From the monthly archives:

October 2009

The Rustler’s Reformation

October 31, 2009
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Released in 1913, The Rustler’s Reformation was made by Selig Polyscope, the company that first put Tom Mix on the big screen. The star of Rustler’s Reformation was Lester Cuneo, who had switched from comedy to westerns. In 1920 he married actress Francelia Billington, and they co-starred in a number of films. When they divorced [...]

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The Real Thing in Cowboys

October 31, 2009
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Discovered while working at the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch, Tom Mix was hired to handle the stock used in western movies for the Selig Polyscope Company. Mix was also used in occasional bit roles, and in time he was allowed to assemble his own film unit and was given his first starring role, the appropriately [...]

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Cecil B. DeMille’s Saturday Night

October 30, 2009
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Best known for the many historic spectacles he brought to the screen, Cecil B. DeMille also did a number of successful comedies. One of these was the 1922 release, Saturday Night, starring Leatrice Joy, Conrad Nagel, Edith Roberts, Jack Mower and Julia Faye.

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Blanche Sweet

October 30, 2009
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Blanche Sweet was an early star of silent motion pictures. Born in Chicago on June 18, 1896, Blanche came from a theatrical family, and by the age of thirteen was under contract to the renowned director D.W. Griffith. In 1914 she left Griffith and Biograph Studios behind, signing a lucrative contract with Paramount. At Paramount [...]

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Hodaka Super Rat 100

October 29, 2009
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Ah yes, the venerable Super Rat. Based on Hodaka’s durable Ace 100, the Super Rat was a total transformation of the docile trail bike, resulting in a fierce motocross racer. I remember well that day roughly thirty-five years ago when a good friend upgraded from his Honda Trail 70 to a Super Rat. I also [...]

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Tiptonville, Tennessee

October 29, 2009
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This photo was taken by me sometime in the early 1970s. It shows one of several “shacks” that could be found on my grandmother’s farm. Once the living quarters (I hesitate to use the word, “home”) of the field hands, they had been unused for an indeterminate period of time when I took my photographs.

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Tennant House, Melrose, LA

October 29, 2009
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Another Marion Post Wolcott photo taken in Melrose, Louisiana. The description accompanying the image reads: “An old tenant house with a mud chimney and cotton growing up to its door, which is occupied by Mulattoes, Melrose, La.” This house reminds me of the shacks that dotted the cotton and bean fields on my grandmother’s farm [...]

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Melrose, Louisiana, 1940

October 29, 2009
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A cross roads store, bar, “juke joint,” and gas station in Melrose, Louisiana. Photo was taken in June of 1940 by Marion Post Wolcott (1910-1990), an FSA photographer.

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Cascade, Idaho, July 1941

October 28, 2009
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Taken by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration, this photograph shows Cascade, Idaho as it appeared in July of 1941.

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Matchbox Catalog, Part III

October 28, 2009
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Pages 18 through 26 of the ‘69 Matchbox car catalog. I had one of those swell Racing Car Transporters!

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Matchbox Catalog, Part II

October 28, 2009
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Here’s pages 10 through 17 of the 1969 Matchbox catalog. Out of all the cars pictured here, the only one I had was the Jeep.

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Matchbox Cars

October 28, 2009
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Matchbox Cars were introduced in 1953 by the British toy company, Lesney Products. Initially the company focused on their home market, but the diecast cars soon found an eager worldwide market. Matchbox Cars, as well as another brand, Corgi, flourished until Mattel released their Hot Wheels cars, a line of toy vehicles that featured low-friction [...]

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Farmland in the Taconic Range

October 27, 2009
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Another John Collier photograph, this one taken for the FSA in June of 1943. This scene depicts farmland in the Taconic range, near the Hudson River Valley in New York state.

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Delaware River Farmland

October 27, 2009
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Farmland along the Delaware River in New York State. This photo was taken in July of 1943 for the Farm Security Administration by John Collier.

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Bethel, Vermont, 1943

October 27, 2009
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This photograph of a farm around Bethel, Vermont was taken in June of 1943. The image was captured by John Collier (1913-1992) for the Farm Security Administration.

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8 Cars Under $2,000

October 26, 2009
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That’s right, eight cars that retailed for under $2,000. Of course we’re taking about 1961, and that $2000 had the buying power of around $14,000 in 2009. Still, we’re talking bargain-priced autos here. The VW is logical for inclusion in this lineup, but there’s some others you might not have thought about, models like the [...]

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Cars, April 1961

October 26, 2009
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I was rooting through my old automotive magazines last night and came across one I didn’t even remember having. It’s the April ‘61 issue of Cars, a product of Royal Publications. (It was later renamed Hi-Performance Cars) This mag is in terrible condition, mainly because of the cheap paper it was printed on. The paper [...]

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Locomotive Shop, 1942

October 25, 2009
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Work on the boiler of a locomotive in Chicago, Illinois, the photo taken in 1942 by Jack Delano.

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