family photos

Nice Kitty

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: This snapshot came out of a album by the look of the back of it, and with the highlighted title Nice Kitty preserved as well. There is no date and it seems timeless other than to say my guess about the printing is the 1940’s or later. This is a pretty fine cat costume and I would have enjoyed owning it myself. I do hope there is a tail somewhere even though it isn’t in view of the camera. And of course, I would have preferred it in black, or black and white. Nonetheless, this little girl is enjoying her role and is nicely crouched for the camera in a kitty pose.

Although the idea of a childhood Pam dressing up as a cat would seem self-evident, I do not believe I ever had the honor. These days you can purchase such nice cat ear hair bands and tails that one can put together a very fine outfit indeed. I do own a pair of cat ears, black fur with orange sequins lining the insides. I bought them more than a decade ago when my cat Otto was still around. I remember the first time I put them on and showed her. Clearly, although cats may not see things in detail they understand outlines, and mine had just turned into a giant cat. Her eyes widened briefly and then she gave me an utterly disgusted look and backed away, almost shaking her head in dismay. Her expression was exactly the same as someone who had just heard a racist joke and was deeply offended.

Pet Family Photo

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: I fell hard for these photos as soon as I saw them. This young woman in her turn-of-the-century outfit holding her cat – who is making a piss-cat face, as we call it in this house, disdain at having been detained for the photo taking activity. The woman has one dog on her lap and her hand placed gently on the other, her affection for her pets is clear. Whoever printed this photo lightened the area around her a bit with some darkroom magic, as there is a subtle halo around her and the animals as a result. And then, not to be left out, the third dog was taken on the same bench (he required a bit of lightening up too I think) and framed together and the two make a whole family portrait. I guess they couldn’t round him up for the other photo? Whoever did it has him posed pitch perfect to create this double portrait.

The practice of matting photos this way is long gone and I am not even sure how one had it done. The one that has slipped cannot be moved back – it is not loose in the mat, although it looks that way. It pleases me that these photos will likely always be together this way. This photo has some other developing, chemical issues that have emerged over time, the silver shine at the bottom of the single dog is some sort of chemical wonk that has emerged.

Despite the need for some printing intervention, the light in these photos is wonderful – drifting down from above. Dreamy, late afternoon sun falling on the leaves and trees. This photo duo came from Great Britain and there is something distinctly British about the garden and the light. The young woman is looking up at the camera, almost shyly, still clearly the queen with her animal subjects and of all around her.

Mickey Too!

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Here at Deitch Studios Pictorama kicks off our summer vacation with this nice little Mickey Mouse tintype. Let me start by saying, I just love finding tintypes in these original cardboard frames when they are in good shape. What a splendid object to be handed to remember a day at a fair or seaside resort!

While Mickey Mouse photos form a decided sub-genre of my collection, this is the first addition of a tintype (or postcard) where the subject is the same sort of rent-a-Felix for a photo type which, as ongoing readers know, I find to be like Pam catnip. (There is a deep fissure of regret in my brain from having entirely missed the sale of a glorious tintype of people posing with Mickey in Katoomba. I found the listing after the fact – it went very cheap. It was years ago, but I may never fully recover.) I do have a number of photos with people clutching various off-model Mickeys and one most notable postcard which I posted about in Ugly Children, Good Toys ,where the child is seated in a toy airplane in some sort of set up with an positively and delightfully evil looking large Dean’s Rag Mickey.

Still, the fact appears to be that opportunities to have your photo taken with a Mickey Mouse the size of a small child or midget were many fewer than your chances to do so with Felix. Maybe this is due to Mickey having come on the scene slightly later than Felix, although merchandising certain caught up and surpassed Felix quickly. I purchased my Big Mickey as a store display, but I have wondered if he wasn’t actually made for this purpose instead.

Judging from her clothes, and the barely visible women behind her, I would say this is the early 1940’s which is a bit late for a tintype, although I have read that you could still have them made at fairs and whatnot in this mode as late as the 1960’s in some places. She makes for a perfect subject posed on the wagon, holding what appear to be the reigns to a pie-eyed stuffed Mickey turned dray horse. Quality of tintypes and the developing of them (usually in a dirty pail of much used developer) was all over the place and as a result many of these have faded or are fading into invisibility. However, this one is nice and crisp and fully developed. The photographer had a good eye for composition too and his or her developer was still going full throttle.

As for me, it makes me want to find a nice day trip to the shore on this August vacation of ours, complete with cotton candy and scary rides, even if posing with Felix to have our photo taken is asking too much. I will surely let you know.

Mickey and Men

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Kids and Dad w: toy

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: The summer photo fun continues with this family snapshot. If I had to guess I would say the 30’s or 40’s although it has a timeless quality. There is no information on it and no evidence that it lived in an album. Since I collect such things, I do wonder about those photos which manage to find their way down the decades and end up with me (or another collector), as opposed to those which are lost or destroyed. It is easy to understand how the photo postcards got saved – especially those dandy ones posing with Felix. They were by their very nature special and probably had a place of honor in the family because they were fun and were kept by future generations – and eventually strangers. Snapshots like this one have a somewhat higher bar I think, but this is both a great photo and fun so it is easy to see how it was preserved. I think there is a part of me which collects them because the idea of all those homeless photos makes me sad.

I debated about the toy being a Felix or an off-model Mickey. Now that I have blown it up (it is a small, sort of 2.5″ x 3.5″) I can see that it is indeed a faux Mickey – maybe the kind given away as a prize at a carnival. He clearly has a place of pride squarely in the middle of this picture, Dad looking down at him. The two boys look so much alike they could almost be twins, but the one on the right is a bit older – and they look very much like the man holding them who we will assume is Dad. The small, comical hat on the older boy gives him a jaunty attitude, but the younger boy is the one holding Mickey. Meanwhile, Dad’s got them both, scooped up in his arms and they are enjoying a nice day in this pleasantly overgrown backyard.

The sun is just coming up on a beautiful, hot July Sunday morning here in New York City as I write this, and I suggest everyone grab a loved one and a toy and get a photo for the future today.

Felix Mugging

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Felix on the beach w baby

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Some of you ongoing readers know that Pam’s Pictorama was originally conceived as a way of organizing my collection of photo postcard of people posing with giant Felix dolls. While I almost immediately switched course to incorporate all of my various collecting interests – toys, other photos and cat items – my collecting of these rarified beauties continues apace. That said, I generally only get one or two opportunities to purchase such cards each year. This one, as is the case with most, was never sent, and there is nothing written on it.

As summer hits its humid stride this year it seems like a fine moment to look back on a beach day long past. In the background we are treated to wonderful low wooden beach chairs and those fascinating little tents that people used to dress in. I have always been a fan of those – you see them in films occasionally and I have always wanted one or at least to be offered the use of one. You can just about make out what is probably mom and and older brother on the right hand side, blurry and behind them.

This Felix is a very fine looking fellow. I love that he sports a big bow and a careful look reveals whiskers on his face. Felix looks relatively new – in some of my other photos it is clear that the Felix doll in question has been dragged to the beach daily for numerous seasons and as a result he doesn’t stand quite right any longer, or he looks a bit ratty. Not this fellow. He and this youngster, who is wearing the least attractive sort of early children’s bathing attire-diaper thingy, are both pretty new on the summer scene; likely one of many to come for both of them. Perhaps his brother was up next for a photo and his still lurks somewhere out there, waiting for me to find it.

Picture Perfect

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Buried deep in the pages of this blog, this photo decorates my brief auto-bio and it has long been one of the favorites in my collection for years. I thought I would pull it out over this July 4th weekend. (If I can’t be on a boardwalk we can at least look at one!) These two fellows are in spiffy, if slightly bizarre, attire – speaking at least for the guy with the striped tie and ill-fitting tweed jacket. The gent with the pipe seems to be giving the photographer a dubious look, What the hell are you doing? While his friend is giving us a bit of a smile.

This card came from England and I have always imagined this is Brighton or the Isle of Wright. Like almost all of these cards, it was never mailed. When I first saw it I thought that maybe the guys were sort of scamming by getting the photo with Felix, but not paying for it. However, clearly they appear to be taken by surprise. My guess is that, perhaps on slow days, the photographer would take candid photos and offer them to the people for purchase later – someone did this to me years ago when I got off a plane in Peru. (Sadly it was a positively wretched photo – probably due to the 10 or so hours of flying I had just completed – and I really did not want it. The process and method of finding me later fascinated me however and I admired their industriousness.)

My favorite part of this photo though is, not surprisingly, Felix. He has a sort of brother can you spare a dime? look about him, and he is sort of looking over his shoulder. (As some of you know, it is my life’s ambition to own one of these giant Felix-es, several would of course be even better…) PHOTOGRAPHS is written across the doorway to the building and must lead to the studio. I would love to see inside. And oh, on a beautiful summer day, to stroll the and pause to have your photo taken with a giant Felix the Cat doll!

Getting a Grip on Kitty

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Just like something out of a Lilian Harvey film from 1930, this German photo of man, child and katze caught my eye recently. A bit of google search tells me that Vandenheuvel is a surname, although obviously also an advertisement here. It could perhaps, be the name of the man and girl. I like the little girl – she is at a gangly stage with her legs a bit out of proportion (tights bagging at the knees) to the rest of her, big smile and of course clutching her tuxedo cat; him, one ear cocked in vague irritation, tucked neatly under her arm. The man, smoking a pipe, with a smile more in his eyes than on his lips, looks like a nice man. While everything about them is a bit worn, there is a sense of ease if not actual prosperity about them.

A girl and her cat – a favorite theme of mine. While cats have been my friends and confidents since childhood they, like me and especially the childhood me, are also notoriously willful. It is very hard to get a cat to do something that wasn’t the cat’s own idea to begin with, as we all know. This includes getting them to sit still in a photo.

The way she is holding the cat is what my family refers to as cat prison. Obviously cat prison is a gotcha grip on a cat that guarantees the best result for holding onto said puss. The hold in the photo is one of the dependable ones and certainly one of the few that can be employed for photo taking – although in looking over some photos we’ve also been know to employ the method of flipping them over on their back like a baby. As a kid I used to carry our huge orange tabby Pumpkin around like the girl in the photo – which he allowed if not actually encouraged. (Pumpkin and I were close. He would have taken anyone else’s arm off.) My father coined the phrase cat prison – his preferred hold is on his lap with his two large hands holding the cat on his lap – nothing fancy for him. Usually employed in his case for brushing said kitty. It can be the only way to get a photo of some cats – but it is also the struggle of man against the determination of cat – a never ending battle.

 

 

Tuxedo on the Job

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: The slide back over to photographs continues with this recent acquisition. It made me laugh out loud – not sure that was its intended purpose, but it did. It was never sent and there is nothing written on it. Somehow the woman and the dog look like sister and brother. The birdcage appears to be empty – that little fellow has flown the coop one way or another I guess. For me, best of all of course, is that sharp looking tuxedo cat; all a-point, looking like the only one with any sense in the family. This woman looks as if she can use the help.

For regular readers it is not news that I tend to favor tuxedo cats. Although my very first cat was white with black cow-spots, and the one I really considered my furry sister was a calico, it has been tuxedoes that I have been drawn to adopting in my adult life. My first tux was a childhood pet, Mitzy. She was a pretty and precise little black and white girl who lived an extraordinarily long life considering I believe I was a teenager when we acquired her and she lived long enough that Kim met her. I forget now exactly how we ended up with her – I have a vague memory of a neighbor boy coming over with her and announcing that he knew we had cats and did we want this one? The young man in question was not a model citizen and I guess Mom had no real choice, but to take Mitz in.

Mitzy seemed to end up as my brother’s cat to some degree, although I think it would be fair to say that we were what I will call cat wealthy at the time. There were a few dogs too. I think my parents were taking the in for a penny in for a pound approach with animals and kids abounding at that time. Mitzy was a precise cat – as girl cats and especially tuxedoes tend to be. Kept her whites white and her black hair shining. Would always enjoy a few pets and didn’t fight with the other cats or cause much trouble, a model citizen. As I mentioned, she lived into her twenties. A Methuselah of cats. A series of tuxedoes in the family followed: Otto, Milkbone, Zippy, Roscoe and now the mantel is worn by Cookie who is asking for dinner as I write this. If it was Miss Cookie in this photo she probably would have eaten the bird and struck up a fight with the pooch. Not all tuxedoes have the same sense of responsibility.

Girls with Bikes

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Scan(4)Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: I recently snatched up this undated photo, with its snazzy Elko logo boarder. It came up in my search because of the cat – who I love as he or she is caught in motion here, about to trot behind these two little girls. It was however, more the little girls and the early winter day that attracted me. Someone who knows their bikes can probably date this photo from that, the clothes make me think 1940’s, but it can be hard to tell with kids clothing.

The bikes look slightly oversized – probably purchased for these kids to grow into with an eye toward saving money. It might be Christmas but somehow it doesn’t quite feel like it. These two are bike proud, the one in the plaid jacket looks like she is ready to take on the world, and we can see the nice badge on the front of her bike. The one I fancy is the older sister, dressed more like an adult of the day, sports not only a basket but, upon careful examination, a bell. There is something about the light and the scene though that brings me back to my childhood and many such chilly days playing outside. We didn’t have that nice barn, but I can remember doing my best to extend outdoor play into the early cold weather, bundled up like they are, with my sister or friends from down the street. They’ve got the world on a string and they know it.

Photo Button

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Leaving aside the toys for a moment, this also turned up during the packing marathon. I bought it at an antiques sale years ago. I have seen many since, but have not (yet) purchased another. They do fascinate me. It is a bit blurry, clearly quite old – earlier than I think than I knew that photo buttons, or even buttons in general could be, when I bought it. (Although the Hake’s catalogue has subsequently introduced me to some VERY early political photo buttons. The educational aspect of my close examination of the Hake’s catalogue I guess.)

I have not been able to find a huge amount of information devoted to this specific practice, although what information I have found would imply that it might be a form of momento mori (translated as remember you will die) or mourning pin. Jewelry assigned to this description includes skeletons, skulls and other reminders of mortality – meant at first to display piety and to encourage thought about the temporary nature of this life. This morphs into jewelry that memorialized a loved one lost. Brooches, rings and pendants are just a few items made from human hair that fall into this category. Although, while researching this fascinating practice recently after receiving a stunning example of a brooch from a family friend, it turns out that some items were just made from anyone’s hair and sold. While the whole practice may seem odd – that seems most strange – but more on that another time.

What interests me is the way photography starts to play a role. Starting with tiny daguerreotype pins of loved ones, which give way to these types of pins and eventually it is lockets that hold photographs – and perhaps a lock of hair again. At that point, photos are of both the beloved who are living as well as deceased. (My real feelings about this pin is that this was a living loved one.) Then, over time, the whole practice vanishes into the past. We no longer, or rarely, honor our dead with visual or physical jewelry reminders of them it seems. However, I frequently wear my sister and my grandmothers rings and I think of them when I do – perhaps a tiny bit of their DNA mingling with mine. Not a hair brooch, but still a reminder.