Stereoviews A to Z: April Challenge

A friend talked me into participating in the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge and I am so excited. Beginning in April, all of my posts (for one month) will be in alphabetical order. There will one post per day, except for Sunday (26 posts total). Anyone interested in the blog challenge can sign up as late as April 1. Just have a post ready to go on that day. Postings can be theme-based or random. They just need to follow the alphabet. I hope you will stop by and see how I am doing. Let me know if you sign up, too!

 If there are any A to Z Challenge participants visiting my blog already, WELCOME!!! I will be delving into an old collection of stereoview cards (Stereoviews A-Z) recently inherited from my mother. These are 3-D photos on cards normally viewed through a Stereoscope. The cards were enjoyed in the 1920s and 30s by my mother's family, but the dates of the photos are older (1890s to pre-1910). I will be commenting on the culture of the time and any historical tidbits I discover, but be prepared for some fun slapstick comedy, too. Check label "Things We Collect" for similar posts.

Here is the line-up for STEREOVIEWS A-Z

A - Apprentice Bags the Painter

B - Brief History of the Stereoscope

C - Chumps on the Street

D- Desperate Times

E - Eerie Sponges

F - Flocking Together at the Beach

G - Good Friends

H - Historical U.S. Buildings 1890s

I - Indoor Time with Mama

J - Juggler Gets a Surprise

K - Keyhole Dilemma

L - Looey and Hans Get a Spanking

M - Mr. Jones, Please Remove Your Hat

N - Native Americans

O - Oh, My Aching Head

P - Pulling Teeth

Q - Question. What's Happening Here?

R - Resting

S - Sawing the Bass Fiddle

T - Twentieth Century Woman

U - U.S. Scenery 1890s

V - Vanity and the Portrait

W - World Destinations 1890s

X - "X" Marks the Spot

Y - Young Gladiator

Z - "Z" Perfect Day



Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl 

Sharon M. Himsl

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

"Z" Perfect Day: Stereoviews A-Z

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A Bite at Last" (ca. 1890s)

"Calves Crossing the Stream" (ca. 1890s)

Still laughing at the last stereoview in the collection. I had to use a magnifying glass to read the fine print at the bottom. It really does say "calves."

And so . . . here we are . . . "Z" end of 26 nearly perfect days! Thank you Arlee and everyone else for making the A-Z possible. I cannot thank all of you enough for reading my blog and for your support and humor in comments. I loved your spunk and the many inspirational and  adventuresome posts you wrote. You made me laugh, you made me cry, and you made me think. I learned so much from you!! 

NOW for a good long nap!!!

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl; [Gravseth family archive; Cosmopolitan and New educational series 1890s]  

Sharon M. Himsl

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

Young Gladiator: Stereoviews A-Z

A parent's imagination no doubt helped title this picture of their son. There has long been a fascination in our culture with Rome and its gladiators.

"The Young Gladiator" (ca. 1890)

History shows that most gladiators were slaves. The first written record of gladiator combat dates back to a religious ceremony in Rome in 264 BC. Later, gladiators were used in the military for combat training. However, some gladiators were free men and became heroes in the arena, earning great fame and wealth. 

Books and movies have recorded their times and legends with gusto. In 1925, the silent film hit, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, put gladiators on the screen. The movie was based on a popular novel of the same title by Lew Wallace, written in 1907. It cost the film industry $3.9 million to make and was the second most expensive silent film ever made. 

[Gravseth family archive; ca. 1890] Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl
 [source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ptop/A46178445; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben-Hur_(1925_film)]

Sharon M. Himsl

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

"X" Marks the Spot: Stereoviews A-Z

"Martha, I can't make that fit."

Martha: "Do you have the right end?"
Man: "Yep, says right here that "x" marks the spot."

So much for following the directions. Did you ever have one of those days?


Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl
[Gravseth family archive; New educational series 1890s]

Sharon M. Himsl

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

World Destinations 1890s-1900s: Stereoviews A-Z

 

"Monument to Maria Josefa Quaritate (Queretaro)." 

Scene from train, the Mexican Central (ca. 1900). 

"Chapultepec Park, Mexico City." Scene from the Mexican Central (ca. 1900).

The Mexican Central Railroad was built in 1884. It connected Mexico City with Mexican towns to the north and towns on the U.S. border. It brought Mexican agriculture, goods and minerals into the American market, and allowed thousands of Mexican laborers to find work in the U.S. The Mexican Central was also a means of travel for Americans into Mexico.  

"Feeding Pigeons in Public Square, Venice, Italy" (ca. 1890s)

 "Village Life in Skansen Near Stockholm, Sweden" (ca. 1890s)

 "Japanese Actors, Osaka, Japan Theatre" (ca. 1890s)

 "Rice Field at Plowing Time, Japan" (ca. 1900)

"Irrigating Plains Otherwise Sterile and Planting Sugar Cane Farm at Santa Clara, Peru" (date unknown)

Copyright 2013 ©Sharon Himsl; [stereoviews from Gravseth family archive]
Source (railroads): Donna S. Morales and John P. Schmal, 2004, How We Got Here: The Roads We Took to America;
http://www.houstonculture.org/hispanic/roads.html

Sharon M. Himsl

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

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

U.S. and Canadian Scenery: Stereoviews A-Z

Stereoviews were often used as instructional tools in school. The backside of the Canadian apple orchard scene that follows at the end describes the loading of "rosy-cheeked apples" and appears to have been written for a young audience. "Barrels and barrels of them are being picked to sell," it says.

The last paragraph reads: "The trees in apple orchards are started from seeds. The little seedlings are cut close to the ground and slices of the branches of other apple trees are tied on. This is called grafting." 

Kids were then handed a stereoscope, so they could view the photo in 3-D. It was an effective method of learning, I suspect.  

"Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Arizona" (ca. 1890s)

"A Herd of Sheep" (ca. 1890s) (location unknown)

Apple orchard in Annapolis Valley.
Nova Scotia, Canada (ca 1900s)

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

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

Gravseth family archive; New educational series 1890s; Cosmopolitan Series 1890s; Keystone View Company 1900s

Sharon M. Himsl

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

Twentieth Century Woman: Stereoviews A-Z

 
Don't confuse the hair-like mop in the middle for another woman like I did! The focus of course is the wife on the left, who is leisurely reading a book while her husband (note the apron) does dishes. It is a funny take on women's lib in the 1890s and early 1900s. I doubt this household scene was typical then, but nevertheless . . .

"Twentieth Century Woman" (ca. 1890s)

  

Proper Victorian dress for American women up to the 1890s was known for its corsets and layers of clothing. Author Dorothy W. Hartman writes, "One account reported that the 'well-dressed' woman of the late nineteenth century wore 37 pounds of clothing in the winter, 19 which hung from her corseted waist." Whew. It is hard to imagine. But in the 1890s, bloomers (long pantaloons like the striped ones in this photo) became acceptable. Finally, women had something to wear if they wanted to ride a bicycle . . . or simply play.

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

Copyright 2013 ©Sharon Himsl; [stereoview from Gravseth family archive]

(Women's Roles in the Later 19th Century, http://www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/Indiana-History/America-1860-1900/Lives-Of-Women.aspx)

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

Resting: Stereoviews A-Z

 Cute stereoview of little girl. At first I thought she was sitting on a potty chair. Maybe she is. I am reminded of the struggle I had potty training my son. He was four-years-old and still in diapers. It was a matter of convenience (i.e., his). And I remember this same look on his face, too.

"Yes, I get it, Mommy. No more diapers."  

"Resting" (ca. 1890)


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

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl; [Gravseth family archive; ca. 1890]

Sharon M. Himsl

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

Question: Who are they? - Stereoviews A-Z

It's not clear where this photo was taken or its purpose. A watermelon is being stored in the cellar and three boys are salivating and hoping they can sneak a bite? I like that.....

But it's so close to the post-Civil War period. I can't help but wonder if they are sharecroppers. Slavery may not have been legal in the 1890s, but in the south especially, African Americans often went from slavery straight to sharecropping (along with poor whites), which was a form of forced labor. Most were too poor to do little more. According to historian W.E.B. Dubois, "The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery."

"Dis Am de Pick of Dat Patch." (ca. 1890s)

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

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl; [Gravseth family archive; Cosmopolitan and New educational series 1890s]

source: http://www.americanhistoryusa.com/slavery-to-serfdom-black-people-new-south/

Sharon M. Himsl

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