This looks to be some type of a ferry boat, and written on the back was Hong Kong. My best guess is that the photo dates to about the 1940s to 1950s. You can just barely see the shapes of people standing by the rails, but other than that I can’t tell much about the boat.
UPDATE: Site reader Sarah says this is the Star Ferry that crosses Victoria Harbour from Hong Kong to Kowloon. Thanks, Sarah!!
This is an enormous pile of lumber. To the left of the photo there is some sort of factory and there is also a large stack of lumber near the trucks. Dominating the scene is this pile of wood. Consider that telephone poles are about 20-25 feet high, so this pile might be on par or a bit higher. Makes you wonder about its source and purpose.
Today’s photograph is from my family’s collection. It is a cabinet card with three subjects, and on the back is written “Lizzie Papa Herb.” Unfortunately, I don’t know which man is which. Papa would have been my grandfather’s father, making this Albert E Nunn along with his brother Herbert and sister Elizabeth. Based on a later photograph of Papa in which he has a mustache, I’m taking a total guess the gentleman on the right is he. Albert was born in 1871, Herbert in 1869 and Elizabeth in 1868. There were seven brothers and sisters in all with these three being the youngest.
I just love how the crossed legs are at exactly the same angle with the supporting legs also at the same angle. Lizzie and Papa are looking one direction while Herb is looking the other. I suppose it would have looked odd for all three of them to be gazing off in the same direction. Lizzie has a lovely bodice to her dress, with wide lapels and a slightly pursed front that suggests the pigeon breast look. This tells me the photo was made some time in the later 1890s when they were all in their twenties.
The photographer was R. D. Ryerson in Detroit, Minnesota. What? I think I know my geography pretty well, but yes, there once was a Detroit, MN! It was founded in 1871 and up until 1926 was called Detroit; it’s name was changed to Detroit Lakes to distinguish the little burgh from the larger one in Michigan. You can click through here for a brief history of the little town. This actually clears up a tiny bit of confusion in our genealogy, in which I had thought my grandfather had been born in Detroit, MI. At some point pieces of the large family moved again, some to Delaware and others to Virginia, where many Nunn descendants remain today.
UPDATE: As my mother reminded me, depending on which part of the family you talk to, Albert could either be called Papa or Apa.
For this week’s Sepia Saturday prompt, we were given a nurse presumably heading out to make rounds at patient homes. Since I featured my nurse photos earlier this year, I was wondering if I would be able to find something to go along with the theme. Then I remembered this photograph of a fireman that I have been holding onto for just the right post, and realized this is it!
This photograph is taken from an album I have been meaning to work through, but it is the only one that really grabbed my attention enough to be scanned. The man’s cap features the Maltese Cross, which is the traditional symbol of the fireman. The story goes that during the Crusades, the Knights of St. John were doused with naptha (highly flammable liquid) then set on fire. While some knights were injured severely and some killed, others sacrificed their own safety to fight the fires that were consuming their compatriots. Since the Knights of St. John resided on Malta, their symbol was called the Maltese Cross, and they were considered the first firemen.
I have deep respect for firemen. When everyone else is running away from a fire, they are the ones running toward it. It is a calling and not a job that a person should perform halfheartedly. When I was in school there was a classmate of mine who while walking to school one day saw smoke billowing from a house. He ran inside, found the residents and helped them get out – at the age of 16 or 17 years old, this is more courage than most people have as mature adults.
This particular fireman’s name is lost to the ages. He strikes a fine figure in his uniform and I like to think of him performing his job admirably. During a little research for this post, I learned that the town of Exeter NH had the first fire alarm installed in 1891, and shortly thereafter it was pulled for a house fire. The town fireman were able to extinguish the fire, proving the success of the fire alarm, and several more were subsequently installed around town. I do not know if this fellow is from Exeter or even Haverhill, MA where the photographer Fuller Studio had another location. Haverhill is not all that far from Exeter, maybe 17 miles or so.
If you have enjoyed this sepia image, please click through to Sepia Saturday for more!
This is a great snapshot of airplane mechanics working in and around the propeller of a small plane. I don’t know much about planes, so I will date this one to the 1960s and leave it at that. :-)
UPDATE: Iggy and “the old guys” identified this as a Taylorcraft BC model, which likely predates the 1950s. Great work guys!
Who Were They? 