Tag Archives: 1910s-1920s

October 21, 2015

Up Close II

By C.E. Ryan
Up close in checkered cap. Snapshot. Private Collection.

Up close in checkered cap. Snapshot. Private Collection.

I just received this one in the mail. He looks like he’s got a trick or two up his sleeve! When I first saw it I was happy to have another amateur close-up from the late 10s or 20s. It must have been his favorite cap to wear too. It looks like it was due for a wash!

And then I realized it came from the same seller I got another up close portrait from last June, but only recently posted (seen below). The format is similar although the first had its edges trimmed. One difference is that it’s much more sepia toned than the second one. Now, how did that happen? They both do have album glue residue on the back.

But they are positioned to the left, and at the same distance to the ‘shoreline’, the sun hitting them from high above. I think these two were playing with the same camera! Here’s them side by side:

Related?

Related?

The more I look at them the more I see some facial features they seem to share…Were they related? Well, this fine duo wished to record themselves up close on a beautiful day, and aren’t we glad they did! Their personalities shine through.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Gentlemen, Others

October 17, 2015

A tiny remnant of our friendship

By C.E. Ryan
1

1″ x 2.5″ photo strip. Private Collection.

Those tiny photo strips feel so fragile in hand. One wonders how they survived a hundred years without being destroyed. I love these two. Obviously they were quite close. Yet we don’t know their names or a shred of their lives.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Groups, Photobooths

October 2, 2015

This one’s just for us

By C.E. Ryan
The drinking duo. RPPC. Private Collection.

This 1910s-1920s drinking duo. RPPC. Private Collection.

There is closeness between these two. The worker on the right still has the cap on his beer, and his expression…He looks tired or buzzed or both, but still he seems self aware and smiling in that ‘you know it’ sort of way.  The other one is in a suit, chugging the (whiskey?) bottle hard and holding a pipe with a free hand…There is a ‘devil may care’ attitude with this handsome duo, a subtle vibe of rebelliousness!

I also love the way the gent on the right is wearing his checkered cap sideways on his head, very street mutt. ;) He must have been a factory or farm worker still wearing his denim shirt and pants after a long day of work.

The back of this RPPC is full of scribbled names, some paired up. I cannot make sense of it. Some names are repeated twice. An Agnes Worter is mentioned as well as a Ruffus Worter and a Winslow. On the actual picture I edited out a B on top of each sitter’s head – brothers? They most definitely were, in blood or not!

chug-back

RPPC: NOKO 1907-1920s

16 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Gay Interest, Groups, RPPCs

September 30, 2015

Up Close

By C.E. Ryan
Snapshot. Private Collection.

1910s-20s snapshot. Private Collection.

This young man looks quite happy in his straw boater and bowtie. Isn’t his big smile infectious? This photograph is postcard size but a bit narrower. An early candid taken outdoors in the sunlight, perhaps a ‘selfie’? :) Of the period there aren’t too many informal pictures of people taken so close to the face.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Gentlemen, Others

September 23, 2015

Studio portrait of 1920s teen in a white cap

By C.E. Ryan
Teen in white cap. Private Collection.

Teen in white cap. Private Collection.

This handsome boy is wearing the classic dapper look of the period with a striped tie and white wool cap. He looks mixed too, perhaps with some Asian, or Native American. He reminds me a lot of my brother when he was his age.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Photobooths, Teens