Ruins in Old Panama City

Old photo, white border. Circa 1931 – mid-1930’s.

Price:  $10.00        Size:  2 and 5/8 x 4 and 3/8″

This photo’s reverse shows,  “Castle in Old Panama City destroyed by Morgan the pirate.” It was year 1671 when the city was sacked by Morgan’s forces, as part of the Anglo-Spanish War, and perhaps “castle” is not quite the correct term – the Wikipedia entry has “cathedral.”  Morgan was Welsh-born privateer Henry Morgan who later became Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica.

Panama Viejo or Old Panama was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Ocean, and dates back to 1519. Today, located in the eastern suburbs of Panama City, it’s a major tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I was guessing 1920’s or early ’30’s for this photo but a couple of forum readers at the Antique Automobile Club of America narrowed it down for us. The car is a 1931 Chevy, so the photo’s ’31 through probably the mid-’30’s.

Sources:  Panamá Viejo. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panam%C3%A1_Viejo (accessed September 8, 2023).

“Old Car from the 1920’s or ’30’s. Help to i.d.” September 5, 2023. Antique Automobile Club of America. (https://forums.aaca.org/topic/403154-old-car-from-the-1920s-or-30s-help-to-id/#comment-2578340).

Henry Morgan. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morgan (accessed September 8, 2023).

Summer in the City

Vintage photo, white border. June 1961

Price: $4.00            Size:  5 x 3 and 1/2″

It’s been a long, cold winter here in rural Nevada. This unassuming city scene transports me back to the city, and hot summer days…..

The location is unknown, but I’m picturing Southern California for this candid snapshot – a handsome black guy in white t-shirt, waiting for his ride to roll up a little further, and he’ll pull the handle and get in. Just my interpretation. Behind him a “For Rent” sign sitting in the corner of a building with tiled facade. That side reflects a hill and what looks like a house with car in driveway, and some kind of building next to it. The other window reflects “Thomas Floors”  and “Floor Coverings” and something after that which is unreadable. (A nice trick with reading backwards lettering is taking a quick shot of what’s been enlarged on the monitor and holding it up to a mirror. Just a nice common-sense thing that anyone would think of right away, but fun, because it’s instant and it works.) Nothing was found online for Thomas Floors, though. Sometimes we get lucky, sometimes we don’t.

Happy Kid in 1950 Buick

Old photo, white border. February 1951.

Price:  $7.00             Size:  About 4 and 5/8 x 3 and 1/4″

Written on the back,  “Feb. 1951.”

A great shot of a young boy (we’re already thinking 1950’s with that striped shirt, right?) in the driver’s seat of this beastly-looking vehicle 😉 ……a 1950 Buick Special, and he’s looking back at the camera with a big grin. On the driver’s side quarter panel we can just about make out the lettering Dynaflow, which was Buick terminology for an automatic transmission.

Regarding the exact model, for comparison see:  Hometown Buick’s 1950 Buick Special Jetback Coupe – Model 46, and 1950 Buick Special Jetback Sedanet – Model 46S. I think it’s either of these. It’s a little hard to tell because of the angle in our photo and the back end being cut off.

Sources:  Dynaflow. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynaflow#:~:text=The%20Dynaflow%20was%20an%20

automatic,two%20forward%20speeds%20plus%20reverse. (accessed March 13, 2023).

“1950 Buick Special Jetback Coupe – Model 46” and “1950 Buick Special Jetback Sedanet – Model 46S.” hometownbuick.com. (accessed March 13, 2023).

Young Woman and Old 1928 Chevy

Old photo, white border. Circa 1930s – 1940s.

Price:  $3.00        Size:  About 2 and 3/4 x 4 and 1/2″

Another unknown person, no i.d. on the back. (Why do I keep buying them? I don’t know. Just like them, I guess.)  But there’s always something to learn from an old photo or postcard. And it was fun to try to discern the license plate info. If we could go back in time and “run the plate,” since the numbers are so easily read 🙂 …..Anyway, at the bottom left, I think that reads 32, as in the year 1932. After that, geez, I’m lost. Every time I look at the enlargement I see something different (rather an interesting phenomena).  As for the make and year, the geniuses at the Forum page of the Antique Automobile Club of America have helped us out again. (I really can’t say enough about these people.) So, the car is a 1928 Chevy; that’s possibly a “pancake” horn to the right of the plate; and the two identical objects above the plate are – you might have guessed by that sense of “in flight” and feathers look – a pair of Mobile Oil Pegasuses (for decoration).

As for the young lady who posed so charmingly for this snapshot – as stated, no name, but she’s standing, hands behind back, smiling, hair side-parted and bobbed, wearing a pale-striped dress, belted at the waist and flat shoes with bobby socks. Her “backdrop” is a massive stone wall, part of some type of structure, maybe even a covered bridge; we can see part of a roof or awning. And there’s our Chevy, peering out from the side of the building. 😉

Sources:  Google search “1928 chevrolet car images front end.” Accessed March 12, 2023.

Google search “mobile oil pegasus.” Accessed March 12, 2023.

A Simoan Tribute

Vintage photo, white border, circa mid 1930s – mid-1950s.

Price:  $12.00            Size:  3 and 11/16 x 2 and 1/2″

The car…..

We look to the car in this photo for a jumping off point for approximate date. I was struck by the unusual-looking hubcaps and asked the hubby who stated the hubcap is the round center part, the rest is rim, maybe a 3-piece rim and they look painted, and it’s probably a Ford…..I was then checking Ford convertibles with rumble seats (you see it sticking up in the back minus the padding) but getting frustrated for pinpointing the year. No prob though, whenever I get stuck I go to the Antique Automobile Club of America forum readers for help. (Great people, lightning-quick, detailed responses, awesome!) And yes, it’s a Ford, likely with painted rims. Here is one of the responses below:

“Definitely a Model A Ford roadster – you can see the corner of the windshield behind the guy’s left shoulder.  The shape of the fenders and the bead on the hood above the louvers makes it a 1930 or 31.  However, the headlights might be 28 – 29 as they look a little pointy on the back.  30 – 31 are rounded.  It might be a DeLuxe as rumble seat was standard on those, although it was optional on Standards.  The back cushion is easily removed and yes, it’s missing.  The artillery wheels are similar to 36 – 39 Ford but I think they’re aftermarket.  They probably are composed of separate parts but welded and/or riveted into one piece (not counting the removable hubcap).  Yes, they probably were painted and the contrasting painted trim on the spokes was common on those style wheels.”

Gannon……

The dark-haired young man, about age 25 we’ll guess, is wearing a grass skirt (!) and posing for the camera. At first glance it kind of looks like the entire “Samoa” banner is part of his outfit and he unfolded it like a cape (or unfurled his “wings”  – gotta give credit to a different forum commenter for the wings idea – love it! Credit also due to another person for wondering if, what I’m calling a banner, could be part of a “traditional ceremonial dance costume”. Good thought.) But anyway, I think the banner was attached at each end to the car…..Presumably, either the guy’s given or surname is Gannon, since this is written on the back. (Yes, Gannon does show up in some records as a first name.) And there’s too many possibilities to try to pinpoint Gannon, or at least not without days of research, but maybe he was born around 1925, entered the Navy and traveled the Pacific, stopping in Samoa. (Just a theory.) And, though this photo could be from maybe the mid-’30s, due to its aftermarket parts, my first thought is that it was mid-’40’s to mid-’50’s for when this snap was taken.

Lastly, and if you’ve stuck with me for this long 😉 ……

In the background we see a couple of small boats perched on land, a telephone pole, a wooden fence, and on our left, maybe a couple of other boats further in the distance. We note that car and man are on a cobblestone surface. Last but not least, we see the two other people “appearing” in this shot – one was the person taking the picture. They were there, but we only see their shadows. (I love this type of thing – the contribution to the image via the shadows.)

Source:  “Help to i.d. a convertible with rumble seat.” Posted in “What is it?” Response by CHuDWah posted October 7, 2023. forums.aaca.org.

Hotel Turpin Autobus, San Francisco

Divided Back, used postcard. Postmarked July 23, 1916 from San Francisco, California. Stamp removed. Publisher:  Edward H. Mitchell. 

Price:  $12.00

Auto Bus meets trains and Steamers. Hotel Turpin Auto Bus. 17 Powell St. at Market, San Francisco, Cal. F. L. Turpin. A. W. Turpin.

This postcard was likely produced from a newspaper or magazine photo. Interesting that there are no women in this picture. Wonder what type of event it might have been? You have your businessmen on the left and some of the staff next to them; all the passengers and the driver of the bus are men, and then there’s the guy standing behind the bus. Note the suitcases on the running board. There’s a Touring Club of America sign on the hotel awning. And apparently there was a pool. The business next door was Kingsbury & Unger, (G. Kingsbury and F. Unger) a liquor store at 21 Powell St.

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Bell Brown, 1415 26th st, Bakersfield, Calif.”

The sender, Bell’s sibling, wrote:

“San Francisco, Calif. July 23rd – 1916. Dear Sister. I were in Stockton Friday. The land lady said she sent mail to the place I wrote to you from so I am going there tonight & will write from there.   M – “

Curiously, nothing definitive comes up in records when trying to find Bell (Belle). Nothing under Brown at this address in city directories. Maybe they were only there temporarily.

From the 1920 Federal Census for San Francisco, Edward H. Mitchell, postcard publisher, was born about 1869 in California, married to Idelle and they have three daughters, Gertrude, Bernice and Marion.

Sources:  H. S. Crocker Co.’s, San Francisco Directory, 1912, p. 963. Google book search.

Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 28, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_140; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 278. (Ancestry.com).

John B. Hawkins Street Scene RPPC, 1920s – 1930s

Real Photo Postcard, divided back, unused. Circa 1920s – 1930s.  Made by:  John B. Hawkins, Marion, Massachusetts.

Price:  $12.00

This is possibly a Marion, Massachusetts, or neighboring town street view – showing a line of parked cars in front of stores, a man on our left about to cross the street, and another on our right, seated, at the curb. Surprisingly, we’re not finding any age-appropriate records for photographer John B. Hawkins, in all of Mass, though city directories online in Plymouth County (1910 – 1940) are only scattered pages of certain years. We’d therefor, have to contact a local historical society or local libraries for resolution to some of the mysteries herein. And, the image is not of the best quality for clarity, but may be of value to someone, for sure.

It’s disappointing to be unable to read the store names or signs after enlarging the image……Wait, we can just make out “Ice Cream” and the brand or shop name in two words…….but it’s indecipherable. (Sometimes if you gaze at almost-readable signs long enough, you get inspiration, but not happening for me, this time.) But still, every picture evokes a feeling….Staring at the scene (if we could just connect to a Hogwarts kind of thing, it would come to life and we’d see that guy actually cross the street, and maybe someone come out of one of the shops, and some movement from our friend on the right) but, primarily, in our “fixed moment” that the camera is offering, we might focus on that slightly dejected-looking gentleman, seated on the curb with head down, shoulders a little slumped – is he thinking about the cares of the day/month/year that are weighing on him……or is he just waiting for a ride? Whatever the case, he kind of makes you want to jump into the frame and go and offer him a friendly arm around the shoulders.

Boy In Tire, California 1929

Old photo, decorative border, 1929.

Price:  $5.00          Size:  About 3 and 7/8 x 2 and 7/8″

Well, we know the place and year of this photo from the easily read license plate. (A definite departure from the usual norm of trying to “will” a plate into focus. 🙂 )

It’s an Art Deco design that frames this cute shot of a little boy sitting inside the upright spare (Goodyear) tire. He’s in overalls and wearing a couple of strands of beads, with a big smile and clutching something in one chubby hand. An adult, probably his dad, is in the background. As for the car – Model T Coupe? We’ll have to check with our go-to site for car questions, Antique Automobile Club of America. There is no writing on the back (though from a genealogy standpoint we feel like we’re looking at somebody’s grandpa, with great-grand in the back) but it’s a nice slice of Americana – back when the family car was also one of many play destinations for the kids.

Avenida Juárez, Guanajuato, México

Vintage Mexican postcard, unused. Publisher info:  Ediciones Guanajuato – Jardin Union No. 5, Teléfono 2.87.- Guanajuato, Gto. Series G-202. Circa 1950s.

Price:  $10.00

Avenida Juárez, circa 1950s

A beauty of a card with all those colors. The central Mexican city of Guanajuato is surely one of the most colorful in the world! The large building with the rounded roof is Mercado Hidalgo, an enormous market for pretty much anything you would like to buy – produce, clothing, souvenirs, jewelry, etc. Built on the site of an old bullring, the building was initially designed to be a railway station. Construction started in 1905 and was finished in 1910, when the market’s grand opening coincided with the centennial celebrations of Mexico’s independence.

Source:  Diaz Cornejo, Mireya. “El Mercado Hidalgo de Guanajuato.” https://www.revistabuenviaje.com/conocemexico/viajemistico/mercado-hidalgo/mercado-hidalgo-guanajuato.php# (accessed April 15, 2022).