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Boy, are my eyes bugging out about now. How did I miss this forum? Thanks AC for telling me about it...now I can go back to examining the drawings in detail...but what photos, what life y can bring to all these...

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The blue stands out so much it really draws your eyes in to look more closely. The rest of the photo is lovely but gives much more of a 'coloured sepia' impression.

I suspect this photo was slightly sun-faded when it was new; on the boy's mother's desk for a few years or something like that. But from the examples I've seen, depending on the lighting conditions, Autochrome excelled in the range from violet to green, and than again in yellows. Here are another pair:

 

83764a7a8a6a3c4eb65bcc99f5ff4d21.jpg   

 

Paris, 1909

 

cb432fb2806ad484b83da4cae659f991.jpg

 

Buster Keaton, 1920s

 

And here's a third one taken in studio lighting - where all the colors are in stunning, optimal balance

 

045bd490c9400e2350fab17930d0126c.jpg

 

Still life, circa 1905 (yes, this is a photograph...an Autochrome)

Edited by AC Benus
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@AC...I am struck particularly by the photo of Keaton. So much of his B and W film work, while brilliant, doesn't let us get the same understanding of his expression and depth as this simple Autochrome. Wherever did you find it?

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@AC...I am struck particularly by the photo of Keaton. So much of his B and W film work, while brilliant, doesn't let us get the same understanding of his expression and depth as this simple Autochrome. Wherever did you find it?

Pinterest.com is an amazing archive of historical photos. I've already swayed Tim Landon and skinnydragon to join me over there, so please come by and see us! It's fun.   

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Hey AC

I was on the train and picked up the July/August number of the Danish Railroad magazine Ud&Se. On page 26 they have various summer stories including one about who invented the ice cream waffle 112 years ago. You'll be pleased to know that they credit St. Louis / Mr. Hamwi. :)

Tim

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Well, I registered anyway...now what?

Now, look for me - AC Benus. You can search for users, I believe. Befreind me and we can chat over there, plus send links to one another of posted photos to collect. You can also browse the galleries I've set up under different categories (there are now about a half-dozen FB ones, so fair warning ... :)

 

https://www.pinterest.com/acbenus/

Edited by AC Benus
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Hey AC

I was on the train and picked up the July/August number of the Danish Railroad magazine Ud&Se. On page 26 they have various summer stories including one about who invented the ice cream waffle 112 years ago. You'll be pleased to know that they credit St. Louis / Mr. Hamwi. :)

Tim

I'm pleased as punch they did their homework! And I can almost see you on the train, wanting to shout out to anyone who'd listen that you knew all about it :0

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'College Room,' Second Floor young men's department.

 

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I'm sorry about the quality of these images. I have taken photographs from Famous-Barr printed material - like the 1913 Welfare Messenger Souvenir Edition, or the 1963 Store Chat celebrating 50 years in the new building. This is the best I can do, even though most are pixilated  

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Okay, context is important, and to fully appreciate how marvelous Famous was in the eyes of the retail world, we need to see what the competition was doing.

 

Here is the ladies' high-end 'Costume Room' at the London department store, Selfridge and Company. As you can see, it's standard and blah, although it's in one of the most expensive stores anywhere at the time.   

 

4c9f53ff447f20fcc6b0b411ce031def.jpg

 

Here is Famous-Barr's 'French Costume Room.' The photo is terrible, but sufficient to see the detail in the paneling, mirrors, lit plaster ceiling, and cabinetry. From the written descriptions I know the floor to ceiling woodwork is executed entirely in the uber-expensive, honey-colored burled Circassian walnut. It must have cost a fortune to do this one salon alone…and it's just one of a dozen such show-stoppers in the store.    

 

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Edited by AC Benus
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Here is Famous-Barr's 'French Costume Room.' The photo is terrible, but sufficient to see the detail in the paneling, mirrors, lit plaster ceiling, and cabinetry. From the written descriptions I know the floor to ceiling woodwork is executed entirely in the uber-expensive, honey-colored burled Circassian walnut. It must have cost a fortune to do this one salon alone…and it's just one of a dozen such show-stoppers in the store.    

 

So how many walnut groves were cut down to do the wall panels? :(

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So how many walnut groves were cut down to do the wall panels? :(

...you gonna make me 'like' that comment - cheeky ;) 

So how many walnut groves were cut down to do the wall panels? :(

A burl, as I'm sure you know is a cancerous growth to the tree, so they must be culled to stop the spread to other nearby trees anyway :)

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A burl, as I'm sure you know is a cancerous growth to the tree, so they must be culled to stop the spread to other nearby trees anyway :)

 

Nope, you don't cull a burl to prevent it from spreading, and big ones (such as would be needed for panels) cannot be obtained without felling or harming the tree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burl

 

In any case, I think this type of veneer comes from whole walnut trees which happen to contain wood with nice colors and patterns.

 

 

Walnut heartwood is a heavy, hard, open-grained hardwood. Freshly cut live wood may be Dijon-mustard colour, darkening to brown over a few days. The dried lumber is a rich chocolate-brown to black, with cream to tan sapwood, and may feature unusual figures, such as "curly", "bee's wing", "bird's eye", and "rat tail", among others. It is prized by fine woodworkers for its durability, lustre and chatoyance, and is used for high-end flooring, guitars, furniture, veneers, knobs and handles as well as gunstocks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglans_regia

 

see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglans where burls are said to be 'commonly used to create bowls and other turned pieces.' But not for veneer.

 

Not that there is anything wrong with using wood for furniture or houses as long as it's commercially and sustainably grown and not harvested from pristine forests. (Says the guy who comes from a country which decimated their forests over the span of 4000 years :( Denmark has virtually no natural, untouched forest areas left.)

Edited by Timothy M.
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Keep in mind this was a time when there were still huge tracts of forest in many places. Most never considered the possibility we could so decimate the world's resources.

 

According to the sources I can find, most of the deforestation in US took place before 1910. But the awareness of this being a problem did not arrive until much later. E.g. there is only 5% left of the Coastal Redwood Forests in the PNW.

 

US Forest Resource Facts and Wikipedia:

 

Nearly all of this deforestation took place prior to 1910, and the forest resources of the United States have remained relatively constant through the entire 20th century.[1]

The 2005 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Global Forest Resources Assessment ranked the United States as seventh highest country losing its old growth forests, a vast majority of which were removed prior to the 20th century.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation_in_the_United_States

  1. Forest Resources of the United States
Edited by Timothy M.
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