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| Answer to Quiz #16 - July 4, 2005 What's the earliest year that this picture was likely taken? |
| Submitted by Paul & Carolyn Vermeulen |
| Answer: 1925 - 1927 |
This photograph is deceptively simple, yet deserves a lot of attention. Many of you
immediately latched onto the hat or the clothes of this woman as the key to the solution.
But alas! You have been duped. Although the hat, clothes and even jewelery were the
subjects of many of your emails, the most important clue in the picture is the curtain
behind the woman.
Photobooths were introduced to the public in 1927. So this is the earliest date the
picture could have been taken.
Check out these two interesting sites that give the history of the photobooth:
http://www.photobooth.net/mt/archives/history/index.php
and
http://www.photobooth.org/main.html
You will learn more than you ever wanted to know about photobooths from these
pages. They are fascinating!
There is also a book on Amazon.com called Photobooth by Babbette Hines that can be
seen at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1568983816/qid=1121032069/sr=2-1/ref=p
d_bbs_b_2_1/104-1395460-6495135
For a book with photobooth pictures of famous people, check Hilhaven Lodge: The
Photo Booth Pictures that you can find at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576871959/qid=1121032069/sr=2-2/ref=p
d_bbs_b_2_2/104-1395460-6495135
********************
Here is an excerpt from the photobooth.org site to whet your appetite:
Mathew Stiffens filed his patent for an automatic photography machine in 1889, the
same year that Monsieur Enjalbert demonstrated a similar machine at the Exposition
Universelle in Paris Producing tintypes for use as souvenirs, ID s and tokens of
affection, this type of machine proliferated until after World War 1. The machines were
never totally self-operative and failed because of coin jams and their need for frequent
chemical changes and repairs.
The photographic product these machines produced was considered second-rate
compared to the more desirable albumin and platinum prints which were costly and
required the services of a professional photographer and studio. These tintypes were
stiff and awkward in addition to being difficult to view in many lighting situations.
Nevertheless thousands upon thousands were produced. Tintypes were cheap and easy,
portraits of the masses...much like the modern photobooth portraits which came later.
The field of photography progressed, technological advances continued, and in 1925
Anatol Josepho, a Socialist from Siberia, patented his 'Photomaton.' An automatic
photography machine, the Photomaton produced a strip of 8 photographs of good
quality in 8 minutes. The inventor had drawn up his plans for the machine while
traveling across China as an itinerant photographer, refined his technical prowess in
Hollywood, built the prototype in a Harlem loft and set up his first photobooth studio
at Broadway and 51st Street in New York City.
In 1927, the enterprising Josepho, 33 years old, achieved the Great American Dream by
selling the rights to his invention for the considerable sum of $1,000,000 [$10M in
today's currency]. The buyers were a group of businessmen planning to establish 70 of
these mechanical studios at Coney Island, Atlantic City and strategic points throughout
the United States by the end of the first year, hoping to "do in the photographic field
what Woolworth has accomplished in novelties", reported the Edison Monthly
(October, 1926): "Even such New York celebrities as Governor "Al" Smith and the
senator-elect, Robert F. Wagner, have taken their turn in the Broadway shop, adjusting
their hats and cigars to different angles for each exposure. But beyond serving as a toy
for the inquisitive, the machine will probably become very common as a source of
portraits for chauffeurs' licenses, passports, and such uses."
immediately latched onto the hat or the clothes of this woman as the key to the solution.
But alas! You have been duped. Although the hat, clothes and even jewelery were the
subjects of many of your emails, the most important clue in the picture is the curtain
behind the woman.
Photobooths were introduced to the public in 1927. So this is the earliest date the
picture could have been taken.
Check out these two interesting sites that give the history of the photobooth:
http://www.photobooth.net/mt/archives/history/index.php
and
http://www.photobooth.org/main.html
You will learn more than you ever wanted to know about photobooths from these
pages. They are fascinating!
There is also a book on Amazon.com called Photobooth by Babbette Hines that can be
seen at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1568983816/qid=1121032069/sr=2-1/ref=p
d_bbs_b_2_1/104-1395460-6495135
For a book with photobooth pictures of famous people, check Hilhaven Lodge: The
Photo Booth Pictures that you can find at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576871959/qid=1121032069/sr=2-2/ref=p
d_bbs_b_2_2/104-1395460-6495135
********************
Here is an excerpt from the photobooth.org site to whet your appetite:
Mathew Stiffens filed his patent for an automatic photography machine in 1889, the
same year that Monsieur Enjalbert demonstrated a similar machine at the Exposition
Universelle in Paris Producing tintypes for use as souvenirs, ID s and tokens of
affection, this type of machine proliferated until after World War 1. The machines were
never totally self-operative and failed because of coin jams and their need for frequent
chemical changes and repairs.
The photographic product these machines produced was considered second-rate
compared to the more desirable albumin and platinum prints which were costly and
required the services of a professional photographer and studio. These tintypes were
stiff and awkward in addition to being difficult to view in many lighting situations.
Nevertheless thousands upon thousands were produced. Tintypes were cheap and easy,
portraits of the masses...much like the modern photobooth portraits which came later.
The field of photography progressed, technological advances continued, and in 1925
Anatol Josepho, a Socialist from Siberia, patented his 'Photomaton.' An automatic
photography machine, the Photomaton produced a strip of 8 photographs of good
quality in 8 minutes. The inventor had drawn up his plans for the machine while
traveling across China as an itinerant photographer, refined his technical prowess in
Hollywood, built the prototype in a Harlem loft and set up his first photobooth studio
at Broadway and 51st Street in New York City.
In 1927, the enterprising Josepho, 33 years old, achieved the Great American Dream by
selling the rights to his invention for the considerable sum of $1,000,000 [$10M in
today's currency]. The buyers were a group of businessmen planning to establish 70 of
these mechanical studios at Coney Island, Atlantic City and strategic points throughout
the United States by the end of the first year, hoping to "do in the photographic field
what Woolworth has accomplished in novelties", reported the Edison Monthly
(October, 1926): "Even such New York celebrities as Governor "Al" Smith and the
senator-elect, Robert F. Wagner, have taken their turn in the Broadway shop, adjusting
their hats and cigars to different angles for each exposure. But beyond serving as a toy
for the inquisitive, the machine will probably become very common as a source of
portraits for chauffeurs' licenses, passports, and such uses."
************************ Our Readers' Responses |
Leah Mangue sent in the most complete answer. She noticed the picture was taken in a
photobooth, but also brought in the clues about the way the woman was dressed. Here
is an excerpt from her email:
If we were speaking only of the photo process/camera itself, we could say that the
earliest this photo was likely to be taken was 1925 - 1927. This photo was taken at a
photobooth. The close and closely cropped shot, the curtain in the background (though
there were several different backdrops available), the rounded corners of the print
frame.
The woman, from the top, is wearing a wide brimmed hat which would not have been in
style any earlier than 1939/40. The hats in this year and previous years were closer to
the head and rather small. Her hair is in the 40's style, it's short which may have meant
she was a working woman, and her make-up is very limited. At the time make-up and
most other things were conserved considerably for the war effort. Fabrics were lighter
(less dye), and generally more on the whimsical side (sort of a counterbalance to the
war itself) and they were a little on the skimpy side (raise the hemline above the knee
and save that much more fabric, etc.) This woman's day dress is typical for that era,
light fabric, lighter in color, larger pointed collars, buttoned down in the front, slightly
poofed out shoulders.
With all this I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the spring/summer of 1942/3.
photobooth, but also brought in the clues about the way the woman was dressed. Here
is an excerpt from her email:
If we were speaking only of the photo process/camera itself, we could say that the
earliest this photo was likely to be taken was 1925 - 1927. This photo was taken at a
photobooth. The close and closely cropped shot, the curtain in the background (though
there were several different backdrops available), the rounded corners of the print
frame.
The woman, from the top, is wearing a wide brimmed hat which would not have been in
style any earlier than 1939/40. The hats in this year and previous years were closer to
the head and rather small. Her hair is in the 40's style, it's short which may have meant
she was a working woman, and her make-up is very limited. At the time make-up and
most other things were conserved considerably for the war effort. Fabrics were lighter
(less dye), and generally more on the whimsical side (sort of a counterbalance to the
war itself) and they were a little on the skimpy side (raise the hemline above the knee
and save that much more fabric, etc.) This woman's day dress is typical for that era,
light fabric, lighter in color, larger pointed collars, buttoned down in the front, slightly
poofed out shoulders.
With all this I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the spring/summer of 1942/3.
| Congratulations to our winners: Leah Mangue Mary Grindol Gail Garwood (If your name has been omitted from the list of winners, it was unintentional. Please let me know.) |
| Click here to return to present quiz. |
If you have a picture you'd like us to feature a picture in a future quiz, please
email it to us at CFitzp@aol.com. If we use it, you will receive a free analysis of
your picture. You will also receive a free Forensic Genealogy CD or a 10%
discount towards the purchase of the Forensic Genealogy book.
email it to us at CFitzp@aol.com. If we use it, you will receive a free analysis of
your picture. You will also receive a free Forensic Genealogy CD or a 10%
discount towards the purchase of the Forensic Genealogy book.
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| Answer to Quiz #16 |
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