From the monthly archives:

December 2009

Earl Carroll Theatre-Restaurant

December 31, 2009
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Earl Carroll was a producer and director of theatrical productions who gained fame in part for the barely-there costumes worn by his Broadway showgirls. He opened the first Earl Carroll Theatre in 1922, located at 753 Seventh Ave. and W. Fiftieth Street in New York City. After rebuilding the Theatre on a massive scale in [...]

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The Fabulous Mrs. Potter

December 31, 2009
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A celebrity of the sort more common today than in the late 1800’s, the activities, professional and otherwise, of Mrs. James Brown Potter were followed with great interest by the press. Born into a wealthy New Orleans family in 1859 (or 1857, depending on the source), Mary Cora Urquhart married New York socialite James Brown-Potter, [...]

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Keep to the Right

December 31, 2009
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Poli’s Theater in Washington D.C., shown here in 1920. The movie being shown, starring Edith Taliaferro, is Keep to the Right, a re-release of the Curtiss Pictures film from the previous year, Who’s Your Brother. Keep to the Right was released by Equity Pictures, and it’s possible, but only a guess, that Equity picked up [...]

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Residence of Gary Cooper

December 30, 2009
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This postcard shows the home of Gary Cooper, in Brentwood, California. As best as I can tell, the unmarked card appears to have been introduced in 1938.

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Two Moon Junction

December 30, 2009
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From the Library of Congress comes this 1925 photo that is described as, “Chief Two Moon, wealthy Indian medicine man from Waterbury, Connecticut, photographed at the Lincoln Memorial on the observation platform of his palatial touring bus.” In reality little can be confirmed regarding his background or the legitimacy of his status as a Chief. [...]

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Film Review: Half Shot at Sunrise (1930)

December 30, 2009
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The comedy team Wheeler and Woolsey made their transition from vaudeville to film as the comedy relief in their first three movies, the RKO musicals Rio Rita, The Cuckoos, and Dixiana. Their antics proved to be the highlights of those releases, and with their fourth outing, Half Shot at Sunrise, the boys were put front-and-center. [...]

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A Typical Residence

December 29, 2009
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This is said to be a typical residence in Santa Maria, California. My house should be so typical. This card is interesting in that it was published by the postcard giant Curt Teich, but is not one of their better-known “linen” cards. The textured linen cards were predominate in the 1930s and into the ’40s, [...]

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Andersen’s Pea Soup Restaurant

December 29, 2009
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Andersen’s has roots all the way back to 1924, with the opening of “Andersen’s Electric Cafe” in Buellton, California. It was founded by Anton Anderson, who added a hotel in 1928. Split pea soup became the most popular item on the menu, so much so that Andersen’s came to be called “The Home of Split [...]

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The Rendezvous of the Stars

December 28, 2009
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This 1940s postcard shows the Brown Derby at night. The description reads: “The famed Brown Derby on Vine Street, Hollywood, with its adjacent distinctive Bamboo Room, is the acknowledged center of the smart social life of the Movie Colony.”

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Grocery Store, Salem, Illinois

December 28, 2009
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Taken by Arthur Rothstein in 1940, this photograph shows a grocery store in the town of Salem, Illinois.

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North Capital Tire

December 27, 2009
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The North Capital Tire Shop in Washington, D.C., circa 1920. They look to have specialized in Goodrich tires as well as selling Texaco gasoline and Model T parts. There’s still examples of the earlier type of horsepower in the distance, not surprising considering the road conditions.

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Matchbox Catalog, Part V

December 27, 2009
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I got ahead of myself when I said that this installment would complete the pages from my 1969 Matchbox Cars catalog, and will do one more post to complete the scans. Sorry ’bout that!

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The Paws that Refreshes

December 27, 2009
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A farm cat goes to the source for a fresh drink of milk, circa 1898.

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Cat Photography

December 27, 2009
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Seldom acknowledged for their contribution, domestic cats did much to advance the art and science of photography. This photo dates from 1898.

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Home of Gene Autry

December 26, 2009
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Gene Autry (1907-1998) was a renowned singer and western movie star, and is the only celebrity to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Shirley Temple

December 26, 2009
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Shirley Temple was undoubtedly the biggest child star of all time, and this postcard features her childhood home at 231 N. Rockingham Avenue in Brentwood, California. The postcard was mailed from Los Angeles on August 12, 1941.

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Greetings from Hollywood

December 25, 2009
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This postcard shows the Southern Colonial home of Bing Crosby at Toluca Lake, where the singer/actor lived from 1936 until January of 1943. He moved following a Christmas tree fire that did extensive damage to the structure and resulted in the loss of many irreplaceable personal possessions, including Crosby’s golf trophies, recordings, and pipe collection. [...]

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Christmas, 1958

December 25, 2009
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Me and mom, Christmas 1958. This is a screen capture from a DVD of our old 8mm home movies. One of these days I’ll take the time to edit some of the footage into video clips and post them. I know, you can hardly wait!

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