Comic Linen Postcard - Woman Needs a Pan Adjustment.

Some things just make you ask questions, and this one makes me ask "Why is this funny?".  I look at and I can find no reason for me to laugh or chuckle, but I do.  Every time.  If anyone knows why this is funny, please let me know.  I think it is, I just don't know why.

This is a comic linen postcard, probably from the 1940s, published by Tichnor Bros., Boston, Mass.

That's about all I can think to say about this postcard.

U.S. Navy Sailor, Early 20th Century, Ralph V. Clark

This is a photo of Ralph V. Clark, a sailor in the US Navy.  It was taken by R. Yamamoto of Yokohama, Japan.

I cannot date this precisely, but I believe it to be early 20th century, pre-WWI.    It is interesting that the photographer information is displayed using the Latin alphabet - I imagine it was a busy port and they learned to cater to their visitors.

Someone has written on the back - "Ralph V. Clark, brother of Frank B. Clark".  It's a nice example of what a Naval uniform looked like at the time.

I also have a photo of his brother Frank, same era, but it's not as good and there is no photographer information.

Sold!

Cabinet Photo Wedding Couple From Vienna Austria

This is a cabinet photo of a bride and groom from Vienna, Austria.  Austria was the "Austro" part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time, Hapsburgs and all.  It must have been an interesting Empire, but it didn't survive WWI.

There are a couple of interesting things about this photo:  the subjects, and the clothing styles of the bride.

The man seems to be extremely tall, and the woman is normal height at best.  He is taller than she is, even though he his seated and she is standing.  It's true, she's leaning in a little, but if he were standing, she probably would not even reach his shoulder, height wise.

The woman's dress is inconveniently short for a cabinet photo.  I always thought that these kinds of photos were exclusively from the late 19th or very early 20th century.  To me her wedding dress looks straight out of the 1920s, and if that is true it is very inconvenient indeed.  My knowledge would be somewhat shaken.

Of course this photo is from Europe so maybe they made these  types of photos later there, maybe clothing styles changed there before they did in the USA.  I know from photos that styles were somewhat different - for example, a lot of central European men of the late 19th & early 20th century had "Kaiser Bill" (handlebar) mustaches - most American men didn't.   But it's hard to believe a woman in the 1890s would wear a dress that short.

I don't like it when things in photos don't quite match things I thought I knew.   It's a nice photo tho.

Early 20th Century Photo of Mansion with American Flag - Ambassador's Residence?

This is an early 20th century photo of a mansion, with an American flag flying above it.  In the lower right corner there is a dog (looks suspiciously like a collie, but who knows), and there are trees and shrubbery around it.

Someone contacted me awhile back and had some good info about this building, but I have unfortunately lost  it.  The gist of it was that this was the old residence of the American Ambassador to Great Britain.

I can't date this precisely, but based on the mounting and type of photo (I believe it is gelatin silver), this is probably WWI era, give or take.

Pearline Soap Powder 19th Century Die Cut Trade Card

This is a little different for this blog, because it is not actually a photograph.  It is a late 19th century embossed lithographic die-cut showing a very young girl in a fancy dress and bonnet.  The back of it is completely covered by verbiage, touting the benefits and modernity of Pearline Soap Powder.  

Trade cards were little bits of advertising, frequently no larger than a present day business card, given away free, or perhaps with a purchase of a certain product.  Some came in series or sets and the people who inhabited the 19th century apparently loved to collect them.  There are still tons of them about, most are not very expensive, and some (like, in my opinion, this one) are quite nice.