These Kodachrome slides from January 1961 tell the story of a road trip through the western USA. From the historic Hermit’s Rest at the Grand Canyon to images of Native American pow-wows and celebrations, they provide a nostalgic glimpse into mid-century travel and culture.
I wish that I could find more audio recordings to go with these 1930s song lyrics, but no luck 🙁 This page of lyrics, in particular, I wonder how the music to them went. How quickly culture is lost!
Chapter III of Our Seven Children brings the Bohnenkamp family story closer to my own line, with brief but meaningful mentions of my grandmother Rosetta Caldwell, Wilbur Bohnenkamp, her sons Carl and Paul, and my father, William Douglas Bohnenkamp. This chapter is packed with Bourbon, Missouri rural history, Boone’s Creek farm life, family tragedies, land records, schools, cemeteries, marriages, and the kind of messy, vivid genealogical detail that makes old family histories so valuable.
Step back in time with this collection of turn-of-the-century photos from St. Louis photographers, including studios like Parsons, When Studios (1893), J. Haas, Theo E. Setzer, and more. These vintage cabinet cards and old photo scans offer a fascinating glimpse into the Victorian and Edwardian eras, capturing the artistry of antique photography and the lives of their subjects. Explore the historical legacy of 19th-century portraiture and the stories these images preserve from a bygone era.
I scanned some new cabinet cards! Here are some pictures of young ladies and children from approximately 1880-1900. These photos are exceptionally clear, and you can make out the texture of the young woman's skirt and hat. In another photo, a young...
Here are the last pages from the old guy's scrapbook of old car ads! These last illustrated automobile ads from the early 1900s include 8 pages of Willys Knight Automobile ads that appear to be from the 1920s, a Stutz automobile ad which...
A 1924 manifesto for introverts: W. Thomas Walsh’s poem about finding adventure in neighbors, not travel. Jazz Age psychology meets modern personality typing.
Here are four more pages scanned from the 25th anniversary program of the St. Louis Municipal Opera (now known as The Muny).
The Zodiac Cocktail Lounge and Bar at the Chase Park Hotel advertised Neil Bondshu and his Society Orchestra, Mary Raye and Naldi, Don Tannen (Russian Comedy Song Star), and “Snow White” Sensational Wizard of Tap with Bobby Swain and his “Note-ables”. Entertainment nightly with Joe Karnes and Betty Barr (satirical songs and piano styling). This was probably my favorite advertisement of these pages, because they really gave me a flavor for the type of WWII nightlife and entertainment available here in St. Louis.
Step back into 1935 with the Chicago Mail Order Company catalog, showcasing timeless men’s and boys’ fashions. From $8.95 tailored suits to 37-cent chambray shirts, fashion during the Great Depression emphasized elegance and practicality. Discover the vintage appeal of fedoras, knickerbockers, and shirts that still inspire today’s styles.
Here are more St. Louis beer and brewery advertisements and the synopsis of The Great Waltz from the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera Program.
Advertisers in these pages included: Falstaff Brewing Company, Manhattan Coffee, Efficiency Service Co (employment specialists), Griesedieck Brothers Brewing Company, The Circus Snack Bar at the Forest Park Hotel, and the Gaylord Container Corporation.
Wow. What a cool series of pinup and burlesque star history!
I’m not sure if there’s much of a point to the words in these pages, but the pictures show the history of fashion and burlesque with pictures including
What a cool treasure, to find a fashion book published at the dawn of World War II. It’s been interesting to expand my fashion vocabulary, and to learn so many new things about the history of fashion.
These illustrated fashion advertisements from 1924 are so interesting! These ads seem primarily directed to retailers, rather than the consumer…. I’ve not peeked thru the pages further than I’ve scanned them, and I’ve not researched the Saint Louis Fashion Pageant yet, so maybe it was more of an industry thing like NYC Fashion Week?
These 4 pages of the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera Program were a little less blatantly patriotic, but such a preponderance overall of beer advertisements and funeral parlors! In today’s modern theater program, you might find one advertisement for a Mausoleum, but not so many… it reminds me that 1943 was the thick of World War II when peoples’ husbands, sons, fathers and friends were coming home in body bags or not at all.
In Chapter II of Our Seven Children, we shift to Reverend Sam’s maternal line: the Koch family. It is a story that begins with German immigrants, coffin makers navigating the catastrophic 1849 St. Louis cholera epidemic, and the fragile nature of family memory. Join me as I open a door to a branch of my family that had gone quiet, exploring how inherited trauma, lost stories, and rural Missouri history are preserved through a grandfather’s stubborn dedication to writing it all down.
Using DNA triangulation, census math, FAN-club research, and primary records, I reconstructed a lost Weasner/Wisner family network connected to the McDonald, Sturges, Morehouse, Goff, and Stewart families of Niagara and Upper Canada.
This starts out with a full page ad for The Snugset Clothes Company, which has an illustration of a fashionable man in a suit and alot of text (Men’s clothes that wear as well as they look!). Lion Hats by Langenberg Hat Co lets the picture do the talking. Bettmann-KleinHause Clothing Company (at 1204 Washington Ave.) has a full two page advertisement spread illustrating men and boys, and having on display: men’s suits, men’s overcoats, children’s suits, children’s knee pants, young men’s overcoats, young men’s suits, men’s and young men’s pants, and more.
Here are ads for Franklin cars and Essex cars. I think, judging by the ladys’ cloche hats in the Essex automobile advertisement, that these old car ads are from the very early 1920s.
Discover the elegance and practicality of Edwardian fashion through the stunning illustrations and advice in The Modern Priscilla magazine from April 1917. From bridal styles and house dresses to children’s summer outfits and chic spring coats, this issue highlights the adaptable beauty of early 20th-century design. It even features a wartime baking powder recipe to substitute eggs, showing how homemakers balanced creativity and resourcefulness during food shortages. Dive into a fascinating snapshot of Edwardian life, complete with style, grace, and ingenuity!
Here are shown some lingerie and shapewear ads from the 1800s-1950s. The chemise replaced the corset cover by 1918, although shape wear was still worn in the 1920s to achieve that stylish “boyish” form. The inflatable bra of the 1950s replaced the “Victoria” bosom pad of 1879… such changes in lingerie styles and advertisements!
Here are pictures of firemen, a hose cart, and the Carondelet Heights Fire Association at the turn of the century.It looks like they’re showing off the new fire hose cart and maybe the fire hose, since the men are posed holding the hose unwound, on ladders against the next door building. The fire fighters are also shown acting like they’re pulling the fire cart, and there are no horses.
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