The Faces of Susquehanna -Part Two

More portraits from Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. These are from the J.B. Kirby studio and its successor, the Frank Kirby studio. The portraits all measure about 2.5 inches by 4 inches. The father and daughter in the second photo must have had very light blue eyes; they look a little eery in black and white.

 

The photo above with the three ladies is the only one with any names written on the back: Mother Elizabeth and Henryette.

The photo of the boy above is also interesting, because another photographer's name and a different location (Scranton?) were printed on the back before they were crossed out  and replaced with Kirby and Susquehanna. Kirby must have  bought another photographer's card stock.

Mt. Lowe Railway, California

Just looking at this gives me vertigo.

You may remember Mt. Lowe from a previous post on Echo Mountain that showed a horse-drawn tram on a rather steep incline. You can read all about the Mt. Lowe Railway here. This card shows the upper part of the railway, above the Mt. Lowe Incline on the way to the Alpine Tavern.

The railway was plagued with problems, and there's little trace of it anymore, but it must have been a fun trip for people who lived close enough to Pasadena to take the ride. Here's a card showing the Great Incline and the funicular that transported passengers up Echo Mountain.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order. The first one was written on September 1, 1930 and mentions crossing 18 bridges besides this circular bridge.

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.