Leader Board Ad

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Famous Found Photo...but who? (Updated)

Yes! It is Howard Hughes. There are other posts that I have updated when an answer was found, but this one has become much more interesting thanks to the help of "Scott" (a frequent visitor to a favorite site - see bits and pieces in the favorite links to the left)  He was able to find an image that is so close in time to the one below. Here is the image he found:

Now, Compare it with this photo that popped out of a photo equipment catalog I found at a sale over the summer. The really amazing thing is this not only confirms it is HH, but they  are uncannily similar - I believe these photos (that came from opposite ends of the internet) were taken maybe only seconds apart. Take a look at the front and back and then I will tell you what I know of the photographer.
Howard Hughes 1938

Well, first, I apologize in advance to the estate of Rudy Arnold if such exists. I know that the Smithsonian has a large collection of  this well known 20th century photographer's images.
From the Smthsonian Air & Space Division:

"Rudy Arnold (1902-1966) was an accomplished airman and photographed many of the major news stories of the 1920's and 1930's. He shot much of his material at New York City's Floyd Bennett Field where many of the great early long distance air races started and finished."

My image is confirmed to be from Rudy Arnold, but the image from a cooperative Flicker account owner (Click here to see more images of HH) is from an as yet unidentified photographer. If we knew the photographer, we would be able to confirm (almost) that the photos were taken at the same time (theorizing that Rudy Arnold couldn't have shot both images simultaneous).

Take one more look at a comparison of the 2 images:

The exposure difference aside (my fault) look at HH's arms, expression, position, jacket and in my image you can just see the curved rivets from the door.  Here is the caption from the image on the left:

4 Jul 1938, New York, New York, USA --- Howard Hughes, millionaire aviator and film producer, is pictured above with four members of his crew after he landed his twin-motored Lockheed 14 Super Electra at Floyd Bennett Field here. At the end of a leisurely flight from Wichita, Kansas, he made the trip in the unofficial time of 7 hours and 15 minutes. Preparations were made immediately for a hop to Paris and a probable flight around the world. Left to right above are Lt. Tom Thurlow, designer of a new type drift indicator for use over water; Harry Connor, navigator; Howard Hughes; Richard Stoddart, builder of the plane's elaborate transmitter for voice and code; and Dale Power, assistant flight engineer. The last member of the crew, Glenn Odekirk, flight engineer is not shown.

There you have it. Thanks again to the help I got from people I've never met, but would like to.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Mystery Item: Can you Figure this one out?

Here is an interesting Item I found at a New Milford estate sale. I am always fascinated by the small items that end up in workbench drawers in basements and garages. It is one of my favorite spots to look in.
 It appears to be brass or copper, maybe cast iron, and it has some ornate icons stamped or cast on either side.
 There is a small screw for attaching it to something and the overall length is about 2.5".
I have an idea, but I want to know what year and specifically what it was used for. Any ideas?

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Ad Quiz #22 Guess the sandwich!

This quiz made be a little more interpretive. I'll show you the actual ad and then I want readers to guess the sandwich (specifically the "meat" or "thing" accompanying the lettuce).  Can you?  I couldn't.
Not a clue...

Still drawing a blank



It looks like peanut butter, or really old lettuce.  Any ideas? leave it in the comments.
Solution comes Friday...oh wait, there is no solution if you don't tell me.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Get well Soon...Hubba Hubba!

This is a greeting card from the 1940's. There's no date but the styles and some of the language lead me to think this. What I like most about this card is the innocent names for the available girls then, turn out to be some of the most inappropriate names and descriptions now. Too funny. (click on any to enlarge)
Get well soon card 1940's




 Overall, great artwork and design and to tell you the truth...this would have genuinely cheered me up!



Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Stolen,Tarnished, Tossed, Restored!

This is a short story of a very long journey taken by a single fork (in the road). I admit it I am a true picker. I will not only look in the basement of a rundown hay barn, but I will look in the bottom of a box left by the side of a trash bin.  As it always happens...something caught my eye.

No, it wasn't pretty, but it did seem to have writing.
Seeing the inscription "Property of Horn & Hardart Co" I knew it could have a story. It was damn ugly though. But who exactly was "Horn & Hardart?"
 

 I don't want to give away my age, but I think the only time I've ever seen an Automat was in a Warner Brothers cartoon. Now, back to the fork.
I have heard all sorts of warnings about the natural patina that forms with time on antiques, and after some careful consideration I say..."Patina Be Damned!"


This piece looks so nice, I'm gonna use it. Amazing what you can find in the trash.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Great Moments in Marketing....Doggie Donuts

It was the 60's (Life Magazine 1967) - Free Love, revolution, Acid...oh, now I see where this might have come from.

ood ads donuts for dogs
With such a heightened sense of smell, where did they get the idea that this is what dogs have been waiting for? This could explain why I often see packs of roving domesticated dogs hanging around outside that donut place...what's it called?

I can see by other bloggers that I am not the first to have found this (darn!) but I did glean the fact that this product lasted into the early 70's at least - so what do I know? Maybe I will go visit one of those trendy doggie patisserie's and breath on the window. My apologies to any dogs and their owners that were offended by this post.