period in anything other than black and white. Discovering these helped to change that. This particular photograph is of Gus Worke, a German immigrant farmer. It was taken by Fenno Jacobs in 1942. Wish I could find some of those Police Brand braces for myself!

First Post

2010-06-28T05:54:00.000-07:00

So, I never really planned on creating a blog. Nevertheless, here it is. Over the years, I have amassed a rather large collection of images from all over, and they have been simply languishing on my hard drive. Inspired by people from some of the blogs that I read, I decided they might be interesting to others as well. Many of these come from places everybody has access to, such as the Library of Congress and the LIFE Magazine archive, so you might have seen them before, but hopefully there will be some new gems for you as well. In addition to images, I might also throw in a few other interesting things along the way. Enjoy!