Vintage Photos of Groups

It's probably not the Cavern Club , but the venue does look like it's in a cellar somewhere. Anyone ever hear of the Royal Dukes? (There's an unrelated Texas-based Royal Dukes Band , too.)

A children with toys photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A photo of the students and teachers in a morning kindergarten class at a religious school in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1965-66 school year. Instead of the usual class photo showing students standing together in a group, the photographer has creatively positioned the students around the room using toys and other items as props. Mouse over the photo above to see close-ups of the different toys and student groupings, and see below for descriptions of each separate image. Felt Board - I believe that this is a felt board (also called a flannelgraph or flannel board) with different shapes that can be rearranged on the board. Lincoln Logs - Three boys are sitting at a table containing Lincoln Logs . The boy at the head of the table also has a puzzle. Easel and Paintbrushes - A boy is standing in front of an easel. A painting of a person is visible on the easel, and paintbrushes are propped up in front of it. Ladder and Platform - A girl and a boy are standing on top of a wooden platform that has one or more ladders leading up to it. I'm not sure if this is some sort of indoor play equipment or whether the photographer just positioned the children there for dramatic effect. A girl sitting behind the platform is pretending to make a phone call. Telephone and Table - Another girl is pretending to make a phone call, and two students are sitting at a round table. Board and Pegs - The girl at front has a game or toy consisting of pegs that fit onto a board. Loony Links and Other Toys - The boy at the head of the table is playing with Loony Links, an educational game with plastic parts that snap together to form figures of people and animals. The girl and boy at the front of the table are playing with blocks, and the girl sitting next to the Loony Links has an Add-A-Count Scale, which was an educational math toy (see the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History description of the Add-A-Count Scale in its collection).

Detail from a photo (see full photo below) of the students and teachers in a morning kindergarten class at a religious school in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1965-66 school year. I believe that this is a felt board (also called a flannelgraph or flannel board) with different shapes that can be rearranged on the board.

Detail from a photo (see full photo below) of the students and teachers in a morning kindergarten class at a religious school in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1965-66 school year. Three boys are sitting at a table containing Lincoln Logs . The boy at the head of the table also has a puzzle.

Detail from a photo (see full photo below) of the students and teachers in a morning kindergarten class at a religious school in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1965-66 school year. A boy is standing in front of an easel. A painting of a person is visible on the easel, and paintbrushes are propped up in front of it.

Detail from a photo (see full photo below) of the students and teachers in a morning kindergarten class at a religious school in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1965-66 school year. A girl and a boy are standing on top of a wooden platform that has one or more ladders leading up to it. I'm not sure if this is some sort of indoor play equipment or whether the photographer just positioned the children there for dramatic effect. A girl sitting behind the platform is pretending to make a phone call.

Detail from a photo (see full photo below) of the students and teachers in a morning kindergarten class at a religious school in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1965-66 school year. One girl is pretending to make a phone call, and two students are sitting at a round table.

Detail from a photo (see full photo below) of the students and teachers in a morning kindergarten class at a religious school in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1965-66 school year. The girl at front has a game or toy consisting of pegs that fit onto a board.

Detail from a photo (see full photo below) of the students and teachers in a morning kindergarten class at a religious school in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1965-66 school year. The boy at the head of the table is playing with Loony Links, an educational game with plastic parts that snap together to form figures of people and animals. The girl and boy at the front of the table are playing with blocks, and the girl sitting next to the Loony Links has an Add-A-Count Scale, which was an educational math toy (see the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History description of the Add-A-Count Scale in its collection).

A photo combining one or more previous themes (Happy New Year, poses by a Christmas thing [anything holiday], people playing musical instruments, interiors, and possibly others) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard: "New Year, 1912. Chicago, Ill." The Christmas tree is still standing for this family's New Year celebration in 1912. A woman is playing a guitar, but no one is seated at the piano, surprisingly enough. Happy New Year to one and all!

"The Olzen Accordion School, 75 6th Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. Phone Nevins 8-1431." According to Victor Greene, A Passion for Polka: Old-Time Ethnic Music in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992), pp. 184-85, Eric Olzen (born 1895) was a popular Swedish accordionist and composer who came to the United States and opened a music school in Brooklyn in 1926. In the 1930s, he hosted a radio show that was popular among Scandinavians in New York, published sheet music compositions such as "Koster Waltz" and "Sunbeam Polka," and played on many records. I take it that Eric Olzen is the one standing without an accordion in the middle of the third row. He's surrounded by 51 male students and 4 female students. I wish I could have attended one of the Olzen Accordion School's concerts!

A sport photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. With eight rackets and four balls (stacked next to the racket lying in the lap of the guy at front center in the photo), this group seems ready to play tennis. But don't they look too dressed up to head out onto the tennis court, even by early twentieth-century standards? There's no identifying information on the back of this real photo postcard, but the dealer who sold it to me thought that it may have come from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. If so, perhaps this was a group of students, along with their instructors or chaperones, at the Cumberland Valley State Normal School, which is now Shippensburg University .

A camping/tents photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. There wasn't any message or other information on this real photo postcard to indicate the date or location of Bob White Camp, unfortunately.

A let's dance photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This is a real photo postcard showing the winners of promoter George L. Ruty's "walkathon," which was held at White City Park, an amusement park located near Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in 1934. Walkathons were related to dance marathons , and both involved endurance contests that required participants to walk, dance, and perform other tasks over the course of days, weeks, or months in order to win cash and prizes. Spectators paid an admission fee to see the proceedings and often attended regularly to find out how well their favorite individual or couple was doing in the contest (fans could purchase photos of each couple, too--see below for Mary O'Connor and Charlie Cucci's , for instance). Some contestants made the rounds of different walkathons and dance marathons, and a few became popular locally or nationally. Frank Loveccio, who's wearing a striped shirt and suspenders and is standing third from left in the photo above, eventually parlayed his walkathon and dance marathon appearances into a wildly successful singing, songwriting, and acting career under the name of Frankie Laine (see below for another group photo that shows Frank Loveccio/Frankie Laine during his dance marathon days). Prize Winning Couples, Geo. L. Ruty's Walkathon, White City Park, 1934 Team #21 - Mickey Sheehan, Itsy Bachrach Team #10 - Frank Loveccio, Frances Leonard Team #29 - Aaron Sinton, Bobbie Smith M.C. - Phil Murphy Team #6 - Eleanor Johnson, Ralph Stanside Team #9 - Mary O'Connor, Charlie Cucci Judge - Fred Clifford

"Rosie Fink, Frank Loveccio, Ann Molash, Stanley Forte, Bobby Smith, Carolyn Ramos, Jimmie Barrett, Jo-Jo Delago, Muggsy Hurley." A real photo postcard of dance marathon contestants, date and location unknown. Frank Loveccio, second from left, later became famous as a singer and actor under the name Frankie Laine . For another group photo that includes Frank Loveccio/Frankie Laine, see Prize-Winning Couples, Ruty's Walkathon, White City Park, Pottsville, Pa., 1934 .

Although it's difficult to make out, the soldier at front middle is holding up a piece of cloth that looks like a pillowcase. Printed or embroidered on the cloth is an American flag along with the words "American Beauties." Notice, too, the soldier--perhaps a sergeant or other officer--at top middle who's standing head and shoulders above the rest. Rather than facing the camera like the others, he seems to be peering off in the distance at something out of the frame of the photo. Mouse over the image to see close-up views of sarge looking sideways and the pillowcase hold-up.

For the original photo, see American Beauties .

For the original photo, see American Beauties .