Old photo, white border, circa 1930s.
Price: $2.00 Size: 3 and 3/8 x 5″
Another poor quality shot (but the peering into the past effect is cool) and also like the prior post, no identifying names. I just like the guy’s stance (and that slightly askew necktie) and his gaze upward and outward, in contrast to the older woman with her direct look into the camera. Thought at first glance this was a “couple photo” but in looking at their “ages,” no. More likely they’re mother and son.
Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1907 – 1915.
Price: $4.00
What confirms this structure’s status as a boat is the name at the stern – though very faint and indiscernible. And since the postcard’s image is so washed out, here’s a darker version:
So, unless someone is writing a book on old houseboats, I don’t see much monetary value here for this card. But, we’ve had sales on items in the past – cover of a book on one, fashion example used inside another book, etc. – so, value is relative. Ha, it’s definitely true, sometimes I ask myself later, “Why did I buy this one?” 🙂 (No names, rather light…) Harkening back now to my mindset at the time, it was for the romantic notion of houseboats I’ve had since a child. (At least, I think this can be called a houseboat.) Woven in there somewhere is an antidote for a feeling – a lament, a long-running perception (that surfaces pointedly at times) that our present-day “expectation” is one of making everything ascetically acceptable (a nice lawn, nice-looking house, etc.) – an expectation that in my opinion, often usurps the more important things in life – real friendship among neighbors, for instance….Anyway, so it’s refreshing to travel back to the early 1900’s, to a time when a hand-built boat like this one would not automatically be viewed as an “eyesore” but rather, just simply for what it was.
The story from this captured moment….of course, we can speculate all day long, but my take….The houseboat belongs to the older gentlemen with the walking stick; he built it and lived on it for a time in his younger days. He has many stories from those days that the rest of the family have heard a number of times (rolling eyes, 😉 good ones, though). He’s here to retrieve some items resting in storage, and he and the family have turned the trip into a nice outing and a photo op. (Note the three hats that have been removed and are laying on the ground in a pile.) Check out the expressions – the rather comical upwards glance of the lad toward the old man, the come-hither expression for the young lady (gorgeous lace collar), the straight-on pose for the woman (daughter or wife of the gentleman?), that air of history and ownership emanating from the old man, and never forgetting to mention, the family dog, happy to be out for the day with his “charges.”
Back to the boat – it’s quite long. I thought at first that the roofed portion on our left was from some building behind it, but no, that part is attached. Note the animal skins that lay draped over the top edge of the cabin (for keeping out the rain?). And the wooden or metal box attached to the cabin’s front wall, left of the doorway – the box meeting some type of practical purpose.
Old photo, white border. Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1939.
Price: $10.00 Size: 2 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/2″
A busy street scene: An older couple with the grand kids, feeding the pigeons. In the background, according to the source below, is the corner of S. New York Avenue and Boardwalk. This A. Schulte Cigars (one of numerous locations) address was 1645 Boardwalk and the Apollo Theater (most often spelled Theatre back in the day) was located at 180 S. New York Ave. The theater was a movie house and you can read the movie that was currently showing: “The Women”, starring Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford. The year for this photo turned out to be an easy one thanks both to the movie marquee, and the vendor in his small sidewalk booth (check out his shoes) selling tickets to the Miss America Pageant, September 5th – 11th. The movie came out in 1939 and the pageant in Atlantic City for those September dates took place the same year.
To our left, of Schulte’s, we see a shop sign for what looks like, “Milano Linen.” It’s a little hard to make out. To our far right, next to Schulte’s, was Riley’s or maybe O’Riley’s Liquor. Or possibly, it was so-and-so and Riley’s – since the view is obscured we can’t tell.
Source: “Apollo Theater.” (cinematreasures.org). Accessed March 6, 2023.
Divided Backs, Linens, unused postcards. Circa 1940s. Publisher (top card): G. W. Romer. A “Colourpicture” Publication, Cambridge, Mass. Series 12176. Publisher (bottom card): “Tichnor Quality Views.” Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass. Series 69514.
Price: $7.00 for the pair
Description (top card):
“Musa Isle, Home of the Seminole Indian. N. W. 25th Ave. & 16th St. Miami, Fla.
“The Baby Is Too Sleepy to Be Interested – See the Seminole Indians in Their Own Village at Musa Isle.”
Description (bottom card):
“The only ‘Indian Nation,’ that has not signed a Peace Treaty with the U. S. A., still carries on in primitive fashion, the tribal lure of its ancestors in the Everglades, Florida.”
So, I’ve been away way too long from posting articles (chalking it up to “life – oy vey” 😉 and also working on my own family tree – having found a diary, of all things, for mine and siblings, 2nd-great grandfather. Yes, you guys, they’re out there. Proof, if we needed it, to never give up the search. People donate things to museums, snippets of such events get picked up on the internet….and we, for unknown reasons, Google a name we haven’t researched for years, and get blown away by the unexpected results. So, before moving to holiday cards, we’ll briefly continue with this “alligator morphing into Seminole Indian theme,” with a couple of the numerous tourist postcards from the Seminole Nation back in the day. And, we couldn’t even begin to do justice, in a short blog article, to the history of the land and people, so we’ll settle for some bits and pieces, sparked by a few forays into old newspaper articles:
Musa Isle – a little background
Musa Isle was part of a small “inland island” called Marshall’s Key, located between the north and south forks of the Miami River and near the city’s limits (according to an article from 1914). The area, boasting exceptionally good soil, was procured by a number of farmers and fruit growers. All the farms and groves had their own names but the “Musa Isle” endeavor ended up becoming so well-known that, as a misnomer, the name was often applied to the whole Key. Very understandable, as that particular grove became a popular tourist attraction famous for its fruit. Fifty-four varieties were raised there, as well as different types of palm trees.
Origin of a name
It’s been reported, in a very lengthy article written in 1921 (see first source below) the author having learned from “local history,” that the name Musa Isle was coined around 1896-97 by Charles O. Richardson. (The name comes from Musaceae, the botanical name for banana.) He and his wife were theater performers of twenty years who were looking for a change. They moved to Florida and established their tropical fruit plantation. C. O.’s father, James Richardson, was already in Florida, possibly on the property, or having started in another locale, farming. But accounts vary, so we’d be safe to say James and C. O. Richardson were the principles involved. Later the property changed hands.
The penalties of progress
Jumping to a March of 1922 clip, Musa Isle Grove was giving over to “progress”. Below, from a larger article that appeared in The Miami Herald, March 19, 1922.
Next, the Seminoles – a brief (we’ve been pogo stick jumping) “landing” with regard to tourism
A Seminole named Willie Willie started leasing a section of Musa Isle in 1919. Toward the end of 1921, he turned the operation into a tourist attraction. Below, an article from the Miami News, October 25, 1921 (click to enlarge):
Lastly (for now) a jump to our 2022 perspective…..
Wow. If you’ve read the full article, you’ve likely been horrified, same as me: As a tourist, you could purchase a baby alligator to take home as a pet. (Horrified both for tourist and baby gator and also in going further – simultaneously flashing on what must have been many similar instances happening at that same time, all around the globe – not that we’ve completely, or indeed, seemingly at all, learned our lessons between then and now. You’ll note also the additional dose of historical perspective needed when reading the descriptions above of the “vicious alligators” and their “cruel teeth.”) And, if it needs mention, and I’m aware this is a very simplified statement on my part, (and this is probably just to lead into the song) the Seminoles had, enterprisingly, turned to tourism in its many forms, for their continued survival……For the Everglades, I always think of John Anderson’s hauntingly beautiful, Seminole Wind.)
Sources: Page, C. Clinton. “Abandon Theatrical Stage to Come South and Raise Fruits and Vegetables.” The Miami Herald. November 18, 1921. Friday, p. 4. (Newspapers.com).
“Musa Isle Grove, Early Showplace on River, Finally Yields to Subdivision.” The Miami Herald. March 19, 1922. Sunday, p. 27. (Newspapers.com).
Bananas. https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1TcwNK7INjNg9OLILS1OTE5NTAUAP5sGUw&q=musaceae&rlz=1C1OKWM_enUS1015US1015&oq=Musaceae&aqs=chrome.1.0i355i512j46i512j0i512l2j46i512j0i512l5.5404j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 (accessed December 19, 2022).
“Alligator Farm Will Be Tourist Attraction Soon.” The Miami News. October 25, 1921.Tuesday, p. 17 (Newspapers.com).
John Anderson Seminole Wind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8sh9P3X33w (accessed December 19, 2022).
Old photo, white border. Dated July, 1929.
Price: $15.00 Size: About 6 and 3/4 x 4 and 1/2″
Sláinte!………..Some glasses are raised in salute here – in celebration of something, maybe just in the happiness of getting back to the ranch.
The Falvey Family lived in San Francisco, but it seems likely they owned some property outside of the city. Indeed, a 1905 newspaper article in the San Francisco Chronicle, mentions the family, “preparing to go into the country for the summer.”
Falvey is an Irish surname, and one we hadn’t come across until now. From Wikipedia:
“Falvey is a surname which is an anglicisation of the name Ó Fáilbhe: in the Irish language Ó means “descendant” [of] and “fáilbhe” literally means “lively, pleasant, sprightly, merry, cheerful” or, according to another historian, “joker”. Other anglicisations include O’Falvie, O’Falvy, O’Failie, O’Falvey, Falvey, Fealy and Fealey.”
From the photo:
Arthur Falvey, born February 17, 1877 in San Francisco, California.
Gertrude (Green) Falvey, born November 9, 1879 in California. Daughter of James Green and Annie Ryder, both born in Ireland.
Son, Jack Falvey, born September 29, 1913 in San Francisco.
Jamie(?) and Evelyn, surnames unknown.
Sources: Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 27, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_142; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 329.(Ancestry.com).
Year: 1930; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0237; FHL microfilm: 2339938. (Ancestry.com).
California Birth Index, 1905-1995. (Ancestry.com).
San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1895-1985. Microfilm publication, 1129 rolls. Researchity. San Francisco, California. (Ancestry.com).
Falvey. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falvey. (accessed September 22, 2022).
“Jumps From Roof After A Robbery.” San Francisco Chronicle. Friday, April 21, 1905. p. 16.
Old photo, white border. 92 Oak Hill St., Pontiac, Michigan. Circa 1923.
Price: $15.00 Size: 3 and 7/16 x 5 and 9/16″
A lovely snap, half-posed, half-candid of family life in Pontiac, Michigan, about 1923……
The reverse shows: “Oak Hill St, Grama & Grampa Bower, Ruth, Helen, Al.”
This will be a great photo addition for descendants of this particular Bower family. This snapshot was taken at 92 Oak Hill Street, Pontiac, Michigan, the house having been fairly recently built – in 1920 (according to Zillow.com).
Ruth Esther Bower (born 1905 in Detroit, MI) is the young lady smiling for the camera. She is the daughter of the older couple on the porch, who are Charles Bower (born 1856 in E. Hamburgh, NY) and Hannah Prudence (Allen) Bower (born 1867 in Avoca, St. Clair, MI). The two children are the couple’s grandchildren and Ruth’s niece and nephew. They are Helen Mae Bower (born 1914 in North Branch, MI) and Alvah B. Bower (born 1921 in Pontiac, MI). Helen and Alvah are the children of Henry Earl Bower and Minnie (Yerden) Bower, and this is their home at 92 Oak Hill, in Pontiac.
Sources: “92 Oakhill St, Pontiac, MI 48342.” zillow.com. (Accessed September 20, 2022.)
Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 108; Film Description: 1911 Washtenaw-1912 Barry.Find a Grave, database and images. (Ancestry.com).
(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37844263/hannah-prudence-bower: accessed 20 September 2022), memorial page for Hannah Prudence Allen Bower (3 May 1867–29 Jun 1929), Find a Grave Memorial ID 37844263, citing Perry Mount Park Cemetery, Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan, USA; Maintained by SisterMaryLouise (contributor 46984885) .
Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 177; Film Description: 1924 Monroe-1924 St Joseph. (Ancestry.com).
Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records. (Ancestry.com).
Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 175; Film Title: 63 Oakland 10110-13449; Film Description: Oakland (1933-1935). (Ancestry.com).
Real Photo Postcard, unused. AZO stamp box. Circa 1910 – 1930.
Price: $2.00
This postcard was found in Salinas, California, in an antique shop, next to the photos from the prior post. It was thought, at the time, that there was a link between the two (as in maybe the man in this postcard was the photographer) but, on second thought, I don’t think so (just based on the research from the prior). But anyway, a lovely family. I love the mom’s dress with the embroidery, the daughter’s delicate cotton dress, the father and son, both wearing ties.
Old photo, circa 1920s – 1930s.
Price: $8.00 Size: About 4 and 1/4″ x 2 and 1/4″
Continuing on with a mini-theme of families or groups of people. This one is a stumper. Where were they? The major clue, if we can call it that, appears on our left….something Ranch. Had the camera been pointing slightly more in that direction (or the photographer further back), we probably could have figured it out. Maybe “something-or-other Ranch” was a restaurant. Do we imagine we see a small outdoor dining table there covered in white cloth? The other clue (for some ingenious person) is the out-of-place looking geometric metal? phone booth-ish (space ship, time portal, 😉 ) thing at the far right, that we only see a portion of. What the heck was it? Then the people depicted here….Looking like, I hesitate to say it, a family of con-artists. Maybe it’s the younger girl – the stony-faced look and the cool octagonal sunglasses, note her grip on her grandma’s arm (yes, we remember that smiling into the camera was not mandatory, like it pretty much is today – refreshing, really – scowl if you want to) and her sister – with that trick of the eye – one eye closed, the other squinting slightly, not a wink though, but different….how did the camera catch that? Now, the dark-skinned gentleman on our right, is he the dad of the girls and the (nice-looking) older brother? Dad sun-bronzed from years of outside work…..or are they a wealthy bunch and this man is their driver (but part of the family) and native to (imagining) Central America. Well, idiotic questions like these are in abundance. Notice, too, how the whole gang is dressed in white except for the matron of the bunch. Makes you think this snapshot was taken in one of the southern states, Florida or southern Calfiornia, perhaps? Anyway, every picture tells a story, as they say, and what this one tells is……open to impression….flashes of insight appearing and disappearing…..in the end, I’d say they’re a nice, very stylish family with a million stories to tell. Oh, and this photo had been in the family album for some time, as evidenced by some of the black paper still stuck to the back.
Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher or printer: Carl v. d Boogaart, Wiesbaden, 1906.
Price: $7.00
Two trees (wonder if they could still be there?) form a passageway…..to a certain location in a German forest, circa 1906. Behind a rustic wooden fence, three people pose on a front porch…..There’s a small pointed roof over a doorway…..and a jungle-gym-like mass of wooden branches attached….
We know this is a destination of some sort from the signs that are posted. But click on the image to enlarge (check out the graffiti on the tree trunks)…..That conglomeration of tree limbs is actually a railing for a walkway leading up a hill. Then with a quick internet search…..ahhhh, that doorway is a cave entrance.
Google translation to English from Wikipedia entry with photos:
The Leichtweißhöhle is originally a small natural cave and not much more than a large rock overhang, a so-called abri . The local shale is not suitable for karstification . There are no other caves.
The cave was forgotten until Wiesbaden gained international renown as a spa and the cave developed into a popular excursion destination. It represented one of the new attractions that were to be offered to visitors to Wiesbaden. The Wiesbaden Beautification Association expanded the cave in 1856. A second entrance was created, a room on the side and a niche padded with moss, which was declared as a place to sleep. The cave was also decorated accordingly, including old weapons and pictures. A romanticization followed . The Schwarzbach coming from the Rabengrund and passing the cave received an artificial waterfall and a wooden bridge was built to cross the stream. A viewing pavilion was built above the cave, and the access paths to the cave were equipped with railings and the cave entrance with a wooden porch. These changes were so extensive that the original state can hardly be recognized today.
In 1905 Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the cave with his wife.
In 1934 the Gestapo used the Leichtweißhöhle as a torture cellar .
With the decline of the Wiesbaden cure, especially after the end of the Second World War , the cave lost its importance and was closed. The outdoor facilities were badly affected by vandalism and lack of maintenance. The cave was often used as a shelter. In 1983 the entrance was completely renewed. Since then, the cave has been regularly opened to visitors every six months.”
Sources: Leichtweißhöhle. n.d. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leichtwei%C3%9Fh%C3%B6hle. (accessed August 30, 2020).
Google translate (accessed August 30, 2020).
Vintage photo, circa 1950s.
Price: $4.00 Size: About 3 and 3/8 x 2″
Maybe Michigan, probably 1950s
An African-American family possibly taken in Michigan, where the photo was found. Were they on their way out to breakfast or church? Was the location a vacation spot for them or taken near home or were they visiting relatives? We’ll probably never know unless by some amazing serendipitous event someone’s browsing and happens to recognize these people. Not unheard of. I’ve been reading Henry Z. “Hank” Jones, Jr.’s Psychic Roots, Serendipity & Intuition in Genealogy.” If you do family research, for example, chances are excellent that you can recount multiple instances of that feeling of “being led” to a spectacular find. Or, on the opposite side, if you sell or post family photos or other items you may have a story of someone walking into your store and finding their relatives’ “lost” family album, or seeing someone happen upon a postcard that they themselves had written and mailed fifty years ago. In our talks with sellers we’ve heard a surprising number of such accounts. The kind that make your hair stand up on the back of your neck (in a good way!). Here’s one from my family:
Serendipity in Montréal
Maybe fifteen or twenty years ago, I’ve forgotten by now, I was with some family members vacationing in Montréal. Sitting on the beds in the motel we were trying to figure out what to do for the day, looking at brochures. I was drawn to the one on the Pointe-à-Callière Museum and felt we “had to” go there, that it was important to go. In one of the exhibits we saw an artist’s rendition of a mother holding a child. Standing in front of this drawing I had a strong urging to take a photo. Immediately the thought came into my head, “Why? It’s not like you’re related to her or anything.” Ahhh, but as you’ve guessed 🙂 she (beautiful Charlotte, specifically Marie Charlotte Gloria dit Roch or DesRoches) turned out to be, not just any relative necessarily, but mine and my siblings’ 6th-great grandmother. (See Collections archéologiques for a photo of the handle of a tool? with Charlotte’s name carved on it. This was one of many artifacts that had been uncovered at the site of what is called “the birthplace of Montréal” and what later became the museum.) Now, at that point I hadn’t yet researched that particular line, and had never even come across her name. It was not till a few years later, while searching my Dufour side online, and “climbing the tree” by finding my direct ancestor Pierre Dufour that there, lo and behold, was his wife, Charlotte Roch. Wait, what??? (Jaw-dropping, falling out of chair.) Not the end of the story, though. For about a week after that, what seemed like every time I got into the car, I heard Chuck Berry’s, “You Never Can Tell” either just playing or as the next offering by the d.j. You know the lyrics, ♪ “It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well. You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle.” ♪ True, Pierre was not a teenager when they wed, and though Charlotte was, that was not unusual in the least at that time, but it was the true love part that seemed to be the point of what felt like a message bridging “time.” (What is time? 😉 ) Records show that Pierre and Charlotte had eleven kids and, of course, have many many descendants. Notable is the birthplace of their second child. Their first was born in Montréal, and the youngest nine in Detroit. But the baptismal record (all are in French) for their second child, Marie Charlotte Dufour, states she was born in the “8yattenons.” (French-Canadian priests sometimes wrote a number to denote a sound or abbreviate a word, for instance “7bre” for septembre, which by the way, can be confusing when reading the record, the digit 7 but the 9th month!) The appellation 8yattenons was used for Fort Ouiatenon. This has been verified in other unrelated records, and the fact that Pierre was a soldier when he and his young family left Montréal adds credibility to daughter Charlotte having been born at or near this fort. Well, this ended up to be a lengthy sidetrack off the subject of this post, that of the vintage photo from the 1950s, yikes! But definitely, if you’d like to share your own stories of the serendipity-amazing luck-small world type we’d love to hear them.
Back to the photo…..
Amazing how every photo transmits so much. An everyday moment maybe, but no less special, as when we look we see the smiles, and the grace and humor, maybe get a sense of the struggles, and yet the joy, in a backdrop, no, make that of a oneness with, a particular place and time, and somehow in total it all washes over us like a blessing…. No identifying info on the back, but maybe we’re looking at a photo of a husband and wife and mother or auntie or older sister of either? All three are very stylish. Love the striped tie on the gentleman. I think of him as Clarence (heehee, he’s likely laughing somewhere now). There’s the flashy belt the older woman wears that’s caught the lens light……there’s the very chic pose of the younger woman, and….her skirt. Check out the pattern on the fabric, a surprise and a delight: Chickens!