Posts Tagged Photography

"Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. John L. Burns, the 'old hero of Gettysburg,' with gun and crutches" Photo by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, July 1863.

During the Battle of Gettysburg, [John L.] Burns, a 70-year-old civilian living nearby, grabbed his flintlock musket and powder horn and walked out to the battlefield to join in with Union troops. The soldiers took him in, and Burns served well as a sharpshooter. During a withdrawal, Burns was wounded several times and left on the field. he managed to get himself to safety, his wounds were treated, and his story elevated him to the status of National Hero briefly.

The Atlantic

Timothy H. O'Sullivan, photographer; printed by Alexander Gardner; negative July 4, 1863; print 1866.

Of the Civil War photographs, the most moving are the inhumanly objective records of combat deaths. Perhaps the most reproduced of these Civil War photographs is [Timothy] O’Sullivan’s A Harvest of Death, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1863. Although this image could be seen as simple reportage, is also functions to impress on people the high price of the Civil War. Corpses litter the battlefield as far as the eye can see. O’Sullivan presented a scene that stretches far to the horizon. As the photograph modulates from the precise clarity of the bodies of Union soldiers in the foreground, boots stolen and pockets picked, to the almost illegible corpses in the distance, the suggestion of innumerable other dead soldiers is unavoidable. . . . Though it was years before photolithography could reproduce photographs like this in newspapers, they were publicly exhibited and made an impression that newsprint engravings never could.

- Gardner’s Art Through the Ages

Fred S. Kleiner & Christin J. Mamiya, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, Twelfth Edition: Volume II, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2005, 850.
Photo via The J. Paul Getty Museum website.

Riders ready to race, Daytona Beach, Florida, March 1948. (Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

“For years, from its inception in 1937 until the early ’60s, the prestigious Daytona 200 motorcycle race wasn’t merely run at Daytona Beach. Along with other high-speed, high-risk clashes, the 200 was run on Daytona Beach.”

"Norman Teleford (No. 161) streamlines himself during a motorcycle race at Daytona Beach, March 1948." (Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

“In 1948, LIFE magazine covered the races, both amateur and pro, at Daytona (the Road Course opened in 1936) and reported, in its April 19 issue, that ‘for four days last month the resort city of Daytona Beach could hardly have been noisier — or in more danger — if it had been under bombardment.’”

“Now, with unpublished and rarely seen photos by Joseph Scherschel (brother of another LIFE photographer, Frank Scherschel), LIFE.com opens a window on a long, loud weekend 70 years ago: a weekend that thrilled racing fans; and — as if proof was needed that the young sport was still in the hands of rebels and scofflaws — saw two people killed and 30 more injured in the midst of all the high-octane fun.”

A racer and his bike violently part company in March 1948. Quite often nothing but a narrow strip of sand separated riders from spectators when the Daytona races were in full swing. (Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

“The 1948 event, which attracted “375 helmeted daredevils and plenty of non-racing hell-raisers,” was marred not only by deaths and injuries but, as LIFE duly noted, by classic knuckleheadism. “Because the antics of an unruly minority reflect on the dignity of motorcycling,” the magazine observed, “the American Motorcycle Association may hire special police at future races. One duty will be to restrain sophomoric cyclists who amused themselves this year by tossing firecrackers into the crowd.”

“Ultimately, as LIFE tersely reported, “155 motorcycles started, only 45 finished. Winning rider, Floyd Emde, averaged 84 mph, got $2,000.” What LIFE failed to mention is that Emde (who was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998) won by the sliver-thin margin of 12 seconds; 1948 was the first time a rider led the race from flag to flag; and it was the last time an Indian Motorcycle won the 200.”

Floyd Emde rests on his Indian motorcycle after winning the 1948 running of the Daytona 200. (Joseph Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

LIFE

Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

“Thirsty young football players drink water from a garden hose in Denver, Colorado, in 1939.”

LIFE

Despite the best efforts of authorities, Seattle remained “wet” during Prohibition. Here, King County Sheriff Matt Starwich destroys bottles of confiscated alcohol, ca. 1925.

(University of Washington Library Digital Collections, found here).

By an unknown photographer, unknown location, December 22, 1943

“A Bell System switchboard where overseas calls are handled. Not all of the services shown here are available under wartime conditions”

The most famous female worker of World War II was the mythical Rosie the Riveter, who patriotically joined the industrial workforce to do her bit in a shipyard or an aircraft factory. There were many real-life Rosies, but many more women worked in service or clerical jobs as secretaries, bank tellers, retail clerks, and telephone operators.

(National Archives, Records of the Women’s Bureau (86-WWT-28-3))

Soldier demonstrates his scar and pierced helmet, during World War I. This photograph would have made ideal propaganda material as its accompanying caption demonstrates. The soldier in the middle of the scene is happy and triumphant. Despite the bandaging on his head, he is still carrying all his equipment and looks ready for action. The story, helmet and resulting scar would probably have provided first rate barrack entertainment! [Original title reads: 'Saved by shrapnell [sic] helmet. This soldier, on the way to hospital after being bandaged at Field Dressing Station, shows the helmet which saved his life.’]

(National Library of Scotland)

Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

The caption that accompanied this image when it appeared in the January 23, 1939, issue of LIFE: “The top box-office star of Warner Bros., in blue slacks, skims through the morning newspapers in the playroom of her home. The walls are decorated with Mexican posters.”

LIFE

Anyone watching the news, browsing the internet or is a fan of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster, Titanic, knows that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster. While the ill-fated voyage is certainly getting a great deal of media attention and new information seems to find its way to the top (ugh…no pun intended), I decided to take a different route. No, I’m not going to see Titanic 3-D, because let’s be honest it will always end the same, except this time I would get the added bonus of a slight headache due to the 3D glasses. Nor am I going to bid on the estimated 5,500 recovered artifacts from the Titanic’s watery grave because it seems a bit creepy and sacrilegious. Instead, during the media/information overload I came across an iconic Titanic photo and it was not the subject of the ship that intrigued me, but rather the story of the newsboy in the picture.

The Boy in the Picture

Newsboy Ned Parfett sells his papers in front of the White Star Line’s London offices, April 16, 1912.

Every now and then you come across a photo and you began to think about the people in it and their stories (or it could just be me). This was the case when I stumbled upon the photograph of newsboy Ned Parfett. The particular photo has been listed among the iconic photographs about the Titanic. The National Archives (UK) described it as: “One of the most poignant images of the Titanic disaster is of a young newsboy outside the White Star Line offices in London, holding an Evening News poster announcing ‘Titanic Disaster Great Loss of Life’.”

As I did a little more research into the photograph, I found the story of Ned Parfett’s short life. About six and a half years after this photograph was taken, Ned was killed in World War I. At the time of his death he was only 22 years of age. Ned, along with his three other brothers, joined the British forces during The Great War. In 1916, he enlisted into the Royal Artillery where he served as a dispatch rider. Later, he would be assigned to reconnaissance duties. Though he was young, his youth did not factor in on his sense of duty. Because of his gallant conduct and bravery in a series of missions, he was awarded the Military Medal.

On October 29, 1918, while Ned was collecting some clothes before going on leave, the Germans begun a bombardment. A shell landed on the quartermaster’s stores, killing Ned. Tragically, it was just days before the Armistice and the end of the war. His other three brothers served in other disastrous and bloody battles against the German army, one brother was wounded and gassed at the third battle of Ypres. But Ned was the only one who did not make it home.

An officer, who recommended Ned for special recognition, wrote to one of his brothers after Ned’s death:

On many occasions he accompanied me during severe shelling and I always placed the greatest confidence in him.

[Zim's Note: If you have been reading many of my war posts and the battle of Ypres sounds familiar, you may be thinking about a previous post - Henry Tandey's History Changing Decision. Quite a while ago I also did a post on the Cancelled Passengers of the RMS Titanic.]

Information – National Archives (UK)
Photograph – Smithsonian Institute

Instructing nurses on the use of respirator for a polio patient, May 23, 1958

Nursing uniforms initially resembled maids’ uniforms and emphasized the subservient nature of their position. By the early 20th century, however, nursing schools adopted distinctive uniforms to foster professional identity. In this particular photograph, the nurses are being instructed on the use of an iron lung for polio patients.

(National Archives, General Records of the Department of Labor (174-G-30-1))
[See Also: The Iron Lung]

Bath in a ruined wood, Western Front, during World War I. This image of a British soldier curled up in the remains of a cast-iron bath in the middle of a devastated wood is typical of a range of ‘joke’ photographs taken by the war photographers. It is not clear if these were intended as artistic perceptions by the photographer, or if they were simply a record of a lighter side of war. The juxtaposition of banal and jokey images in a scene of war has been continued by war artists in more recent conflicts. A notable example would be John Keane’s Gulf War painting, ‘ Mickey Mouse at the Front’, painted in 1991.

John Keane’s “Mickey Mouse at the Front,” 1991

“A view along the beach at Kuwait City with blocks of hotels and beach defences lining the seafront in the background. In the foreground there is a shopping trolley filled with anti-tank rockets, the Kuwaiti flag, dead and damaged palm trees, and a Mickey Mouse model from a fairground ride. The beach is also covered in excrement.”

(National Library of Scotland; Imperial War Museums)

By an unknown photographer, unknown location, ca. 1949

Early in the 20th century, Pullman Palace Car employed more African Americans than any other company in the United States. Most held jobs as sleeping car porters, caring for mostly white railroad passengers. Porters worked long hours with little rest, but they were well paid compared to other African Americans. In 1937, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters became the first African American union to win a labor agreement. Its members often became community leaders and civil rights activists.

(National Archives, Records of the U.S. Information Agency (306-PS-49-1148))