This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/3/2012
This unpicked collection was carefully harvested, and derives from the images of the Chicago Sun Times, Seattle Post, Denver Post, St. Petersburg Times, Detroit News, and Chicago Daily News. Images average very good to excellent condition and average 8x10 in size.
Did you know that Kodak no longer makes film? Poloroids, 35 MM cameras, and snapshots are a thing of the past. Photography studios are no longer in use. Developing chemicals and dark rooms have gone the way of the Dodo Bird.
This is one of the last chances to touch and own real photos which capture the true spirit of the American condition.Why do any of these photos exist? Because people have always wanted to know what is going on in their communities and the world around them. Caveman drew on walls to document the success of the latest hunt. These crude drawings would serve as the first written documentation of events.
By the 1500s, newspapers were widely read, due to easier distribution with the Guttenberg printing press. Cameras were still over 300 years from being invented, so artists were sent to capture the faces and places that were interesting to the general public. People wanted to put a face with an event.
By the turn of the 20th Century, 1900 circa, cameras were widely used by reporters to capture and document the day’s events. Reporters often served as both photographer and journalist. With the directives of editors, reporters had to determine what was interesting enough to warrant photography. So although there are 1,000s of images in this archive, each one represented the photographers’ personal interpretation of what was important.
These images were recorded in files by the respective newspaper, and pulled by editors when images were needed to appear in print. Now, with digital images, the files became obsolete, and the images forgotten.
In this author’s opinion, obsolescence does not equate to worthlessness. Each of these images represented a task, a feeling, an event, a celebration which was important to the participant. This importance should not be forgotten.
As someone that has now processed over 1,000,000 photos, I cannot stress how exciting it is to actually hold one of the images, to study the faces of ordinary people, note the fashions of the day.
For this lot, we offer a broad assortment of images which truly reflect 20th Century America. Most images will bring back memories of days that will never be again. A broad categorization include:
Ordinary People (occupational, family, religious orders, fraternal groups, social groups)
African Americans
Landscapes (Farms, Fields, Bodies of Water)
Trains, planes, and automobiles
Food
Architecture (Churches, schools, skyscrapers, bridges, downtown, farms)
By far, our most diverse and interesting lot to date. The future and breakup value of this lot cannot be measured. One letter of authenticity from MEARS Auctions will be issued guarantee the originality of the contents.