Watertown, New York

Here are some more scans from glass negatives.  These are different from the previous ones though.  They're a smaller format 4.25" by 5.25", and they were stored in paper sleeves with the subject and the photographer's name neatly typed on them. Very convenient for me.

The photographer was Horace E. Wait. There were a number of people by the name of Horace Wait, so I can't tell you for certain who he was, but he captured some very nice views of Watertown. The city of Watertown is located in upstate New York, just 30 miles from the Ontario, Canada border. It currently has a population of about 27,000.

The first negative shows a view of Mill Street looking south toward the Public Square from near Main Street; this is all typed on the sleeve! The street is unpaved with wooden sidewalks and there's a big barrel of apples on display at the shop on the left. The primary form of transportation seems to be the bicycle.

The second negative shows Mr. Silas. L. Brothers in his tobacco store at 117 Arsenal Street in Watertown.  He must be the guy in the front? Note the gas lamps, the wallpaper with American flags, and especially the spittoon on the floor!

Silas was born in 1856 and had the tobacco shop from the 1890s until 1923, according to the notation on the sleeve. The 1892 State Census shows him as a traveling salesman, and the 1920 Census says he was Secretary of the Automobile Club. He married Jennie Powers, and they had a daughter named Marie. When Silas retired, they moved to Syracuse.

This is supposed to be a postcard blog, isn't it? So, here are some postcards of Watertown, New York. The first one was sent to  Dr. Raymond C. Turner, a dentist born in 1877, who lived and practiced in Oswego, New York. Alas, no message, but it shows the Public Square mentioned previously.

The other two cards were never sent.

Here's the back of the first card.

Tin Types #2 - Men's Fashion

The little tin types tells us a lot about what men were wearing circa 1860-1890. However you won't see many of these fashions, including the hats, in sources that document the fashion of the time.  One of the reasons is that  many of these men lived in small towns and rural areas, where their immigrant culture and traditions may have played a larger role in their clothing choice than the prevailing fashion. Although I don't know where all of these photos were taken, the few that are labeled are from upstate New York and Pennsylvania. It's likely that most of these are also from that area.

I am not an expert on men's hats, so if any of you have ideas about these please let me know.  The one on the right in the back row looks Tirolean to me. How about the one on the very left? Eastern European? In any case, it's a great variety of hat styles. These guys were probably at a county fair and had their picture taken by a traveling photographer with a very plain background and grass underfoot.

The clothing in the next three photos looks Bavarian or Swiss to me, especially the cut of the jackets.

While these guys look very western, I'm guessing they were actually Pennsylvania farmers.

Here are a few more fellows for our fashion line up.

A Happy Birthday to You

If it's your birthday today, may it be a glorious one.

Here are the backs of the cards. The first one was sent or given to Paula Petersen. Can you read the message?

 
The second card card was sent to Mrs. Louise (?) Rockwell of Rockwell's Mills, New York. You can read more about the mill and see some great pictures here.