Tin Types #1

I know, I've been posting a lot more photos than postcards lately. It's because there are so many that I want to post before I move on to other things.  So here are a bunch of tin types. They're all about 2.5 inches by 4 inches, and the metal is sharp! Don't know where and don't know who, but they're full of character and historical fashion.

More tin types coming soon, along with some pretty exciting glass negatives that I'm working on scanning. Oh, and I promise to post some more postcards too.

Gold Medal Cookbook

There's no expiration date on this coupon, but since it's from the turn of the last century I don't suppose you could count on getting a cookbook. You could try. Don't forget to send ten cents in cash or stamps!

In 1878, the Washburn 'A' Mill was the site of a famous explosion caused by the ignition of flour dust in the air. The explosion flattened the mill and surrounding area and killed 18 people. The incident led to reforms in the milling industry.

Washburn-Crosby Millers, the makers of Gold Medal Flour eventually merged with other smaller mills to become General Mills.

Hugh Winslow and Elizabeth Brady Cabot Winslow

On Monday I posted photos of Hugh Winslow at West Point and in Japan. I thought that was going to be the end of that, but discovered that there's much more to the story. So, here's a follow-up post.

Hugh was born in Montana in 1897  to parents William Henry Winslow and Josephine Whitaker Winslow. He had a sister, Irene, who was born in 1892. I don't know what became of her, but here's what she looked like when the family lived in Fort Collins, Colorado, circa 1920.

He also had a brother, William Henry Winslow Jr., born in 1895, but if I have any photos of him they aren't labeled.

Hugh married Elizabeth Brady Ferguson (1904-1987) in 1939.  Here's a strange photo of the newlyweds.

They had two children, Elizabeth Brady Cabot Winslow (1941) and Hugh Whitaker Winslow Jr. (1942). Again, I may have photos of Hugh Jr., but I can't say for sure. I do have photos of Elizabeth though. Here she is as an infant with her father.

And here she is later in life. The first three photos were taken at a Chanticlair photomat in Paris. The folder promises 6 photos in 6 minutes. There are only three left.

 I'm not sure where this one was taken, but it looks like a passport photo.

What I do know is that something went tragically wrong in Elizabeth's life. If you read the résumé that she posted in 2002, you'll see what I mean. I fear that she is no longer alive. It would be easy to read the  résumé and laugh at her craziness, but if you view it in the perspective of the family history and the youthful pictures full of hope and promise, it's clear what a terrible tragedy this is. Elizabeth needed help, not ridicule.You can see more photos of the youthful Elizabeth here.

All of the West Point pictures as well as these and many others once belonged to Elizabeth. Some were in a manila envelope sent to her by her mother. We had others, including a box of her entire modeling portfolio, that were sent off to a paper auction in 2009 following my father-in-law's death. It's likely that he bought a lot of her belongings at a sale years earlier. I think we still have some modeling film footage though (updated - see below). In any case, somewhere along the line Elizabeth lost possession of all of these photographs, whether by choice or by accident I don't know.

Here's a short snippet of some sort of a modeling test film.

Here are some additional photos that are probably Elizabeth's ancestors.

Tram Tuesday - Glasgow, Scotland

I wish the cards I have showed close-ups of the trams in Glasgow. They don't, but they still provide an interesting view. After you look at these, be sure to visit Roger Dupuis' blog, Tram Stops Here, where he has put together an extensive post on Glasgow trams and restored cars.

I tried to get some close-up of details, but the cards are obviously not high resolution.  It's enough detail to show that the tram at Gearge Square is horse drawn though and the one on Jamaica Bridge is electric

Hugh Winslow at West Point

This is from a big envelope of military photos formerly belonging to Hugh Whitaker Winslow. Many of the snapshots are from his early days at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hugh was born in Montana in 1897, and graduated from West Point in 1920. There are also later pictures of him in Japan after World War II.

Here's a handsome portrait of Hugh taken in Fort Collins, Colorado where his family lived.

Here are some of the snapshots from West Point.

Hugh on the left

This  young lady may be a girlfriend or she may be Hugh's sister Irene.

These snapshots below appear to be from some initiation rituals or pranks of some kind. I don't think Hugh is in any of these pictures. The first one looks like nude cadets are being doused with a bucket of water.

Here's Hugh in Japan. His description on the back of the photo:
Dinner given to officers of the 64th Filed Artillery by the Mayor of Mishima a dinner at Yamida Hotel in Nagaoka Hotel 16 Nov 45. Do I look sufficiently bored?
Japanese children peeking in from rear.

The last photo shows Colonel Winslow in Hairo, Japan in 1952. Winslow married and had two children, Elizabeth and Hugh Jr. He died in 1982. Sadly, things did not turn out very well for daughter Elizabeth. More on Hugh and family on Wednesday.

For an interesting read, you may also want to look at the post on Hugh Winslow at a website called Passport Land, hosted by a collector of old passports.

Headless, Armless, Footless, and Nameless

This week's theme for Sepia Saturday had to do with missing heads among other things.
This poor boy probably had a nice face at one time, but at some point head and body became separated.

Here's a portrait of a woman who doesn't appear to have any arms, although I suspect she has them tucked behind her. It would be hard to reach the perfume bottle around her neck without them.

This cardboard soldier is permanently disabled because of his missing feet.

And the photograph of this cream puff child has everything but a name. She was photographed by Geo. H. Wood of Towanda, Pennsylvania, but no one took the time to write her name on the back.

Despite the missing parts, I can't discard these items and my efforts to make them whole have not been very successful.

For more missing parts, visit this week's Sepia Saturday.

C.H. Remer - Japan and China Tea Co.

I can't vouch for the quality of their tea their tea, but C. H. Remer of Syracuse, New York certainly produced some beautiful trade cards. They also gave away glassware and crockery as incentives. I don't read Japanese or Chinese, but I'm guessing that the creator of these cards took artistic license with the Asian alphabets.