When Photography Really Was, Plate #8

Many years ago I worked in a small neighborhood professional darkroom. We did all sorts of custom jobs for individuals and commercial clients. One of our specialties was handling old photographs.

One day a young girl came in with Grandma in tow. The desk person, Harriet, asked how she could help. The girl said, "Show her, Grandma." Whereupon Grandma handed over a small box of family glass plate negatives in various sizes. Harriet ran back to the darkroom to find me. The girl asked, "Can you do anything with these?" Absolutely.

These are straight contact prints from nine of those plates, made with Grandma's permission, that I was allowed to keep for myself. I thought it might be fun for everyone to see these. If you can fill in any additional details regarding locations, aircraft, cars, or anything else, please do. Especially possible original dates or time frames.

These contact prints date from around 1985. The photographs themselves seem to date from possibly the early 1900s. I know nothing more about their provenance other than that Grandma was a very nice lady.
This is a 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 inch (quarter) plate.

These are presumably the same two little boys from the family portrait on the front lawn in plate #4, and probably also seated in the buggy in plate #5. The steps and porch in the background of plate #9 looks to be the same as well. But the door in plate #4 is different. Looks like a screen door of some sort.

Not too much more to say. Both plates appear to have been slightly light-struck. The front porch view streaked across the middle. And the sidewalk view just generally fogged.

I do notice now that there was a bottle visible on the porch railing in plate #4 that is missing in plate #9. Certainly not sunscreen way back then. Maybe Dad's flask???

These two plates appear to date from right around 1915 similar to the others, based on the boy's apparent ages, and the dating of the Hudson horseless carriage in plate #5.

These are the final two contact prints from plates that I have.
 

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