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August 14, 2007
More from the Market
Before today's post I thought I'd mention that Yahoo ran a very nice profile of me (and Square America of course) on Friday (Thanks Trystan!). If you haven't seen it go here and take a look.
Now here are some of the other photos I picked up on Sunday.
First is something fairly common- a photo postcard of two women sitting on a paper moon. This was near the top of the first box I looked in which got me a little excited- not because I liked the photo all that much- it's a pretty standard paper moon photo (though I do like that one of the women is holding the moon's nose) but because it meant that most likely no other photo dealers had been through the box before me. Lots of people collect paper moon photos which mean they're pretty easy to sell so most photo dealers will buy them when they're cheap. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything spectacular in the box and it was a pretty big box- probably about 1500 photos- which took me about a 1/2 hour to go through.
Most of the rest of the box was military stuff from WWII and Korea. Now I have tons of WWII stuff and will probably do a show of them eventually but these were pretty ordinary. I did get a couple of things I could use. This first photo I actually like a lot. The back reads "Open air Bioscope at the camp. Mid East March 1945." First, I love that kind of makeshift vernacular architecture and the desert location, the single figure, and the little pile of stones add a surreal quality to the photo. I also like that the guy refers to it as a bioscope which were travelling outdoor movie shows that set up at carnivals and fairs mostly in the early part of the century. I'm guessing that had to be a fairly anachronistic term in 1945 but I could be wrong.
I also collect photos that have the word "me" written on them (another upcoming show) so I got this one- the arrow is a plus as I collect them too (see some of posts here from earlier this month). It also has a nice inscription on the back which reads in part "The fella took this picture while I didn't even know about it. This is when we went on the beer party on the beach. Notice its nothing but rock and all the sites are the same way. Do I look like I've put on any weight?" A quick note on inscriptions- I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate inscriptions onto the site as some of them can really add so much to the photo. If only one or two photos in a given show have interesting inscriptions (as is usually the case) it doesn't make sense to me to break up the visual flow either by adding the text below the photo or adding a second scan of the back. I've thought that maybe I'd have some kind of symbol that let you know you could click on a certain photo to show the inscription on the back and while I'm certainly much to lazy to go back and do it retroactively for older shows I am considering it for future shows.
There were a few non-military photos mixed in as well. This one might make it into Season's Greetings, my show of photo Christmas cards. It's not a spectacular image but I do like how unchristmasy it is (of course they could be Jewish).
Here's another Christmas photo I pulled from a different box. I'm a sucker for blurry photos (more on that tomorrow) and here the blur gives both of the women slightly crazed looks. I might possible add it to my Holiday Grab Bag though I'm not sure- that show already has so many photos and I'm not sure what this would add to it. Once some shows (like that one) get to a certain size they unfortunately tend to descend into simple kitsch- there are some great photos in that show but they get drowned out by too many ordinary ones- I like the ladies slightly manic look but it's like a throw-away one-liner. Sometimes you need some of those just to keep a show moving along but use too many of them and you wind up sounding like a bad Borscht Belt comedian.
Here's another one-liner- An old woman walking down the street with an unfortunate expression on her face (on the back she writes "I don't believe I really look quite so doleful."). This one I will add to On the Street at some point. None of the photos in that show- all taken by intinerant street photographers- are spectacular but taken together they form a great record of street life in the 1930s-50s. Interestingly, almost everyone in those pictures looks somewhat doleful- it's rare to see anyone smiling in those photos unless they are walking with someone else.
Like a lot of my collection the next few photos are interesting to me but are very unlikely to ever make onto Square America. The first is of a storefront museum at Ocean Beach, San Francisco. I wish the whole banner on the right was visible.
This pair of photos is of a pretty cool vehicle- it looks like someone tricked out an old Ford with a kind of half track in the rear and ski runners in the front. Neither is particluarly interesting photograpically and neither gives a really good view of the car but it's the kind of thing I'll still buy even if I'll never use it.
The same thing goes for this next photo- It's interesting to me historically more than photographically. I like having this kind of thing in my collection; while I'd describe myself as a more of a collector than an archivist there is a part of me that wants to save everything and wants the collection to be a complete record of the world in miniature rather than an expression of the peculiarities of my taste in photographs. I'm not sure if I've been able to strike the right balance between the two or if a balance is even really possible. The site is certainly tipped towards the latter but sometimes not enough I think- it's really neither fish nor fowl but I guess the collection really isn't either so maybe that's appropriate.
I got this photo thinking I might use it in my Family Dynamics show. I love the bored daughter and barely visible mother. I also like that there are two other kids back there whose feet are the only thing that's visible. Unfortunately, the focus is a little soft on all of the people so I'm not sure I'll be able to use it.
The next photo I Iike but not enough to use it on the site. It's actually from a series of portraits taken at a wedding- in that context, a series of photos of the bride, groom, and bridal party- this photo of a guy who looks like he just came home from work really stood out. Unfortunately, I didn't buy any of the other photos and now this one, stripped of it's context, has lost much of its impact. Even if I had bought the other photos I probably wouldn't have used it on Square America- the pay-off, the uncomfortable working man out of place at the wedding, isn't enough to justify putting it on the site. That said, if some of those wedding photos are still there the next time I see that dealer I'll probably pick them up.
This last photo is, along with the last two photos I posted yesterday, my favorite buy of the day. Like those photos I'm not really sure where I'll put it- maybe I'll add it to The Road eventually- I've got a bunch of other photos to add to that show as well.
Posted by nick at August 14, 2007 02:32 PM
Comments
Would you consider making "From the Market" an on-going show, adding photos with extended commentary on why you purchased them, what you paid, or other interesting stories about your collecting habits? I really love these longer narratives, even if I DO need more powerful reading glasses to see the small font. Thank you for your dedication to this, your willingness (obsession?) to share, and your wonderful pictorial AND literate website.
--Jeannie
Posted by: Jeannie at August 15, 2007 06:51 AM
The Model T Ford was manufactured and sold in a "ski package" form. I have seen them in museums. They were primarily marketed toward rural mail carriers, who had to go out in any weather.
Posted by: Bob at September 3, 2007 07:12 PM