While you wait

[baleanoptera]

In 1928 there was a huge fair in this city, and part of the attractions of this fair was a photograph stand. It was called Pictures while you wait, and was literary that. In its time it was cutting edge technology, and people flocked to have their photos taken - and took the images home with them

Comments

[baleanoptera]

YAY! See, I knew you were a person of excellent taste. ;)

those who goof off versus those who are kind of deer-in-the-headlights...

Yes, exactly. And while I'm weary of reading too much into poses and clothes, I think you can tell a fair amount just by looking at these images. The class distinction I find is very clear, which I'm personally fascinated by. Norway has largely been built on this myth that we have almost no class distinctions, that at most we are all lower middle class/working class - and that we have somehow been egalitarian since the Viking Ages (and I would personally like to hit the guy that came up with the idea of Vikings as terribly egalitarian, because hello, even the Viking myths dealt with class). These images, and others like them, clearly show that this was not the case.

[baleanoptera]

*brandishes longsword of ye olde Viking aggression* But seriously, yes - a wee bit pissed. ;) Though I'll put that soap box back in storage for now. Hee.

I do love how, in the photo of the three women with rich clothes, the young one of the left looks at the camera with this amused look. Especially since the two older women look pretty pissed of. I keep wondering what is going on.

[alexandral]

What a collection of great pictures! I wonder why people on the old photos look as if they know something we don't. :D

[dianora77]

I believe it's all to do with the chemical compounds used in developing photography in the early days, they just made the finished product seem so otherworldly and mysterious.

[baleanoptera]

isn't it just wonderful?

I wonder why people on the old photos look as if they know something we don't.

Hee. I think this is especially true of the photo with the trio of rich women. The youngest one, on the left, has this mischievous look that makes me really curious.

It also makes you wonder how posterity will look at our photos many years from now.

[dianora77]

I'm head over heels obsessed with old photographs, so I can only say a huge thank you for this fascinating display.

There are these guys with bears. (why bears? I want to know!)

Perhaps they're fans of Sebastian Flyte? ;)

[dianora77]

Although they couldn't be since Brideshead wasn't published till 1940's. Hehe... :P

[baleanoptera]

Sad, but true. But I was a great idea! Aloysius! I loved that. :)
I was at a time completely fascinated by the series with Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews, and so now I'm a bit worried about the new version.

[baleanoptera]

Old photos are wonderful. For some reason I find black/white to be especially appealing, and I don't know. Maybe it's because every photo and film around us are usually in colour, and so black/white appears a bit exotic? Or maybe it is the clean aesthetic of it all.

I'm also very fascinated by how they pose in these old photos, and how the technical equipment limited the composition.

[nutmeg3]

Those are fabulous! I loved looking at them and thinking, as you did, about what kinds of people they were, though obviously I don't have the same knowledge of the historical context you do. I love the one big family all crowded in, with one woman on her husband's lap, and the three men and their three bears, and also the three apprentice carpenters. I would love it if this became a traveling exhibit or someone put together a book.

[baleanoptera]

I love the one big family all crowded in, with one woman on her husband's lap,

yes, that is a great photo. Even if it is the picture that is the worst for wear I could bear not to include it. It just has this great atmosphere. I also love the looks exchanged between the woman on the lap and her husband. There is so much going on there, and some sort of secret amusement lost to all us now.

Actually I think they are considering making a book, but I'm not sure if they will make it in English. I'll ask the lady in charge of the photo-archive and let you know if you'd like?

[nutmeg3]

Oh yes, please. If it's not horrendously expensive, I'd buy it just for the pictures, even if the text had to remain a complete mystery.

And I, too, noticed "the look." Not only that, I just realized there are two women sitting on their husbands' laps. I was so focused on the couple on the left that I missed the one on the right. ::facepalm::

[baleanoptera]

Hello! Picking up old threads here, but there is a book - and it costs around 200 Norwegian Kroner, which is about £20. No idea how much that is in dollars as yet, but I can look into it if you'd like.

[mnemo_syne]

Oh, awesome! How interesting...I love looking at old photographs and trying to imagine what their life was like. I think I like the trio of carpenter guys the best. The one on the left looks like a troublemaker. :P Thanks for sharing them.

[baleanoptera]

Yeah, I think you are right about the carpenters being troublemakers, and though the one on the left probably starts it I can see the other two cheer him on. ;)

And there is something special about old photographs. I keep trying to put my finger on it - if it is the black/white, the formal compositions or what. So far I haven't been able to come up with a good answer, I just know that there is something about old images like these that appeal to my imagination in a way modern pictures don't. Maybe it is just because these older images are more distant time wise, than current photos.

Glad you liked the post, and I must say I love your icon. That cropping is great.