Vernacular photography

Taxonomy

Code

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2008006774

Scope note(s)

  • Here are entered works on amateur or anonymous photography that takes everyday life and objects as its subject.

Source note(s)

  • Library of Congress Subject Headings

Display note(s)

Hierarchical terms

Vernacular photography

Vernacular photography

Equivalent terms

Vernacular photography

Associated terms

Vernacular photography

82 Archival description results for Vernacular photography

82 results directly related Exclude narrower terms

Phototeria at Jim McCowan's Barn

Items contains 88 digital images of the Phototeria taken at the Baldwin, Ontario farm owned by Jim McCowan (a distant cousin of the inventor, David A. McCowan), where the booth was stored until 2015.

Dunbar, George

Phototeria and Peter McCowan

Item consists of 25 photographs of Peter McCowan, son of the Phototeria inventor David A. McCowan, with various accessories from the booth. These include a portrait of Peter McCowan taken in the Phototeria, a lens, an instruction plate, and a crate that was used to store unexposed photographic discs used in the booth.

Dunbar, George

Phototeria interview with Peter McCowan

Item is a short synopsis of an interview that George Dunbar conducted with Peter McCowan, son of Phototeria creator David A. McCowan, in preparation for a 2006 article on the photobooth.

Dunbar, George

The Phototeria

  • 2015.24
  • Collection
  • 1925-2007

Collection consists of an automatic photobooth, and material related to its original function. Designed by David McCowan and patented on May 21, 1929. The collection includes vintage articles and advertisements, photographs of the booth and members of the McCowan family, the booth itself, along with related accessories.

McCowan, David A.

Phototeria articles

File contains digital reproductions of vintage and current articles featuring the Phototeria.

[Baby in Bed]

Item consists of two photographs of a baby in a white dress sleeping in a bed. The baby is propped up on some pillows in a single bed. These appear to be the same photograph printed twice at different exposures.

[Girl in a Garden]

Item consists of two black and white photographs of a girl standing in a garden. The girl is wearing a light coloured shirt, skirt, cape and hat. In one photograph, she is wearing the hat, and in the other she is holding it. She is standing in the grass and looking at the camera. A 1 cm white border surrounds the images. On the back of each photograph is handwritten "July 7 / 31".

Dorothy & James

Item consists of photographs of a young girl and man around a neighbourhood and inside a house. Two photos are in front of a tall fence, one is a photo of the young girl with a woman and the other is the young girl surrounded by a group of people.

Brechin

Item consists of photographs of a trip to Brechin. The photos are taken in a rural farming area with subjects that include men and women, horses, hay, firewood, a log cabin, corn stalks, and cows.

Brechin

Item consists of photographs of a family at Brechin. Subjects include family portraits and photographs with various farm animals including birds, horses, cats, and goats.

Unionville

Item consists of eight photographs taken at Unionville of a young boy and a young girl. The children are accompanied by adults in two of the photos. In one of them both children are carried by adults with another woman standing by. In the other the young girl is standing in front of a man.

Wedding

Item consists of photographs taken at the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. McClure in 1925. Subjects include various group photos, a large boat, a Ford Model A, horse carriages, a large drum with the Prince of Wales on it, canoes, and dog carriages.

Negatives Atherley

Item consists of photographs of a family taken at Atherley. Subjects include water bodies, the Samuel de Champlain monument (in present day Orillia and designed by Vernon March), a house, and a car thought to be a Ford Model A.

[Little Girl in Baby Carriage]

Item consists of two black and white photographs of a little girl popping out of a baby carriage. In one photograph, the little girl is looking up, and in the other photograph she is looking out. The carriage is parked in the front or back of a house. There is ivy covering the house. There is a 0.5 cm white border surrounding the image. The back of both photographs are stamped in black ink "532C".

Shields, Lorne

Une Voyage Commence

Item consists of a toned black and white photograph of a group of men and women on a sailboat. Five women dressed in long skirts and three men in turtlenecks or ties stand and sit on one end of the boat, posing for the photographer. In the foreground, a boy is turned away from the camera, looking at the group. He is wearing a hat and has his sleeves rolled up. The boat seems to tilt sharply to the left. On the back of the photograph is handwritten in pen "Une Voyage Commence" which is French, and translates to "a trip / journey begins".

[Children on a Hammock]

Item consists of a black and white photograph of a boy and young girl sitting on a hammock. The boy is wearing shorts and boots and has his mouth open, laughing. The young girl is wearing a white dress and headband. They are sitting close to one another. Behind the hammock are trees and a ball in the grass, and in the background, there is a lake. The photograph has some motion blur. There is a 0.4 cm white border around the image.

[Two Young Women Pretending to Fight]

Item consists of a toned black and white photograph of two teenage girls pretending to fight one another. One of the young women is wearing a plaid dress and has a fist raised as though she is going to punch the other. The other woman is wearing a long skirt and a white shirt, and is leaning in toward the first woman. Both are looking toward the camera as though this were a staged act for the photographer. They are standing in front of a house with a large tree. They appear to be in a rural setting. The photograph is surrounded by a 0.5 cm white border. The back of the photograph has a handwritten number in pencil "2174".

[Women and Girls Sitting on a Porch]

Item consists of a black and white photograph of three women and thee girls sitting on the steps of a porch. The young woman on the left is wearing a dark dress and appears to be holding a camera. The woman in the middle is wearing white and holding a young girl in her lap. The woman on the right is wearing a dark dress and a wide brimmed hat with ornaments, and a sash. All three of the young girls are wearing white dresses. The house appears to be in a rural area.

Pals

Item consists of a black and white photograph of two boys standing, holding a string with fish on it between them. The boy on the left is wearing a shirt and black pants with a belt, and is holding one end of the string. The boy on the right is wearing a suit and a hat, and holding the other end of the string. On the string hangs 5-6 medium sized fish. Both boys are standing in front of a house and looking at the camera. There is an uneven white border around the image and below the image is handwritten "PALS". On the back of the photograph, stamped in blue is "New Crystal Finish, Reg U.S Patent, THE OWL DRUG CO., Lewison, Idaho", and on the bottom right "13". The Owl Dug Co. was created at 1128 Market Street in San Francisco in 1892. It branched out across the United States, until the Rexall Drug Co. bought out the chain in the 1930s.

Harry & Dodie, Summer 1937.

Item consists of a black and white photograph of a man and a woman walking a dog. The man is wearing a white shirt tucked into his pants, and the woman is wearing a dark coloured sweater and skirt, a necklace and white high-heeled shoes. They are standing in the grass in the front yard of a house. There is an awning, a porch, and flowers behind them. They are both looking at the dog, which is on a leash held by the man. The dog is small and black and shaggy. There is a 0.5 cm white border that surrounds the image. On the back of the photograph is handwritten in pen "Harry & Dodie Summer 1937."

[Man and Dog on Steps]

Item consists of two black and white photographs of a man and a dog. The man is wearing is suit and tie and hat, and is scratching a black and white dog behind its ears. They are in front of a house, and the dog is sitting on the steps. The man is looking at the camera. It appears as though the photograph was developed or fixed incorrectly, as there are marks from developing the image. The two photographs are identical, but different exposures. There is an uneven white border around both images. On the back of each photograph is written in pencil "28" and "50¢"

Ted & Buster

Item consists of a black and white photograph of a woman posing with a dog. The woman is wearing a white dress, stripped stockings, a headband and boots. She is putting her face next to the dog's, who has its tongue out. They are sitting on the front porch of a house. There appears to be a slight light leak coming from the left side of the frame. There is a small white border around the image. On the back of the photograph is handwritten in pencil "633" and in pen "Ted & Buster"

[Man Leads Two Women on Camels]

Item consists of a toned black and white photograph of a man leading two women on camels. The women appear to be tourists. They are both older women in hats, gloves and glasses. They appear to be tourists, sitting atop camels that have ornamental blankets on their backs. The man leading the camels is wearing a long white robe, has a beard and a turban. They appear to be in the desert. There is a 0.5 cm white border surrounding the image. On the back of the photograph is handwritten in pen "Miss Livingstone & H."

"Five-a-Minute and a Million!"

Item is an article about the Phototeria, written by Frederick Griffin and published in the Toronto Star Weekly on April 14th, 1928.

Griffin, Frederick

T.F. Pevear's cottage picture album

A letter folded into the album cover, addressed to Mr. Gordon Hamblin at Canadian Kodak, Ltd. describes the content of the album as a weekend at Mr.T. F. Pevear's cottage near Rochester, NY, where Mr. Hamblin visited while attending a meeting at the Eastman Kodak Company.

World War 2 recovery centre and family photography album with stereoscopic viewer

Item is a cardboard boxed filled with 54 stereoscopic images. Item comes with one handheld, compact, metal accordion fold black stereoscope. This object was used to view two nearly identical photographs, or stereographs, as one three dimensional image. The stereograph would be placed in the sliding card holder and adjusted to fit the user's vision until the two images overlap to mimic a three-dimensional effect. Images are vernacular photographs sent to A.P. Manners Ltd. to develop, print, and then return images to photographers. Written by previous owners on a small yellow post-it-note : recoverying from W.W. II English Military Sectary.

Written on box : A.P. Manners Ltd. Finest Quality Developing, Printing, Enlarging and 35 mm Process In Services Photographic and Cine Specialists, 11 Westover Road, Bournemouth.

[Woman, Baby and Wicker Pram]

Item consists of a black and white photograph of a woman sitting beside a baby on some grass. Beside them is a wicker chair with a light coloured pillow and a wicker baby carriage. They appear to be sitting in the back yard of a home. There is an uneven white border surrounding the image. On the back of the photograph is handwritten "August 9th 1914".

Baby Rer. 6 wks.

Item consists of two black and white photographs of a woman lifting a baby out of a wicker baby carriage. The woman and carriage are on a walkway to the front of a house. There are some flowers in the background. The carriage is posed diagonally, baby and woman are looking at each other. The photos appear to be developed and fixed improperly, as there are liquid markings and fingerprints on the prints. The two images are identical but flipped and cropped differently. One is lighter than the other. On the back of each photograph is handwritten in black pen "Baby Rer. 6 wks."

[Family on the Rocks and in the Water]

Item consists of seven sepiatoned black and white photographs of what appears to be a family at a beach. Three of the photographs show a man in a swimsuit with a young girl and boy in swimsuits. They are sitting and standing in shallow water. One photograph depicts a woman sitting on a large rock with a young girl. Another shows the woman on the rocks alone. The sixth photograph is of four girls in dresses and hats standing on a large rock. The seventh photograph is of a woman standing on a rocky beach with a hat beside her and a building and trees behind her. There is a small white border surround each image, and on the back of each photograph is written in pencil "998a".

[Man and Woman with Baby]

Item consists of two black and white photographs of a man and a woman with a baby. In each photograph, they hold the baby individually. They appear to be on the front porch of a brick house. The man is wearing a suit and the woman is wearing a long dark dress.

Phototeria questions

Item contains notes taken by George Dunbar in preparation for an article he wrote on the Phototeria in 2006.

Dunbar, George

"Slot machine makes perfect portraits"

Item is an article published in the Science and Invention magazine, in 1927. The article details the Photomaton, a photo booth similar to the Phototeria, invented by Anatol N. Josepho, and located at 1659 Broadway, in New York City.

Science and invention magazine

[Photographs from a Kodak No. 1 camera]

Item consists of twelve snapshots taken with the Kodak No. 1, the first rollfilm camera under the name "Kodak". Subjects include a house in a forest, a group of women posing in front of the house, a man walking by the house, cows, and men playing cricket or baseball. The images are round on a white background with a black border and gold gilded edges. On the back of one photograph is handwritten in pen "Set 2.00" on a piece of masking tape.

Red leather Victorian-era album

Item consists of a read leather album. The album has the words "Where Rolls the Oregon" etched onto the front cover. Includes several family photographs and group portraits as well as images of locations in the United Kingdom such as Pass of Killiecrankie (Scotland), Queenstown Harbour (Ireland), Balmoral castle (UK). Other subjects of photographs include people on horse-drawn carriages, in military settings, playing sports, on farms, weddings, and chronological baby photos at the end of the album.

Lorne Shields Historical Photograph Collection

  • 2008.001
  • Fonds
  • 1840-1970, predominant 1860-1900

The collection consists of a large number of studio portrait photographs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries in carte-de-visite or cabinet card formats. There is a large collection of landscape and industrial imagery dating from the Victorian era to the 1960s. The collection also comprises many vernacular photographic albums, good examples of glass and metal photographic processes including cased daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes. The fonds is comprised of the following 8 series: Portraits (sub-series for Groups and Celebrities), Vernacular Photography (amateur snapshots), Landscapes and Industry (sub-series for Slides), Albums, the A.T. Orr collection and a Miscellaneous group of images which were generally created in mixed media.

Shields, Lorne