[Leica] IMG: Digging Into the Past

[Jim Nichols]

Hi Philippe,

I realize that, compared to emerging nations, this may seem an easy 
life.  But, I lived through this period, and saw what people did to 
survive with their families intact.  These festivals and fairs were one 
of the few bright spots in in their year, and they dressed up and 
celebrated with their local friends.

Herb's Direct Positive photos provided them with an inexpensive memory 
to take home with them.  The family wintered in Wisconsin, where he 
usually found a job managing a store for one of the many Jewish 
merchants.  In the Spring, they would obtain a list of the planned fairs 
and carnivals and would choose their route, working their way South 
through Illinois, Indiana, etc, and ending at cotton picking time in 
Mississippi.

Photo supplies were purchased from a large photo supply house in 
Chicago.  The cameras were usually home-made, and they prized their 
lenses.  The photo stock was in two sizes, similar to 35 and 70mm, and 
was sensitized reversal paper.  A small darkroom behind the camera was a 
very tight workspace.

The kids learned the basics, and practiced, using their dog as a 
subject.  They also sold cheap frames, to add to the cash flow. My wife 
could make change by the time she was 7 yrs old.  When our kids were in 
middle school, my wife handled the money at their fund-raisers.  A local 
banker would hand her a bag of bills and change and know that he would 
get it back exactly right when the event was over.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA

On 1/13/2019 3:43 AM, Philippe via LUG wrote:
> Not that much from what is given to see here Jim. Just compare with other nations …
>
> And I agree with Jayanand, it is a real piece of anthropology
>
> Amities
>
> Philippe
>
>
>
>> Le 13 janv. 2019 à 05:42, Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net> a écrit :
>>
>> Thanks, Jayanand.  Things were tough in the USA in the 1930s.
>>
>> Jim Nichols
>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>>
>> On 1/12/2019 8:57 PM, Jayanand Govindaraj via LUG wrote:
>>> The first one is a real slice of history!
>>> Cheers
>>> Jayanand
>>>
>>> On Sun, Jan 13, 2019 at 4:48 AM Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Recent discussions of older photos led me to dig into some images I
>>>> scanned quite a few years ago, from a collection of negatives and prints
>>>> we inherited from my wife's grandmother.  This sepia image is from the
>>>> middle to late 1930s, when my wife's Dad provided a meager income for
>>>> his family by following the Midwest fairs and celebrations with his
>>>> portable studio, selling "4 for a Dime" direct positive portraits to the
>>>> fair visitors.  The studio could be folded and carried on the trailer
>>>> seen in the background.  Herb is posing holding on to the awning frame
>>>> that could be covered in bad weather.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20090417-Herb+with+Portable+Studio.JPG.html
>>>>
>>>> Here is an actual-size copy of one of the seventy-year-old
>>>> Direct-Positive photos, which received no Photoshop treatment at all.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Gene+01.jpg.html
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Jim Nichols
>>>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>>>>
>>>>
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