Halloween, 1957

I'll wish you a Happy Halloween by sharing a pumpkin that my father carved 56 years ago. At that time, we lived in a bungalow, in a small Virgina town.

My maternal grandfather, who was never without his Zeiss Ikon camera, took the photo. He documented virtually every aspect of our 1950s life, for which I am now very grateful.

My grandfather was an extremely meticulous person, and the back of every photo bears a series of numbers, sometimes in rows and sometimes in columns, as though they're waiting to be added up.

photo from Etsy

That was back in the day when Kodak film came in metal containers like the ones above, and my grandfather neatly stored film negatives in hundreds of such containers, in stacked cooking pans. My guess is that he printed three copies of the 22nd negative, from the 514th container of film. The other numbers probably related to his adjustments in the darkroom. That sure is a far cry from digital photos, thumb drives and iPhoto!

Wishing you a Happy Halloween!

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On Safari With George Eastman: Part 1

For the next few posts, I'm going to share a safari adventure that George Eastman, the pioneer of modern photography, took in his retirement. But I'll begin by giving a little of the back story of how I came to own a relatively rare book that George Eastman self-published.

My Grandfather Ruffner was an early employee of George Eastman's, starting as a salesman with Kodak in 1901. Because he started in the early days of the company, he had a large territory to cover. How large was it?

His territory was somewhat larger than that which Thomas Jefferson bought from the French by the Louisiana Purchase. His route coursed from Fargo, North Dakota, to Seattle; down the Pacific Coast to San Diego, California, inland again to El Paso, Texas; north to Denver, west through Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Idaho, and Washington; down the coast once again and inland through New Mexico and Arizona, both of which were then territories, not states. Essentially his territory was everything west of the Mississippi River.

In those days, he traveled through the West mostly by railroad, calling on professional photographers, giving demonstrations, selling Kodaks, putting metal signs in windows, and distributing advertising from a trunk that weighed 250 pounds. However did he manage that trunk?

Eventually my grandfather returned to Rochester, New York — the headquarters of the Eastman Kodak Company — and like my great-grandfather, became an editor. For years he published company magazines, and he eventually was responsible for introducing Kodak's Ektachrome color film to professional photographers.

And so, when George Eastman returned from a 8-month safari trip and wanted to publish a book of his experiences for his friends, he turned to my grandfather to edit and print the project. Of course my grandfather retained one of those books, which I've been enjoying rereading lately. So, let's go on a safari with George Eastman!

In 1926, George Eastman (1854-1932), planned an extended safari to East Africa. He was joined by two younger friends, Daniel E. Pomeroy and Dr. Audley D. Stewart. Pomeroy was a New York banker and sportsman who helped found a couple of New York golf courses, and Stewart was Eastman's personal physician.

Douglas Fairbanks and Billie Dove in The Black Pirate  |  dvdbeaver.com

Before embarking for England, the three spent a little time in New York City. Eastman watched Douglas Fairbanks' film, the The Black Pirate and said it was "all in color, the best thing in color photography so far."

On March 13, 1926, the party departed from New York for Southampton on the Majestic.

Tea with the ship's captain, aboard the Majestic

left to right: Dr. Audley D. Stewart, George Eastman, Daniel E. Pomeroy

Now let us suppose that you have a friend who is going to make a trans-Atlantic crossing and then go on to a safari. You want to surprise him when he gets to his cabin, so what should be delivered to the ship? Well, here's what awaited Mr. Pomeroy in his cabin, much to the amusement of Mr. Eastman:

• 6 baskets of fruit
• 6 bouquets of flowers
• 3 boxes of cigars
• 1 basket of mushrooms
• 20 French artichokes
• 1 bunch of rhubarb
• 2 baskets of peas
• 1 basket of radishes
• 5 baskets of string beans
• 6 baskets of Lima beans
• 16 heads of cauliflower
• 3 baskets of Bermuda potatoes
• 2 baskets of tomatoes
• 8 bunches of asparagus
• ½ barrel of oysters
• 4 lbs. of caviar 

More of the Eastman trip in the next post . . .

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Neat Prints from My Glass Negatives

In the mid-1970s I bought a box of glass negatives that were early Kodak products. It was much like bidding at a mystery auction because some of the images were completely indecipherable as glass negatives.

It turned out to be an interesting time capsule from one family that went to the shore every year. The photos repeatedly show that the older generation didn't dress down, while the younger generations did . . .

. . .  at least to the extent that the times allowed.

Well, people might roll up their sleeves for a game of checkers . . .

Perhaps the trip to the shore was an annual religious camp.

This young girl is the subject of many of the photographs. I tried to enlarge the banner behind her to read it, but it's just too much in shadow.

Here she is with a friend — I think they've spent the past hour making their version of a log cabin.

And here she is (second from left) all grown up. Perhaps this was her wedding day.

What a jolly affair!

I'll end back at the shore.

The O. D. Witherell was a schooner that sailed out of Bath, Maine in 1874. A thoughtful reader has advised me that it stranded near Fenwick Island Life Saving Station on April 2, 1911, while bound from New York for Philadelphia. The schooner's hull and equipment were sold at Millsboro, Delaware on May 2, 1911.

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I eventually sold the glass negatives (because they took up space and weighed a ton), but not before making prints of each one.