When having electricity was a sales argument

Some photographers used the back of the photographs to advertise for more customers. Some only stated name and address while others used graphic art and sales pitches. My favourite is on a photograph from my great-grandparents shoebox.

Here comes a translation for those of you whose Danish is a bit rusty:

"The Only Studio in Denmark

that offers Picture Taking by Electrical Light

in the Studio if Ordered in Advance

untill 11 P.M.

V. Jensen & Co"

The address and then at the very bottom it states:

"Original Waiting Rooms"

"Toilet and Dressing Rooms"

I would also draw your attention to the half-naked lady, standing on a globe while holding a gigantic light bulp in her hand. Advertising really hasn't changed that much in a 100+ years.

Three pretty girls and a cool moustache

Inspired by Sepia Saturday I rummaged through my great-grandparents photographs and found these two pictures that both fit the Hair theme.

The girls and the man I believe to be friends of my great-grandparents. The picture of the girls is from ca. 1908. The man's photograph might be a little earlier.

Hollywood Plaza Hotel, Hollywood, Calif.

This is an old postcard I found in a small antique store in Davis, CA some years ago. I don't know how old it really is, but judging by the cars it might be from the 1930s? I wonder if the building is still there.

Printed by Tichnor Quality Views.

Oh, to be a shoe sales person

The postcard below was sent to me in 1995, but obviously the card itself is much older than that. On the back it says:

"Yes! We are ready to carefully fit boys and girls with their back-to-school shoes! At Value-Rite Family Shoes! Using the latest in foot science and employing the "friendliest shoe staff in the state" we get the right shoe for the right child. (And of course we have a present for your child!)"

What's not to like?  They certainly look friendly. And they know all about foot science - and come bearing gifts too.

The card was printed by Klutz Press, CA.

Cards from the 1970s

These two cards are among a bunch of cards I found when my grand-parents moved from their house. I find the drawings and color choices quite charming. The cards are from the 1970s - and they are in Danish.

Cinderella and Prince

My daughter has recently entered the "princess stage". Everytime she sees a girl in a dress, she calls her a princess. So, I went looking for a real fairytale princess and stumbled upon this lovely Cinderella paper doll. You can find the complete set with cover, dolls and clothes at  Bonecas de Papel.

Karnival paper doll from Finland

This is another paper doll from around 1980. It was one of my favourite dolls because she had such varied clothes.

Cute Paper Doll

Yesterday I retreived my old paper dolls from the attic. Among them I found this little doll that I got around 1980. She also has a little hat, but my 3-year-old got hold of my collection and it seems to have gone missing. I'll probably find it again, when I do I will post it too. Three hours later...Found it. Rescanned with hat.

Welcome to my blog

Images from times past have always appealed to me. Whether it was old paper dolls, fun greeting cards from the 1970s, dated children's books with lovely covers or faded magazines from the 1930s I kept them. Later on in life I became fond of quirky postcards, old ads and well anything vintage really. I have never been a collector of anything. Rather I kept things that I liked and stored them in boxes in attics and cellars. 

After having found so many lovely blogs on the Internet about so many things that I care about, I decided to open some of those boxes, dig out my scanner and share some of MY old stuff with all my fellow gatherers - and collectors - out there. Enjoy :-)

Some years ago browsing at a second hand bookshop I found a copy of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll with illustrations by Arthur Rackham from 1917 (org. pub. 1907).

I got it for $3 because the cover was discolored and someone had colored some of the b&w drawings in it. However, the beautiful illustrations were in perfect shape.

Now, I just scanned one of the illustrations. But just for fun I googled Arthur Rackham and found a site where all the color illustrations are presented in very fine quality. Thus if you want to see all the illustrations from the book you can check them out at "Escape into Life"