Vanity and the Portrait: Stereoviews A-Z

Another set of stereoviews by photographer Herman Knutzen. There is not much online about this photographer, except for his German ancestry. It could be someone else choreographed the scenes and all Knutzen did was point and shoot. 

But I doubt it. An entire team of people had to be involved . . . actors for instance. I think one of the characters below (or even Kutzen himself) would make a great protagonist or supporting character in a book. What do you think?

 

"Yes, madam, I can paint your portrait while you wait."

"Now, Mr. Artist, I want it to look just like me."

Mr. Artist: "Certainly, madam, there you are."

Madam: "Do you mean to say that chromo looks like me?"

"I'll teach you to insult me, sir; you made me look forty years old when I am only 23."

 "And she said she was 23. I see it was bad for me, all right."

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

[Gravseth family archive; 1906, Herman Knutzen]

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Sawing the Bass Fiddle: Stereoviews A-Z

Ha-ha . . . Poor guy.  

Some days really are like this! 

 
"I vill practice me dose Intermezzo for der concert tonight."

"Dot music is lofely it gifs me a thairst like eferyting."

"Now I vill play dot last part ofer again."

 Dot don't sount like it dit der fairst time."

 
"I bade you dot I get dot right, so soon as quick."

"Ach du Lieber, dot is von awful moosic.

Vair got me dot saw?" 

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

[Gravseth family archive; 1906, Stereoviews, Herman Knutzen]

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Pulling Teeth: Stereoviews A-Z

  

OUCH!

Reminds me of a wisdom

tooth I had pulled once.   

"A little harder pull than he expected." 

 
"With the ice tongs. Pull it or bust something." 

 
"Well, it finally came after making a wreck of the office."




(See Post A and Post B for history of Stereoviews/Stereoscope)

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl; Gravseth family archive; 1906, Herman Knutzen

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Looey and Hans Get a Spanking: Stereoviews A-Z

No 'time-out' for kids in 
those days!! 

What else can I say?
 

"Hans, we will put powder in Fader's pipe. Yes? No?"

 

"Ach, Looey, you haf such a head for smartness. Vat?"

"Oh, such an explosionness. Dis is better 

as der 4th of Chuly."

"Help--Murder--Fire! I am gone dead alretty yet!"

 "I gif you fireworks, vat? You vill half fun mit me, yea?"





(See Post A and Post B for history of Stereoviews/Stereoscope)

Herman Knutzen stereoviews, 1906; Gravseth family archive; 

Copyright 2013 Sharon Himsl

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Juggler Gets a Surprise: Stereoviews A-Z

Another of photographer Herman Knutzen's hilarious vaudeville-like skits. The juggler is known elsewhere online as the magician, but he is really a juggler in the end.  

Vaudeville was a popular form of stage entertainment in the U.S. from the 1880s to the early 1930s. A vaudeville show had anywhere from ten to fifteen acts, with magicians, acrobats, athletes, singers, dancers, comedians, and trained animals. 

This was also during the time of the great magician Harry Houdini. Of all the vaudeville performers (or vaudevillians), Houdini was America's highest paid in the business. Houdini led an interesting life, and some may be surprised to know he was also a pilot and flew a French Voisin biplane. (I add this for the benefit of my private pilot husband :).

Knutzen does a fine job of capturing America's love of vaudeville in the following set. You can almost hear the live laughter. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I take ze two eggs like zis, 
and ze sossitch like zis."

"And place zem all upon my nose, like zis."

"I carry zem around, like zis."

"I pairform 'm ze difficult feat like zis."

"Sacre-bleu! I have ze sad accident."

"Mon Dieu! Ze egg is of such a great age it is to smell."

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl;

[Gravseth family archive; 1906, Herman Knutzen Stereoviews] 

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Chumps on the Street: Stereoviews A-Z

Social reformer and physician Ben Reitman was quoted in 1875 as describing the unemployed homeless this way: "A tramp is a man who doesn't work, who apparently doesn't want to work, who lives without working and who is constantly traveling. A hobo is a non-skilled, non-employed laborer without money, looking for work. A bum is a man who hangs around a low class saloon and begs or earns a few pennies a day in order to drink. He is usually an inebriate." 

So are these hobos, tramps or bums? Chumps for sure, as they do appear to be foolish. Photographer Herman Knutzen honed in on the comical side of being homeless and drunk in this 1906 set of photos. And since they are 'loveable' drunks, they are rather funny. But I'm not sure if we would laugh at this today, or maybe it's just me. I live in a community under 24,000 and never see this kind of thing. What do you think?

"Ah, here is where those bums get what is coming to them."

"You big lobster, what did you hit me for?"

"Now we will give the other one a dose of the 
same medicine for that tired feeling."

"You hit me first."...."I didn't."...."You did."....You are a***!!!"

"Biff--Bang--Bing. Call me a liar, will you?"

"You kids come out here and we'll wake you up, too."

Source: http://www.mandymnewman.com/2012/05/american-hobo_3202.html

Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums, Tom Lutz, p. 162

Stereoviews, copyright 1906, Herman Knutzen; Gravseth family archive; Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

 

Apprentice Bags the Painter: Stereoviews A-Z

What fun it has been to inherit a collection of stereoview photo cards and the once popular Holmes Stereoscope Viewer. The photos (ca. 1890s-1900s) are mounted on thick cardboard in duplicate in order to give a 3-D effect when viewed in the stereoscope, but of course I can't show that here. What I DO hope to show is a glimpse into a brief period of history when families sat around at home being entertained by this fun pastime in place of television and radio. Think of the stereoscope viewer as the "ViewMaster" and 3-D glasses of their time.

Some photos in the collection are of travel destinations, while others are simply small snapshots of day to day life. Another set pokes fun at life in what appears to be skits in a vaudeville show. They are the most entertaining of the collection.  My mother viewed these in the 1920s and 30s and recalls taking turns with her four siblings under her mother's watchful eye.  
 

Two final cards are missing in the following set, which I have labeled the "Apprentice Bags the Painter," but you can fill in the blanks. I hope the apprentice got what he deserved!

"The Industrious Painter and the Idle Apprentice."

"Now I will just drop this paper bag over his head."

"See him, will you? He can't set his board down and 

he can't get his new cap off."

 "Just by putting the broomstick between his 

legs as he starts off". . .

Click here for list of Stereoviews in collection

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

[Gravseth family archive; 1906, Herman Knutzen]

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing