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| Answer to Quiz #4- May 2, 2005 Who? What? When? Why? Answer two out of these four questions about this picture. |
| Photograph courtesy of Emily Wise. Click on thumbnail to see larger image. |
| You can see high resolution versions of the photo at: http://www.jrwise.com/Geneology/Save.JPG http://www.jrwise.com/Geneology/Scan1.jpg http://www.jrwise.com/Geneology/Scan10001.jpg (Be advised that these files are large and might take a while to open.) |
WHO?
This is a photo of the executives of the Hart and Cooley company of Holland, Michigan.
According to their web site www.hartandcooley.com:
"Howard Stanley Hart was a turn-of-the-century entrepreneur, inventor, industrialist, and
builder. In 1892, in partnership with Norman P. Cooley, he established the Hart & Cooley
Manufacturing Company in Chicago, the first cold-rolled steel plant west of Pittsburgh. One
of Hart's many inventions of the next few years was a steel heating register that proved
superior to traditional heavy cast-iron models.
In 1901 the two sold their Chicago plant and organized the Hart & Cooley Company in New
Britain, Connecticut. It became the first in the nation to manufacture warm-air registers
from stamped steel, a product line that gained almost instant success.
The Roaring Twenties saw Hart & Cooley expand their register business to Holland,
Michigan, where they formed the Federal Manufacturing Company. In 1928 they moved
their Connecticut operations to Holland, merging with Federal under the name Hart &
Cooley Company, Inc. Warm-air products made in Holland, Michigan, quickly found their
way to customers nationwide. Despite the Great Depression, by the early 1930s the
company had become the world's largest producer of warm-air registers. "
The key to figuring out this picture is the bookend on the conference table.
This is a photo of the executives of the Hart and Cooley company of Holland, Michigan.
According to their web site www.hartandcooley.com:
"Howard Stanley Hart was a turn-of-the-century entrepreneur, inventor, industrialist, and
builder. In 1892, in partnership with Norman P. Cooley, he established the Hart & Cooley
Manufacturing Company in Chicago, the first cold-rolled steel plant west of Pittsburgh. One
of Hart's many inventions of the next few years was a steel heating register that proved
superior to traditional heavy cast-iron models.
In 1901 the two sold their Chicago plant and organized the Hart & Cooley Company in New
Britain, Connecticut. It became the first in the nation to manufacture warm-air registers
from stamped steel, a product line that gained almost instant success.
The Roaring Twenties saw Hart & Cooley expand their register business to Holland,
Michigan, where they formed the Federal Manufacturing Company. In 1928 they moved
their Connecticut operations to Holland, merging with Federal under the name Hart &
Cooley Company, Inc. Warm-air products made in Holland, Michigan, quickly found their
way to customers nationwide. Despite the Great Depression, by the early 1930s the
company had become the world's largest producer of warm-air registers. "
The key to figuring out this picture is the bookend on the conference table.
The name Hart & Cooley is found in the center area of the bookend. The name around
the top is Highton. Highton & Sons was a company founded in Providence, R.I. in
1850. It was absorbed by Hart & Cooley in 1928. In the center and towards the
bottom, there are three words. vents and registers.
WHEN?
The photographer's logo is in the bottom right hand corner of the photo with the date it
was taken - Bachrach 1939. The history of Bachrach photography is very interesting.
According to their web site http://www.bachrachinc.com/index.html,
Bachrach Photography is now in its fourth generation ownership. The head of the
company is now Robert Bachrach whose great grandfather was a photographer
assigned by Harper's Weekly to cover Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. He arrived
"expecting to take various shots. To Great Grandad's surprise, the Gettysburg Address,
though renowned today as an eloquent commemoration to those who died at
Gettysburg, lasted a measly 90 seconds. And for an 1863 photographer with period
camera, 90 seconds allows time for approximately one photo.
"The whole thing he said afterwards was that it wasn't much of a speech...because it
was over in a minute and a half,: said Bachrach. Still, that photo of the Gettysburg
Address was the only one taken and it helped jump start the career of a man who in
1863 founded the oldest, most prestigious photography studio in the United States
today."
As Robert Bachrach explains, "[My] great grandfather liked to photograph US
Presidents, beginning with Abraham Lincoln in 1868. His progeny took up the studio's
presidential clientele and has photographed every US Head of State since.
"The person who really solidified our reputation was my grandfather, though, who
made it his goal to record all the important people he could think of in his lifetime," said
Bachrach. "He though it was a thrill." Before the ubiquitous paparazzi was around to
hound movie stars and political figures alike, he wrote letters to personages like Charles
Lindburgh and Calvin Coolidge asking to take their photo. And it worked.
"Then once you have a bunch of people, you can say, 'Well, I photographed Albert
Einstein and Thomas Edison, I'd like to photograph you,' and most people say, 'Great!'"
After building up an absolutely staggering resume - sort of a pictorial Who's Who - and
perfecting the craft of portrait photography, Bachrach Studios had little difficulty in
later scoring such celebrities as Henry Ford, Eleanor Roosevelt and Muhamad Ali.
Robert Bachrach himself has photographed the likes of George Bush, Ronald Reagan,
Meryl Streep, Colin Powell and Walter Cronkite."
MORE INFO ON "WHEN?"
There is a calendar sitting towards the right end of the table. Judging by the layout of
the month that is showing, it has to be either January 1939 or October 1939, both of
which began on a Sunday and ended on a Tuesday. I think but I can't be sure there are
scraps of paper in the clips at the top of the calendar holding it in place. If this is the
case, the month has to be October. I also think that some of the numbers on the
calendar are inked out but I can't really tell. If this is the case, it would give us a hint
on what day of the month it was taken.
By comparing the shape of the letters on the calendar to the lists of doctors and
dentists in the Holland area around 1939, the best match we could find was to Dr. John
van Kley, 200 E. Main 105-F2 (early phone number) h. 134 S. Church (o) (owned by
person listed) 105-F3. This information was provided by Deborah Postema-George,
archivist at the Holland Museum http://www.hollandmuseum.org/.
BTW, the photo was taken at 11 am. See the clock on the mantelpiece.
the top is Highton. Highton & Sons was a company founded in Providence, R.I. in
1850. It was absorbed by Hart & Cooley in 1928. In the center and towards the
bottom, there are three words. vents and registers.
WHEN?
The photographer's logo is in the bottom right hand corner of the photo with the date it
was taken - Bachrach 1939. The history of Bachrach photography is very interesting.
According to their web site http://www.bachrachinc.com/index.html,
Bachrach Photography is now in its fourth generation ownership. The head of the
company is now Robert Bachrach whose great grandfather was a photographer
assigned by Harper's Weekly to cover Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. He arrived
"expecting to take various shots. To Great Grandad's surprise, the Gettysburg Address,
though renowned today as an eloquent commemoration to those who died at
Gettysburg, lasted a measly 90 seconds. And for an 1863 photographer with period
camera, 90 seconds allows time for approximately one photo.
"The whole thing he said afterwards was that it wasn't much of a speech...because it
was over in a minute and a half,: said Bachrach. Still, that photo of the Gettysburg
Address was the only one taken and it helped jump start the career of a man who in
1863 founded the oldest, most prestigious photography studio in the United States
today."
As Robert Bachrach explains, "[My] great grandfather liked to photograph US
Presidents, beginning with Abraham Lincoln in 1868. His progeny took up the studio's
presidential clientele and has photographed every US Head of State since.
"The person who really solidified our reputation was my grandfather, though, who
made it his goal to record all the important people he could think of in his lifetime," said
Bachrach. "He though it was a thrill." Before the ubiquitous paparazzi was around to
hound movie stars and political figures alike, he wrote letters to personages like Charles
Lindburgh and Calvin Coolidge asking to take their photo. And it worked.
"Then once you have a bunch of people, you can say, 'Well, I photographed Albert
Einstein and Thomas Edison, I'd like to photograph you,' and most people say, 'Great!'"
After building up an absolutely staggering resume - sort of a pictorial Who's Who - and
perfecting the craft of portrait photography, Bachrach Studios had little difficulty in
later scoring such celebrities as Henry Ford, Eleanor Roosevelt and Muhamad Ali.
Robert Bachrach himself has photographed the likes of George Bush, Ronald Reagan,
Meryl Streep, Colin Powell and Walter Cronkite."
MORE INFO ON "WHEN?"
There is a calendar sitting towards the right end of the table. Judging by the layout of
the month that is showing, it has to be either January 1939 or October 1939, both of
which began on a Sunday and ended on a Tuesday. I think but I can't be sure there are
scraps of paper in the clips at the top of the calendar holding it in place. If this is the
case, the month has to be October. I also think that some of the numbers on the
calendar are inked out but I can't really tell. If this is the case, it would give us a hint
on what day of the month it was taken.
By comparing the shape of the letters on the calendar to the lists of doctors and
dentists in the Holland area around 1939, the best match we could find was to Dr. John
van Kley, 200 E. Main 105-F2 (early phone number) h. 134 S. Church (o) (owned by
person listed) 105-F3. This information was provided by Deborah Postema-George,
archivist at the Holland Museum http://www.hollandmuseum.org/.
BTW, the photo was taken at 11 am. See the clock on the mantelpiece.
P.S. I called Hart & Cooley and spoke with Kathy Hesch, who sent me some pictures
of past Hart & Cooley executives from a brochure she says dates from 1929. From
these I can tentatively identify the executives as:
of past Hart & Cooley executives from a brochure she says dates from 1929. From
these I can tentatively identify the executives as:
| Click on a thumbnail to see a large image of each man. |
No winners this week! Not many people entered the contest, but we got some
interesting guesses: Pres. Nixon with J. Edgar Hoover discussing a replacement for
Spiro Agnew, a board meeting at a bank (close) and Mayor Maestrie of N.O.with
deLesepps S. Morrison at Gallier Hall (City Hall) signing papers to start construction of
Pontchartrain [Causeway] and close the Basin Canal. However, honorable mentions go
to: Jim Hills, June Evans, and J. Fisher for their skills in creative writing!
interesting guesses: Pres. Nixon with J. Edgar Hoover discussing a replacement for
Spiro Agnew, a board meeting at a bank (close) and Mayor Maestrie of N.O.with
deLesepps S. Morrison at Gallier Hall (City Hall) signing papers to start construction of
Pontchartrain [Causeway] and close the Basin Canal. However, honorable mentions go
to: Jim Hills, June Evans, and J. Fisher for their skills in creative writing!
| Quiz #4 Results |
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email it to us at CFitzp@aol.com. If we use it, you will receive a free analysis of
your picture.
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