Time for another round of rescued slides, these purchased on my trip to Camden Market last weekend. First up, an image from (I believe) the early 1960s labeled "St. Marychurch Village from Town Hall."
St. Marychurch is near Torquay in Devon. Here's the same street today. The building on the left, which was the H. T. Franks camera shop, is now a financial adviser's office; the one on the right, called "The Tudor," is now "Bygones Victorian Experience."
"The Badminton Group: Warwick, Rita, Diana, Peggy, Audrey, Eve, Peter." No date, but also probably from the early '60s, based on the type of slide and its similarity to others that are dated.
How to terrify your child! This slide isn't labeled but it was in a box marked "Germany."
Holland, 1965 -- I have a couple shots of this garden and they held their color really well.
"Sandra in St. James' Park, May 1962." Taken somewhere in this area, I think.
"Jenny & Tony, Holy Trinity, N'wood -- 1/7/61."
N'wood is Northwood, in northwest London, and Holy Trinity is here. The date means July 1, as the British put the day before the month.
I saw many slides in this particular assortment from a couple of weddings, and they were ALL out of focus, some of them laughably so. I don't know whether the photographer had his/her camera set wrong and got no decent pictures, or maybe all the sharp ones had already been bought by someone else. I do like this one, though. Jenny looks like she's having the time of her life, and maybe she was.
"Selfridges, 1961" -- this is a companion to the Regent Street picture in my last slide post. It's the same style slide, probably taken on the same night. It has a similar surreal quality and if you look closely you can see there's an Alice in Wonderland theme with playing cards across the front of the building. Here's a clearer shot by another photographer on Flickr.
There's no information at all on this slide, but it looks like a good place for a roadside picnic!
*Actually, this picture shows "Torquay Gardens -- Diana." It was in the wrong frame and thus had the wrong description, but I was later able to return it to the correct one.
I think the last one is more likely to be Rita than Sandra.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying these. Thanks for saving them and sharing them with us.
"The British put the day before the month..." Yes indeed we do because that makes sense - rising incrementally! Day followed by month followed by year. Why do those wacky Americans with their chewing gum, loafers and baseball hats put the month first? Madness!
ReplyDeleteSuch fun. I think the last shot is the woman from the badminton photo. Both our fathers had hundreds of slides. When we digitized them we were shocked at how many completely blurred (unrecognizable) images they kept for all those years.
ReplyDeleteLove that Selfridge's one..it gives so much movement!!
ReplyDeleteMy friend and blogger at Boxes and Bellows would like that too
Funny, I've been studying these to see who's the woman at Kew as if they were my relatives! I think it's Rita, after much thought.
ReplyDeleteFirst time commenter here (long time reader). Steve, one observation that’s jumped out at me every time you share old slides is how nicely dressed everyone is no matter the occasion or activity. I’m 69 and I can remember those days quite well. To me it’s refreshing. I realize some of the images are special occasions but not all. I miss the days when everyday people dressed in ways that made them look “nice”— not like slobs. (I know, I sound like an old curmudgeon but it’s true).
ReplyDeleteThat Bear [or whatever it is] would scare the bejeesus outta me!
ReplyDeleteI love the ones of the countryside or the street shots.
Yep. That's Rita. You can tell the way she holds her head.
ReplyDeleteThose colors are still quite brilliant.
Like Don above, I, too, am noticing how "nicely" everyone is dressed but I am glad that we no longer have to fancy ourselves up like that. Women had to wear bras that were like structural armor and girdles (GIRDLES!) and horribly uncomfortable shoes. No thank you.
Jenny does look incredibly happy. I hope she was.
As for the little girl who was being presented to the bear- I wonder if as an adult if she still remembers that day or if she has blocked and locked it in the closet of terrifying memories.
I wonder if Sandra is Jenny's mother? I always see these old pictures and wonder about the people in them. Did they have happy lives? I hope so.
ReplyDeleteAren't these fun?! I'm always checking to see if I know someone but of course, I wouldn't! I also remember those days when we always had to wear skirts or dresses when we went out with those uncomfortable "pumps" on our feet. Altho, I usually wore flats as I was tall and didn't want to tower over the short boys! How silly I was!
ReplyDeleteDoing a search using Ancestry.com, I come up with two possibilities for the wedding.
ReplyDeleteAnthony J. Zerafa married Jean C. Orris in July-Sep in the Stepney Registration District
and
Anthony J. Blackburn married Janet N. Pringle in July-Sep in the London City Registration District.
Jenny seems like it could be a nickname for either. English records are reported in three month increments on the website so I couldn't narrow it down to an exact date which would have been handy.
It's so interesting looking at these slides and not recognizing a single person or scene, and yet getting a sense of something familiar. The style captures a time that we all lived through. We were all here on this crazy earth at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI think you may be right about Sandra. I'd say she and the badminton woman are the same. I can't believe the colors in the Holland photo. That one held it's color extremely well. I love seeing the places all those years ago and then how they look today.
ReplyDeleteThe bear is great- I noticed the soldier half goosestepping wearing what looks like from here- a Hitler mustache?? Could it be? Agree - Robin- there is a familiarity about these folks.
ReplyDeleteThat bear--truly terrifying! I'm scared of bears to start with. I'm enjoying the look back into the past since I was a child in the '60s and have numerous photographs of my family that look a lot like these.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the bear. What is that on its head? A crown? It seems happy, I think (but that might be a bear grimace rather than a bear smile).
ReplyDeleteI like the effect on the Selfridges photo.
Rita and Sandra could be twins but I think it's Sandra.
ReplyDeleteand is that a real bear or someone in a bear suit?
If these are all by the same photographer it seems he had a nice eye for flowers. And women.
ReplyDeleteEven before you asked the question, I was comparing the Key Gardens young lady to the one in the badminton photo and thinking they are the same person. That is by no means a definitive answer, though :)
ReplyDeleteThe landscape in the picnic picture is so reminiscent of many places in Nova Scotia, it feels like home to me.
Those slides are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe bear represents the Berlin bear and his little hat has the Berlin coat of arms on it (a bear).
ReplyDeleteThis photo was probably from the 1960's and there were a lot of soldiers stationed in Berlin. I doubt that that soldier has a Hitler style mustache.
My husband saw the end of the war as a child in Berlin, he lived in the Russian sector.
We have been back to the city four times, the Botanical Garden is absolutely wonderful!
Caro: I think you're right -- it looks like the badminton woman. (Whether that's Rita or not I'm not sure, because I'm not sure those names are in order. Peter and Eve certainly aren't!)
ReplyDeleteYP: There is a certain logic to it, but then again, we SAY "May 1st," not "1st May." I guess some people say "1st of May" but I wouldn't call that a common construction in American English.
Mitchell: I still have a bunch of terrible shots among the slides I bought in Greenwich last year. I should just throw them out. They're not useful for anything.
GZ: I agree! I think I like it even more than the Regent Street one.
Boud: Ha! We've all adopted these people!
Don: I often think the same thing, looking at old photos. People seemed to take a lot of care with their appearance. As a result they often looked older than people of an equivalent age look now. I suppose our modern culture's obsession with youth might contribute to the casual styles.
Bob: I agree! That bear is terrifying!
Ms Moon: Yeah, it was definitely a downside to dressing up. It was difficult for women in particular to be comfortable.
Debby: I think they'd be more like sisters. Maybe Rita is a sister too!
Ellen D: I remember girls being very self-conscious about height even when I was a teenager. I wonder if that's changed nowadays?
Ed: Bravo on the research! I have no idea how wedding registrations work here, so I don't know whether either of those are possibilities -- but Stepney is in East London and the city is downtown, both a fair distance from suburban Northwood.
Robin: Exactly! I think that's part of what makes a good or interesting photo. We all connect with it somehow.
Sharon: Well Sandra's not in the badminton photo, but I think those people may be her relatives. It IS amazing how good that Holland picture looks!
Linda Sue: Yeah, I noticed those Army guys too. American, surely? (Probably not a Hitler mustache, then. LOL)
Margaret: Yeah, they also look like slides I grew up enjoying of my own family.
Kelly: Yes, it's a crown, with a bear symbol on the front. I wonder if it's actually from Bern in Switzerland (which uses the bear as a municipal symbol).
Ellen: Definitely not a real bear! It's someone in a suit.
Catalyst: They're not all by the same photographer, but many of them are.
Jenny-O: Is Nova Scotia that mountainous? I had no idea.
Bindu: Glad you like them! :)
Lea: Interesting! I was thinking Bern, Switzerland, but Berlin would make more sense given the labeling on the box. Yeah, I agree about the mustache. Do you think the photo was taken in the botanical garden? Or maybe the zoo?
These are wonderful slices of life. I can see why you are so fascinated.
ReplyDelete