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Vintage photos of:
Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.
[REV 25-NOV-2014]
St. Clair Flats, Michigan, circa 1910. "Star Island House." A hotel on the St. Clair River whose scenic arboreal allée, Willow Avenue, we saw last week. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1912. "Woodward Avenue." A shopper's paradise. Meet you in an hour at Cinnabon. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.
I'd seen 2001: A Space Odyssey only two years before, but staring into the eyeball of a sentient computer really wasn't on my mind when I took this shot in our living room; I was just fooling around with my newly-acquired Spiratone fisheye supplementary lens and some Tri-X film. Interesting optical phenomenon: the shape curving around the lower right is actually the edge of a small, perfectly round tabletop. In the background, Father's leather chair, minus Father, with piles of newspapers to each side. That little painting on the wall is now on my wall, and I now have an exact duplicate of the kidney-shaped tier table, thanks to my sister's antique foraging. My stereo system is in evidence by the speaker in the far corner, and my still-pitifully small record collection is on the rack behind Father's chair. I'm 23, still living at home, though employed and contributing to my upkeep. View full size.
Bath County, Virginia, circa 1910. "The Homestead. Bath house foyer, Virginia Hot Springs." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Buffalo, New York, circa 1910. "Post Office, Ellicott Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Circa 1910. "Train concourse, Union Station, Washington, D.C." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Circa 1910. "Electric-lighted berth on a deluxe overland limited train." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Boston circa 1912. "East Cambridge Bridge." A visual compendium of ways to get from here to there. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Chicago circa 1911. "Train sheds, Chicago & North Western Railway station." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Circa 1906. "Dock conveyors, New Orleans." On the waterfront along the Mississippi. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
St. Clair Flats, Michigan, circa 1910. "Willow Avenue, Star Island." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Taken at the end of December in Arlington, Virginia, as we hauled our belongings behind our 1950 Dodge, heading to our new home in West Palm Beach. Image is from a Kodachrome slide, taken by my grandfather. View full size.
The Ohio River circa 1910. "Nightfall on the Ohio at Cincinnati." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1910. "Tradd Street -- a bit of Old Charleston." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
New York circa 1915. "Mme. De Luza aboard ship." Ready for some serious relaxing. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.