This was at the Telford flea. Only $80!
Category Archives: Bob Lawrence Photography
A Golfing Man
A real post card. Azo stamp dates it to 1926 to early ’40s.
Touring cap? check
Bow tie with shirt stud? check
Jacket with pen and maybe a scorecard in the pocket? check
Cufflinks? check
Pinkie ring? check
Knickers? check
Argyle stockings? check
Good quality two-tone golf shoes? check
and a droopy rose. ah, check
This is a golfing man.
Sunset with Moon
I posted this on my Kingsport site, but I thought it’d fit here, too. Lucky shot.
Unknown boy
I found this at an antique mall in Kingsport TN. It was taken around the turn of the last century in Newburgh NY, on the Hudson River about 55 miles due north of New York City. It was taken at Peck Studios on Water Street. This photographic studio was established in 1860, about 30 years after photography became a known thing. The boy (about 12 or 13, I think) is well dressed, his hands and fingernails are clean and he looks intelligent. He’s had a recent growth spurt, as shown by the slightly short sleeves of his jacket. His shoes seem too big, but that may have been to allow for growth.
The studio camera lens was none too sharp. A 600 ppi scan shows a severe drop off in focus when expanded 200%. I’ve applied a duplicate layer, set to overlay. I have adjusted for levels and for mid-range lighting, and I cleaned up a few spots. I then applied an all-purpose unsharp mask to tighten it up a bit.
The photo is in a gray, reed pattern, gate fold matte, with the name “Peck” in script and “Newburgh, N.Y.” in sanserif below the photograph.
I wonder what became of him.
Uncle Dave Hartsell
Uncle Dave looks a little…anxious, no?
Undated vintage studio photograph. No studio name on the matte. Moderately restored.
On the back is written in cursive, with what appears to be a ballpoint pen, “Uncle Dave Hartsell”. Also on the back, also in cursive, in very light pencil, “Mrs. Mary Hartsell”.
From another studio photo, I saw that the “frame” on the matte was also used by “Cargille Johnson City Tenn.”. Still no date range.
Before and After
I was in Abingdon at a flea market. Rummaging through some old cards and stuff, I came across a picture of a solemn young lady. It was in a 3×4 inch art studio cardboard matte with “?Vamey’s? Art Studio, Bristol Tenn.” embossed on it. The photo had been pretty badly handled; scuffed, stained. Her hands were pretty much obliterated, so I scanned it at 600 dpi and then cropped it down to an h&s before I retouched it. It took several hours over several days to get the result above.
When I was a kid, all of our furniture and nearly all of our family photos were stolen (I think I learned the phrase “those sorry sons of bitches” around that time). I’ll never see them again. I’ll also probably never know who this young lady was, but I have been able to bring her photograph back to some of its original form. Photoshop rules.
Snow Barn
It wasn’t snowing, but it had earlier that morning and as the air turned a little warmer, a fog formed. Hey, snow, barn, trees, fog. Cut! Print!
Bronze Maneki-neko
I did not realize, when this was given to me, that it was a type of maneki-neko, or “beckoning cat”. The denotation is of a cat washing its face (in itself a symbol of an imminent visit, in Japanese lore), but the connotation is of a cat making a welcoming gesture to either luck, money or friends. Depends on which paw is raised, whose received knowledge is at work and other cultural knick knacks. The story is here, but it neglects the whole story of Tami cat.
There’s no marking on this. It’s probably bronze or some similar casting and rather crude.
And it sits right by me as I work at this computer.
Dad’s Old Place
Back in ’55 or so, this was a Pure service station. Two pumps. My stepdad, in the process of learning that business was something he wasn’t particularly good at, rented it. It’s in Sneedville TN. He lasted maybe six months. Later, he became good at closing small grocery stores.
Two Flamingos
On, all right, they’re between the two large trees on the left, just above the greenery. Touch of class, those.
This is in Lee County VA, a step or two off the main road.
Nolichucky Trestle
Active pony plate trestle over the Nolichucky River in Unicoi County. The decolorized photo has an infra-red effect added. Original image shot with an Olympus XZ-1, f2 at 1/500. ISO 400 equivalent.
Why is it pronounced “tressle” instead of “trest-le”. Well, like “pestle”, “hustle”, “wrestle” and many others, it just is. Received pronunciation, apparently.
Uncle Bob's Pix 