Sepia Saturday 69 : 9th April 2011

Photograph : Library of Congress via Wikimedia

Everyone seems to have enjoyed the archive image used for Sepia Saturday 68, although it has to be said that the ladies seemed a little more appreciative that the men. To reset the balance, I am using an image of one of my favourite women this week - the film pioneer Mary Pickford. For the theme followers, there is enough in this image to launch a thousand posts. For those who wish to just post their own choice of old photographs, that is fine - and you can even use the camera as a link. Sepia Saturday will take place on or around Saturday 9th April 2011. Everyone is invited.

SEPIA SATURDAY is a weekly meme which encourages bloggers to publish and share old images and photographs. All that is required is for contributors to post an old image (it doesn't have to be in sepia) and provide a few words in explanation. If you could provide a link back to the Sepia Saturday Blog and visit as many of the other contributors as you can, it would also be appreciated. There is no weekly theme, as such, but some people like to use the archive image published with the weekly call as a kind of theme. There is no requirement to adopt such an approach : the choice of image is entirely up to you. Once you have published your Sepia Saturday post, add a link to that post to the Linky List published each week and leave a comment to let everyone know you are joining in.

Sepia Saturday 68 : 2 April 2011

Image by Lewis Hine : Archives of the US Work Progress Administration

My archive image this week is Lewis Hine's famous picture "Power House Mechanic Working On Steam Hammer". Taken in 1920 and now part of the collection of the US Work Progress Administration and freely available via the WikiMedia Collection, the image perfectly captures that almost cursed synergy that was seen to exist between man (and woman) and machine in the 1920s and can also be seen in films such as Chaplins' masterpiece "Modern Times". For the "themers" amongst Sepia Saturday regulars there is plenty to be working on, for those who are following a theme of their own, it is something to look at and admire whilst they link their own contribution. Sepia Saturday 68 will be on or about the 2nd April 2011, which I suppose is anytime between now and next Sunday, so get working.

SEPIA SATURDAY is a weekly meme which encourages bloggers to publish and share old images and photographs. All that is required is for contributors to post an old image (it doesn't have to be in sepia) and provide a few words in explanation. If you could provide a link back to the Sepia Saturday Blog and visit as many of the other contributors as you can, it would also be appreciated. There is no weekly theme, as such, but some people like to use the archive image published with the weekly call as a kind of theme. There is no requirement to adopt such an approach : the choice of image is entirely up to you. Once you have published your Sepia Saturday post, add a link to that post to the Linky List published each week and leave a comment to let everyone know you are joining in.

Sepia Saturday 67 : 26 March 2011

From the collections of The National Archives, via Flickr Commons Initiative

My archive photograph this week is full of activity and full of detail. The photograph dates from the mid 1930s and shows the reconstruction of the bridge over the River Loughor at Pontardulais in Wales. It is taken from one of the copyright-free collections shared by the British National Archives with the splendid Flickr Commons initiative. For the "themers" amongst the Sepia Saturday participants there are a wealth of prompts available. For the "memers" just enjoy the image as you choose your own old photograph. In either case, post your contributions for Sepia Saturday 67 on or around Saturday 26th March 2011. 

SEPIA SATURDAY is a weekly meme which encourages bloggers to publish and share old images and photographs. All that is required is for contributors to post an old image (it doesn't have to be in sepia) and provide a few words in explanation. If you could provide a link back to the Sepia Saturday Blog and visit as many of the other contributors as you can, it would also be appreciated. There is no weekly theme, as such, but some people like to use the archive image published with the weekly call as a kind of theme. There is no requirement to adopt such an approach : the choice of image is entirely up to you. Once you have published your Sepia Saturday post, add a link to that post to the Linky List published each week and leave a comment to let everyone know you are joining in.

Sepia Saturday 66 : 19th March 2011

From the Collection of the National Maritime Museum

There have to be some perks for the poor old devil who administers the Sepia Saturday Blog and one of the main perks is that I get to choose the weekly archive photograph which accompanies the call for posts. Those who know me will be not in the slightest surprised to see a pub featured. The pub in question is the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich and the photograph - which comes from the collection of the British National Maritime Museum - was taken in 1912.  The pub, which was built in 1837, still stands today and is now a very plush establishment indeed. 

Naval battles, pints of beer, shabby old pubs - there is plenty for the "themers" to work with for Sepia Saturday 66. But remember, you don't have to follow the theme. All you need do is to share your old photographs with the rest of us by posting on or near Saturday 19th March 2011 and linking your post to the Linky List below. If you are new to Sepia Saturday take a look at the brief explanation below, if you are an old friend all you need do is post, link and comment. Cheers!

SEPIA SATURDAY is a weekly meme which encourages bloggers to publish and share old images and photographs. All that is required is for contributors to post an old image (it doesn't have to be in sepia) and provide a few words in explanation. If you could provide a link back to the Sepia Saturday Blog and visit as many of the other contributors as you can, it would also be appreciated. There is no weekly theme, as such, but some people like to use the archive image published with the weekly call as a kind of theme. There is no requirement to adopt such an approach : the choice of image is entirely up to you. Once you have published your Sepia Saturday post, add a link to that post to the Linky List published each week and leave a comment to let everyone know you are joining in.

Sepia Saturday 65 : Saturday 12 March 2011

From the Steinfeldt Photography Collection of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.

Some people enjoy looking for themes in my weekly archive image, some people choose to go their own way. With Sepia Saturday it doesn't matter because it is the image that counts. And the images don't have to be very old and they don't have to be in sepia - the above photograph which shows the furniture store of Leonard Rudolph in Duluth, Minnesota, is neither. I have to confess that until today I had no idea where Duluth was and only a vague concept of where Minnesota was in the great scheme of things. But now I am intimately familiar with a storefront in Duluth at a moment in time in 1956. I have a snapshot of the lives of four people and a visual thesis on the American motor car industry in the mid twentieth century. Make no mistake about it : images are powerful toys to play with.

Share the power of your old images by taking part in Sepia Saturday 65 which will take place on or around Saturday the 12th March 2011.

SEPIA SATURDAY is a weekly meme which encourages bloggers to publish and share old images and photographs. All that is required is for contributors to post an old image (it doesn't have to be in sepia) and provide a few words in explanation. If you could provide a link back to the Sepia Saturday Blog and visit as many of the other contributors as you can, it would also be appreciated. There is no weekly theme, as such, but some people like to use the archive image published with the weekly call as a kind of theme. There is no requirement to adopt such an approach : the choice of image is entirely up to you. Once you have published your Sepia Saturday post, add a link to that post to the Linky List published each week and leave a comment to let everyone know you are joining in.

Sepia Saturday 64 : Saturday 5 March 2011

Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries, DeGolyer Library

I half promised Dakotaboo last week that I would try and find an archive shot that he could use as a theme in order to post something about his recent holiday in the British Peak District. Now I know that Texas is not in Britain, and that the Peak District does not have large herds of longhorn cattle, but liberal interpretation has always been the order of the day here on Sepia Saturday, so do with this image from Southern Methodist University Library what you will.

Sepia Saturday 64 will take place on or around Saturday the 5th March 2011. We seem to be having more and more newcomers to Sepia Saturday and, I have to say, they are most welcome. For the benefit of newcomers, I thought it might be useful to incorporate a summary of what Sepia Saturday is all about and how it works with each weekly call. Regular contributors can skip this and move directly to the Linky List.

SEPIA SATURDAY is a weekly meme which encourages bloggers to publish and share old images and photographs. All that is required is for contributors to post an old image (it doesn't have to be in sepia) and provide a few words in explanation. If you could provide a link back to the Sepia Saturday Blog and visit as many of the other contributors as you can, it would also be appreciated. There is no weekly theme, as such, but some people like to use the archive image published with the weekly call as a kind of theme. There is no requirement to adopt such an approach : the choice of image is entirely up to you. Once you have published your Sepia Saturday post, add a link to that post to the Linky List published each week and leave a comment to let everyone know you are joining in.

Sepia Saturday 63 : Saturday 26 February 2011

With Thanks To The State Library of Queensland and Wikimedia Commons

I am still in the archives of the State Library of Queensland (via Wikimedia Commons, via my desktop computer) for my featured photograph of the week. The photograph shows the four-masted barque, "Richelieu" under tow from two tug-boats. The steel sailing boat was built in Germany in 1916, named the "Pola" and originally intended for the South American nitrate trade. Her delivery was delayed by World War I and in 1919 she was seized by the Allies as part of post-war reparations, and handed to the French who renamed her the "Richelieu". Her sailing days came to an end in 1927 when her cargo of pitch caught fire in Baltimore Harbour.

The archive image is of uncertain date and unknown author, but it is one of the 50,000 archive images generously handed over on a copyright free basis by the Queensland Library to Wikimedia Commons. All lovers of old images will welcome such a move which allows enthusiasts all over the world to enjoy this rich treasure-house of historical images.

You can add to our very own Sepia Saturday treasure-house by linking your posts to the Sepia Saturday Blog using the Linky Form below. Post your post (on or around Saturday 26 February), add your name and the post URL to the Linky Form and leave us a comment to let us know you are joining in. If you want a theme, there are themes galore in my featured image, but remember you don't have to follow any theme. Think image, think old, think Sepia Saturday.