1950 Tournament of Roses Parade - Pasadena, California

Today's O.W. Sjogren Tournament of Roses Parade vault highlights the floats from 1950. The theme for the 1950 Parade was "Our American Heritage". These floats showcase that theme to varying degrees.

1964 Tournament of Roses Parade - Pasadena, California

A few years I purchased a box of slides from an estate in California. The photo on the slides were taken by a man named O.W. Sjogren. I haven't had much luck finding out details about Mr. Sjogren. I did find out that, unless there are TWO O.W. Sjogrens, that he was chair of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Agriculture and School of Engineering from 1920-1929 and President of the same 1926-1927. My guess is that this is the same man.

Mr. Sjogren was a very big fan of floral photography and of the Tournament of Roses Parade that takes place every New Years Day in Pasadena, California. He took pictures of the floats (not so much the parades) over an 18 year span from 1946-1964. I don't have slides from every parade during that era but that is range of the year of the slides.
I am going to be sharing with you the collection of photos taken by the late Mr. Sjogren. There will be no rhyme or reason to the year order but the photos will be posted in order of the number on the slide mounts.

The first year I am posting is 1964. The Parade theme for that year was SYMBOLS OF FREEDOM. I did not color correct or do do anything to these photos other than crop a little of the corners. I tried to properly note the float or the sponsor of the float but it can be hard to tell. Anyway, enough rambling. See all 19 slides (including some double-exposures and one triple-exposure!) after the jump.

The Art of Rollerskating #5: Sholes Lakeside Casino - South Coventry, Connecticut

New England's Largest Summer Roller Rink is long, long gone. This a little different type of label showing the building and absolutely no roller skates.

Motel Monday: Why the Long Face?

Today's Motel Monday theme is devoted to man's best friend.ummm....horse? The majesty of these creatures helped add an aura of Wild Westyness to motels and tourists in dire need of gunfights or fields for running and grazing. These are a dozen  postcards featuring either live horses or signs featuring horses. See all 12 after the jump.

Jesse James Motel - Branson, Missouri

Disneyland Dreams

Today we have a collection of Home Videos from Disneyland in Anaheim, California. All of these videos were shot in 1956. The first video was shot by Jeff Altman's grandfather.



I implore you to watch the second  video, if you have a half an hour to spare, as it a home video from a family that won a Scotch Tape contest. It's a little cheesy in parts but it is a great glimpse of 1956. The whole description is after the video (and after the jump).

Happy Whatever You Celebrate!

I am really not sure if anybody reads this or actually cares but those of you that do exist, I hope you have a wonderful whatever it is you choose to celebrate.

There will be full posts starting again on Monday the 27th.

The Art of Rollerskating #4: Roller Bowl - Chicago, Illinois

This label is a little different. It features couple dancing inside circles within the larger bowl concept. Roller Bowl is long gone.

How Much Do You Hate Me Now?

Space Needle - Seattle, Washington

Mailed from Auburn, Washington to Mr. Dana Messing of Hutchinson, Kansas on July 22, 1968:

Dana,
Just a post card to see if you're still as mad at me as you were that one night. I'm having a wonderful time they play all the songs the Jades play - only on the radio. I saw the "Doors" in person last Friday night - they were fantastic. Going to see the Vanilla Fudge this Friday. The Creame is coming the week I come home - to bad. Well best close - Tell Tony "hi." How much do you hate me now? Terry

Tom Palumbo Photography

Interlude

For months now I have been wanting to share with you some of the wonderful photographs taken by the late Tom Palumbo but I just never seemed to remember to do it. Today I remembered.

Here's the mini-bio on Tom from Wikipedia:

Tom Palumbo (1921–2008) was an American photographer and theatre director. He was born in Molfetta, Italy, in 1921. His family moved when he was about 12 years old to New York City. As a young man Palumbo was employed first building scale models for ships in an engineering company. Later he was employed as an assistant by photographer James Abbe. His experience working with Abbe led him to commercial work in fashion photography. His early campaign work for Peck & Peck Department Store appeared in Vogue and Bazaar magazines from 1949 to 1953.

He was a staff photographer of Vogue from 1959 until 1962 and at Harper's Bazaar from 1953 until 1959, where he worked with the art directors Alex Liberman and Alexey Brodovitch. He was a vice-president of creative productions at Ted Bates, where he oversaw all TV commercials. He was a life-long member of the Actors Studio. He taught photography at Rhode Island School of Design, and he taught directing at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He directed plays Off-Broadway and in regional theatres. His last production was An Evening of Proust at Lincoln Center. He was a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab.

Tom Palumbo was married to Patricia Bosworth. Tom died in October 2008.

I love these images and am glad Tom shared them before he passed.

Laghter and Cake

Young Lovers Embrace

Like Audrey

That Time of Night

The Art of Rollerskating #3: Mile Hi Roller Rink - Denver, Colorado

I love the illustration on this label. It definitely conveys skating a mile-high. I cannot find anything on the Mile Hi Roller Rink. This label is probably from the 1930s so I guess the Mile Hi has been gone for many, many years.

Motel Monday: Flamingo Fever

Today's Motel Monday theme is big, pink, and often stands on one leg. The flamingo is a beautiful bird and a gimmick that lures the driving motorist to stop and enjoy many modern amenities. Here are 10 examples of that version of the flamingo..

Flamingo Motor Hotel - Tucson, Arizona

The Art of Rollerskating #2: Avalon Roller Drome - Newburgh, New York

This label shows a couple either in motion or so shiny that they emit rays of light. I cannot find much information of this place. I found that a boxer named Melio Bettina defeated Ross Strickland by knockout in the 5th round on May 24, 1948. That is really about all the information I can find. P.S. RSROA stands for Roller Skating Rinks Operators Association.

What Say Man!

Hilton Haven Motel - Key West, Florida

Mailed from Key West, Florida to Victor Blandford, Jr. of Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 28, 1955:

10:15 PM 3/27/55
What say man,
Just trying to decide if we are going to Cuba or not! Haven't seen the town yet. St. Pete. was all old farts last night. It is rather cool 40 degrees or so but having a great time. No snatch as yet.

1962 Aldens Christmas Mailer

See all 12 pages after the jump.

This is a 1962 12-page Christmas sale mailer from Aldens of Chicago, Illinois. Aldens was a mail-order store. here's a little history from the Lehman Brothers Collection at the Harvard Business School:

Aldens was established in 1889 under the name Chicago Mail Order and Millinery Company and was incorporated in Illinois on December 15, 1902. In 1906 the name of the business changed to Chicago Mail Order Company.

In the mid-1930s Aldens expanded its operations through acquisitions. It acquired the goodwill and mailing lists of M.W. Savage Company of Minneapolis in April 1935, Hamilton Garment of New York in May 1936, and D.T. Bohon of Kentucky in June 1936.

In 1936 Aldens began selling goods to its mail-order customers on a monthly payment plan. Besides its principal activity as a mail-order business, Aldens established offices for placing orders and began operating retail stores on an experimental basis. In 1938 sales totaled $24 million. The company initially specialized in the sale of apparel and accessories for women and men, especially fashion merchandise. Soon the company added curtains, sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths, fabrics, and book and toys. In 1938 these lines of goods were expanded to include home furnishings and house wares.

By 1943 Aldens had a main plant with 690,000 square feet of floor space in Chicago. The company extended its operations into the retail department store field in 1944 and over the next fifteen years opened sixteen stores, primarily in the Midwest. After World War II, apparel merchandise grew to represent a substantial portion of Alden's sales.

In 1946 the company changed its name to Aldens, Inc., and was the fourth-largest mail-order distributor in the United States. By 1957 sales for Aldens grew to $102.4 million as compared to $79.2 million in 1947. It employed 4,795 employees and now operated catalog telephone stores in 68 cities.

Beginning in 1961 the company began offering life insurance for sale through its catalog, operated by its wholly owned subsidiary, John Alden Life Insurance Company.

Burlington's Vista-Dome Denver Zephyr

This is a 16-page brochure for the Burlington Vista-Dome Denver Zephyr train from 1963. The train went from Chicago, Illinois to Colorado Springs, Colorado and back. This particular version of the Denver Zephyr was actually the second incarnation of the route. The first version ran until 1956. This particular version ran until 1971. Everything you want to know about the Denver Zephyr is right here (and in the brochure). See all 16 pages after the jump.

Where They Speak Gaelic!

The Pavilion of Burma at Expo '67 - Montreal, Quebec

Mailed on from Quebec City, Quebec to Miss Olive Shaw of McPherson, Kansas on July 20, 1967:

Quebec City – 7-19-67
Stayed 9 days in Montreal with a friend I met in India 30 years ago. The buildings are more interesting from the outside than the inside to a large extent, I though. Came by bus to Quebec where taxi men, bus drivers & others speak only French. Guess I’ll go to Halifax, N.S. where they talk Gaelic! – Dorothy Benjamin

Declaration of War

Today's piece of American history is the transcript of the speech that Franklin D. Roosevelt gave on December 8, 1941 declaring war. The speech was given in response to the attack on Pear Harbor on December 7th. These images from the U.S. National Archives.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Avenge Pearl Harbor

Today marks the 69th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. What better way to honor this historic day than to post this wonderful Works Project Administration poster (and shake my fist at the heavens).

Original Caption: Avenge Pearl Harbor. Our bullets will do it, ca. 1942 - ca. 1943
U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 179-WP-936
Created By: Office for Emergency Management. War Production Board. (01/1942 - 11/03/1945)
From:: Series War Production Board, compiled 1942 - 1943
Production Date: 1942 - 1943
Persistent URL: arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=534787
Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division, National Archives at College Park

Buy copies of selected National Archives photographs and documents at the National Archives Print Shop online: gallery.pictopia.com/natf/photo/

Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Use Restrictions: Unrestricted

Kellogg's Wheel of Knowledge

Kellogg's 1932 Wheel of Knowledge. Anything you want(ed) to know about the 48 states in 1932 is here on this wheel.

Also, anything you want to know about why you should eat All-Bran, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies or PEP is right there.

Motel Monday: A Dozen Roses For the Rose City

This week's Motel Monday highlights the motels of beautiful Portland, Oregon. I lived in Portland from 2004-2007 and miss it dearly. Most of these motels were long gone by the time I lived there. There is quite a variety of styles here. My favorites are at the beginning including the fabulous Crown Motel sign. You can read all about the Mid-Century Modern League of Portland trying to save the Crown sign here. All of these motels are located right in or around Portland.
You can learn all about all 12 by clicking on the images which will take you to my flickr account. That will have all of the information about each motel as written on the backs of each card.

Crown Motel

Image of the Day: Natalie Wood

A wonderful photo of Natalie Wood and a dog in mid-air.

Kodak Movie News Winter 1961-1962

This is an eight page "newsletter" produced by Kodak in 1961. These eight pages tell you all about new Kodak products and how to use the existing Kodak products. You can learn all about using your Kodachrome II film and what to get that special someone on Christmas Day forty-nine years ago.

Image of the Day: Paul Bunyan Fire Department, 1956

Paul Bunyan Fire Dept - 1956, originally uploaded by ElectroSpark.

An amazing image from the collection of Electrospark.

He says:
48 stars on Old Glory waves in the wind along with what looks like the flag of Manitoba and United Kingdom Shetland Islands. Everything else is pure Americana. What model is the truck? Paul Bunyan Land, Brainerd, MN.

Sir Vival

This is a pamphlet for the Sir Vival safety car that appeared at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. Sir Vival was a safety car that was in two sections and was hyped as something that would make every other automobile obsolete. A lot of imformation is in the pamphlet below, but there are more images and information to be seen here, here, here, and here. The pamphlet is a little beat up but still will tell you everything you need to know (after the jump).

Image of the Day: Louise Brooks

7000-1601, originally uploaded by AliceJapan ლ(╹◡╹ლ).

Portrait by Eugene Robert Richee.

Little Bear

Keeping Cool

Mailed from Lindsay, California to Mr. & Mrs. Doc. H. Smith of McPherson, Kansas on June 21, 1970:

"Little Bear" - as the Indian would say has "snitched" from the mountains visitors lunch box - I of a case just like this. Before this week ends I hope to ships oranges and grapefruits to you - will arrive next week.  - Hubert

Lack of Success

The Portland Hilton - Portland, Oregon

The card was mailed to Mrs. Eileen G. Lynch of Wethersfield, Connecticut on June 21, 1973:

Dear Eil:
Sorry I haven't written in such a long time - but I will be seeing you about Huly 9th - so that will make up for my remission. Had a crazy phone call f4rom J. God. It's great that he emulates me so much despite his lack of success. But, he means well. Hope you are in good health.
Love, Liam

Image of the Day: A Man and His Mermaid at Weeki Wachee

Mermaid at Weeki Wachee, Florida
May 1974