In his recent book "After Photography" Fred Ritchin discusses how photographs have been manipulated for years, but that in the digital age trickery is even more prevalent. "The myth of photographic objectivity has concealed fakery as old as the medium itself" he says, and this is indeed true (as the photo here indicates). LONG before Time and Newsweek were darkening O.J. Simpson to make him look scary, and touching up the President for reasons unknown...and long before the average sagging stomachs of hollywood glamor girls and boys were being airbrushed for the grocery store checkout line, the media trusted themselves more than their readers. Witness the harmless, but no less deceiving treatment of "A Big Man in a Big Chair" which is exhibit number one above. An original press photograph of 1921 from my collection, When I purchased it I noticed the jolly fat man seemed to be a less shiny texture. Sure enough, I pried him from his chair and found a tiny fat man underneath the ORIGINAL corpulent gent in his straw hat! For reasons unknown, and which I can not even fathom...some editor decided the consumers of his newspaper should see a slightly larger man in the chair. Odd, since the whole POINT of the story was to illustrate the size of the swivel on wheels. Curious, but no less devious. Original Press Photograph and paper insert 1921 Collection Jim Linderman
Actually, the real mystery to me is how these guys can wear their pants so high. There are numerous "mystery places" in the US, three of them are shown in these postcards. Mystery spot, number one, come on down! The black and white images are early photos from Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, Ca. They are still confusing hordes of tired drivers, see their web "spot" here. Mystery spot number two is actually a Mystery HOUSE and operates in the Black Hills near Mt. Rushmore, (although they have since changed their name to Cosmos Mystery AREA) and are represented here by the mystery of a big-eared father and his big-eared sons. Here even JUNIOR wears his jeans around his chest. Mystery Spot number three, seemingly in a sauna, shows here an attractive young woman in saddle shoes and a woman in extra precarious position due to her high heels. Three is in Michigan, of course, and still thriving as well. They claim one million visitors, each who will "no doubt remember your visit" for years to come. There are no less than 25 similar identified spots in the United States, and I would love to visit every single one.
Group of Mystery Post Cards c. 1950-1960. Collection Jim Linderman
Usually on seeing a post mortem photograph, my thoughts are of the deceased and the family, but today I am dwelling on Mr. Babas of Babas Studio in Detroit, who must have specialized as he took both. This type of outdoor memorial was less common in the United States than in Europe, perhaps both show families not long after joining the melting pot. At each job he would have the casket taken outside and positioned, arrange the flowers and family, and then not say "smile". A dreadful way to make a living, but then, as you can see, the alternative is worse. As in many photographs taken in the early 20th Century, the act of posing seems more important to the participants than the event. I am sure it took their mind off the loss and their own mortality for a spell and may have brought a certain closure through documentation.Two Post Mortem Photographs, each 11 x 14, Babas Studio, Detroit. c. 1920 Collection Jim Linderman
I haven't posted a tintype in a while. I am not sure if this splendid pair of tintypes depict a husband and wife or a brother and sister, but I do suspect the young man's impairment saved his life. He clearly has one leg shorter than the other, and since these would have been taken around the civil war the disability may have kept him out of the army. (My book The Painted Backdrop will be published in 2010)
Pair of studio tintype photographs, circa 1865 Collection Jim Linderman
Just one of what was a whole slew of handmade bottle houses built by Arthur Martin in Arcola, Illinois. He started in 1939, and eventually the glass environment grew to 20 acres. This is the largest, it was made from 1200 7-Up bottles. There was also a "Fresca House" and a "Fresca Dog House" in the yard, which came to be known as "Rockome" and was opened to the public in 1958. As this was well before the days of diet soda, and the average 16-ouncer contains 12 teaspoons of sugar, I am going to guess Mr. Martin had bad teeth and a big waistline. (The Perky Perm woman is unidentified)Dexter Press Post Card c. 1960 Collection Jim Linderman
