Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Where the Buffalo Roamed


These photos were found in my mom and dad's house after they died. I have no idea who took the pics or where they were taken, but maybe someone will have a clue. A few of them are labeled:

Top left: Garden Creek Falls
Middle: two buffalo
Right:Wyoming Prairie Dog
Middle: First Tunnel, 300 feet long,
solid black granite (and an ancient car)
Right: some sort of fountain, three men
Bottom: no label

I do love the look of these prints. They remind me of the old western movies I used to see every Saturday as a child; Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy at their best, riding the range in search of the cattle rustlers. Of course, they weren't driving the old jalopy seen here at the mouth of the tunnel, and they had on ten-gallon hats, not Hombergs.

I don't think you can see it well, but each print has a "frame", a series of lines, with small square symbols in each corner. That may have been the norm for printed photos back then, but it makes the photos seem more important somehow.

13 comments:

Jamie Dawn said...

I really like those photos too.

Anonymous said...

Very cool, Judy! Seamus, over at DampDog is also posting old picts that he found in his dad's house. If you're interested, take a look at http://dampdog.blogspot.com/

Star said...

THere is something compelling about black and white photos. Especially old ones.

Michele said...

Oh. Lucky you. They are wonderful photos Judy. I have always been a fan and collector of black and white photos. In fact I will take many photos and convert them to black and white simply because I prefer them.

You will be displaying them in your home, yes?

bornfool said...

Nice pictures. I love old photos. And you're right they have that old "western" feel.

OldHorsetailSnake said...

Well, I don't think it's Black Rock. There are no trees big enough to hang anybody from. But if it is Black Rock, it is "A Good Day at Black Rock."

Anonymous said...

When I click I can't see the bigger image. :(

doug said...

Hi Judy . the images are great - I collect ravenously old images as these, and same as Michele (Hi M!) I selectively print and alter current images into B&W or Sepia tints to display. The lines around the print are merely decorative, having been applied to the paper before the prints were done as a "calling card" type ID for the specific studio, or if they got the paper from a bulk supply, just the norm for the time period. Kind of a "decorative approach" to something that was going to be mass produced but would still have a nice "handcrafted" feel to it then.

I believe I fixed my word verification problem at my site, but have been having numerous problems in yesterdays post - enter key will not advance and had to resort to crude HTML to succesfully set it up! LOL! Hopefully today will be different when it comes to posting - I have a few great ideas I have been blocking out and image placements are key........

As to todays fun herewith:

"wvoumrf" =
"Wholly Vacuous Outwardly - Underneath... Mysteriously Rolling Flesh."

hehehe or something like that! Thanks again for the boost to get started again.... I was getting stagnant! Doug.

Pirate said...

Way cool. I have no idea about them myself. I have found that the frames and glass are often worth more then the prints but I don't know in this case. Do I see an Antique Roadshow in youyr future?

Anonymous said...

How many times do family members find old family pictures and they do not know who the people were in the pictures, when or where they were taken.

I do try to date my snapshots and write the names of the people in them. And how many times do you look at pictures that were taken on a trip and you say to yourself, "where the heck was that?"

It's a good thing that some of those pictures were labeled so you have something to go on.

Enjoy

OldLady Of The Hills said...

GREAT PHOTO'S Judy! I had trouble after I clicked on them, too.
(Are the computer gremlins out today?) I'd love to make them bigger so I can really see them GOOD-GOOD, but...it just wouldn't do it!

Anonymous said...

My hoarded treasure of old family photos is among my favorite possessions. I love to look at yours, too. They take you back to a simpler time, but they make you think. Do you suppose the faces in these photographs felt the same things we do now, even though the world they viewed was so very different? I love it when I connect with a pair of eyes in a photograph and feel that I'm glimpsing someone's soul. All the better if it feels a kindred one.

Anonymous said...

Judy,
You are right about the one looking like scenes from the old westerns. Many westerns were shot right near where I live. The town of Lone Pine was famous for Autrey, Rogers, and even John Wayne films. They have a film festival every sping and you can take tours of the various areas used for filming.