Ancestor hat pics

[Renault]

Thanks Frank. This photo was probably taken in Granger, Williamson county Texas.

 

[Studebaker Driver]

frussell, your great-grandfather's truck was an Avery.

 

[frussell]

Thanks Studebaker Driver. Can anyone identify this uniform my grandfather was wearing as a young boy? Is it an old Boy Scout's uniform? I can't ask him, and anyone in the family that would know is long gone. It's about 1920 or so, give or take a year. Thanks, Frank.

 

[Studebaker Driver]

Not a Boy Scout, looks like he was a Western Union delivery boy.

 

[frussell]

Wow, Studebaker. From a few minutes of Googling, I'd say you called it correctly. Found at least one old photo from the same era that looks exactly the same, minus the jacket, right down to the puttees over the bottoms of the trousers. Thanks for the info, another chapter of my grandpa's life that most of us didn't know about.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

This is a photo of my namesake grandfather and my grandmother, about the time of their wedding. I can't find a record of the wedding, but I know they weren't married in 1908 and they were married in 1910. Their 1910 census record states that the number of years in the present marriage is "0", so I infer that they married early in 1910.

The original photo is printed on copper, not paper.

 

[TheDane]

View attachment 14814

The original photo is printed on copper, not paper.

My guess would be, that it's etched in a copper-plate, and the plate was used for printing. That would explain, why the image is mirrored (note the buttons on the left side of his jacket)

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

My guess would be, that it's etched in a copper-plate, and the plate was used for printing. That would explain, why the image is mirrored (note the buttons on the left side of his jacket)

So, it's like a "negative", in that prints would have been made on paper? Can you explain the process further?

 

[TheDane]

Yes, that's the idea. But as said: "My guess"

I'm absolutely no expert on this, but I have seen several plates like that (both in copper and zinc). I have used a similar etching process for making electronics circuit boards from copperplated glassfiber boards, but never for printing. The process of copper etching for print-use is described on Wikipedia.

It's a wonderful image! I wonder, if the image could have been printed on some kind of a "Thank-You-card" or the like(?) I don't think it's from a newspaper. As far as I know, they all used the very much cheaper zink. In the beginning of the 20th century (and up until now) I think, copper has been reserved for more artistic prints. But again: I'm no expert

 

[fedoracentric]

Thanks Studebaker Driver. Can anyone identify this uniform my grandfather was wearing as a young boy? Is it an old Boy Scout's uniform? I can't ask him, and anyone in the family that would know is long gone. It's about 1920 or so, give or take a year. Thanks, Frank.
View attachment 14262

Did he go to a military school? If not that, then I'd agree that it is a work uniform, not Boy Scouts. Scouts never used a hat like that to my knowledge. And the leather leggings could just be meant as bicycle chain guards if he is some sort of delivery boy. This country was very much in love with uniforms up until the 1960s.

 

[frussell]

No military school that I know of. The Google images of Western Union delivery boys in uniform look pretty close, minus the jacket. I'll check with family about the military school possibility though. It's the only photo I've ever seen of him at this age range. Earlier photos were all of ranch life, later ones in Los Angeles when he was hanging around trying to get parts as an extra or stuntman in Westerns. Thanks, Frank.

 

[gtdean48]

... not Boy Scouts. Scouts never used a hat like that to my knowledge. ...

:arated:

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Yes, that's the idea. But as said: "My guess"

I'm absolutely no expert on this, but I have seen several plates like that (both in copper and zinc). I have used a similar etching process for making electronics circuit boards from copperplated glassfiber boards, but never for printing. The process of copper etching for print-use is described on Wikipedia.


It's a wonderful image! I wonder, if the image could have been printed on some kind of a "Thank-You-card" or the like(?) I don't think it's from a newspaper. As far as I know, they all used the very much cheaper zink. In the beginning of the 20th century (and up until now) I think, copper has been reserved for more artistic prints. But again: I'm no expert

It appears to me to be a studio photograph. The background looks to be painted. All I have is the plate itself. My grandfather was a machinist in a steel mill (as was my father), so definitely a "blue-collar" worker. To me, that means his disposable income was meager. Therefore, I infer that this was a special occasion. Given the apparent age of the pair and the style of the clothing, I'm thinking it was taken at or near the time of their wedding, around 1910.

How the photographer was persuaded to hand over the "negative" is a question I'll never know the answer to. My experience with professional photographers in the late 20th century tells me that they tend to hold on to the negatives and deliver only prints to the customer.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Great grandfather



Here's another ancestor. This is my great grandfather, the father of my grandfather's bride.

 

[fedoracentric]

He looks like a character!

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Here are two pictures of my father:


From the early 1920's.



USAAF, 1943

We were a hat-wearing family.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Here is a photo of a young men's club which called itself "The Olympians" (modest bunch, no?). The fellow at the front is my great-uncle Jack holding his bowler, while the third one in (with the pork pie fedora) is either my grandfather or his brother George.

 

[alanfgag]

Donna's grandparents while courting - on her mother's side, Bronx, NY c.1920, her grandfather from San Juan, Puerto Rico, her grandmother was born in NYC.

On her father's side, Bronx, NY c.1913... her grandfather was from Rome, her grandmother was born in NYC.

 

[Strapped-4-Cache]

Family Hats

It seems I get my interest in hats honestly. We were taking a look at some family slides dating back to the stone age and I noticed these shots of me with my grandfather.

My hat wasn't all that special, but it seems my grandfather was willing to trade with me for a while. Wish I could get my hands on that hat now...

 

[hatsRme]

Priceless!!!