Old mandolin postcards on ebay

[Dusepo]

I thought some of you might find these interesting.

Britain, 1906:


Britain, 1911


Britain, 1918

[Dusepo]

Germany, 1910


Germany, 1911


Germany, 1920 (I suspect this one is actually a Waldzither)


Germany, 1920


Germany, 1922


Germany, 1927


Germany, 1930

[Dusepo]

France, 1900


France, 1900


France, 1903


France, 1910


France, 1912


France, 1920


France, 1929


France, 1930


France (Vichy?), 1942

[Dusepo]

Belgium, 1920


Morocco (under French colonial rule at the time), 1912


Italy, 1930


Netherlands, 1930


Switzlerland, 1910 (The peghead looks like it has 5 on the top side? Could it actually be a Halszither?)

[Dusepo]

USA, 1908


USA, 1910


USA, 1910


USA, 1910


USA, 1912


USA, 1915


USA, 1918

[Sue Rieter]

These pictures are so interesting. Thanks for posting them.

Look at his eyes in USA 1912 (a year before my F2 was made)
and Germany 1911 with the cigarettes in so many of their mouths
My Mom was a photographer, and did some colorizing of photos when she was young, so it's cool to see some that were artistically enhanced that way.

[journeybear]

Thanks for posting these. Fascinating glimpses into the mandolin's storied, gloried past. People forget how popular mandolins and their relatives were back in the day. Yes, it was 110-130 years ago, but let us never forget.

Some of the posed and tinted photographs may have shown up here before. There is a thread or two featuring such things - not only the Women With Mandolins thread, but another one or two devoted to artistic representations, like the "Mandolins in visual art" thread. I'm sure Mike E with his searching skills will enlighten us concerning those soon.

You may want to consider posting some of these in threads like that as well, in an effort to compile the collective collection. I'm also impressed with the way you post such large images. I don't know how you do that, but it does make for easier viewing than clicking on thumbnails.

[Dusepo]

Thanks both.

Is it just me or do the USA, 1918 duo and the Britain, 1918 soldiers look like they've seen the horrors of the first world war? I know people didn't smile for photos back then but they have a certain stare, especially the American duo. Compared to the earlier ones at least. Maybe I'm reading too much into their faces. The France, 1942 have a bit of that about them too.

Anyway, feel free everyone to add your own and run with it if you wish...

[Charles E.]

Great photos but clearly the girl in #3 hasn't a clue how to hold a mandolin.

[journeybear]

It's entirely possible you are right about that. I believe that by this time photographic technology had advanced and was much quicker than those early days when people had to hold poses for quite a long time, and the resulting images were quite stiff. Even so, these images certainly reflect at least partially the times in which they were produced. Except of course for the posed and tinted ones of ladies in exotic or dramatic garb. These were clearly intended to convey some sort of artistic expression.

Also, I appreciate and approve of your new avatar.

[mclaugh]

What a great collection, thanks for posting.

I've heard of the not smiling for old photos thing before, but the guys in the France 1900 pic look like the photographer just said something extremely offensive about mandolin players. I think he was about four seconds away from being stomped by the entire group.

[MikeEdgerton]

Scott Tichenor, the owner of the Mandolin Cafe has a collection of his own that is here on the Cafe.

https://www.mandolincafe.com/archives/postcards/

[Ranald]

Thanks for sharing that great collection of pictures, Jo. Many old photos were printed on paper designed like postcards, even saying "Postcard," though they were photographic prints never meant to be sold as commercial postcards. I suppose the purchasers had the option of mailing them as cards if they chose. I have many family photos of this type. Some of the photos above are clearly postcards, but I suspect that many came from private collections. Some lover of mandolins spent a long time gathering all those pictures.

[JeffD]

Thanks both.

Is it just me or do the USA, 1918 duo and the Britain, 1918 soldiers look like they've seen the horrors of the first world war? I know people didn't smile for photos back then but they have a certain stare, especially the American duo. Compared to the earlier ones at least. Maybe I'm reading too much into their faces. The France, 1942 have a bit of that about them too.
ish...

There are likely many reasons, your observations among them. Hard to speculate. Including just the norms of the day.

I found this quote ' “people begin to smile in effervescent ways” in painted portraits during in the Edwardian period, about 1895-1914, after the same change took place in photography.' which is quite something.

Lots of ideas about it in this article. https://time.com/4568032/smile-serious-old-photos/

[Louise NM]

1918 wasn't a happy time. World War One was a horror show the likes of which had never been seen, and the world was never the same after. It was also the year the flu epidemic began, leaving piles of corpses in its wake. The thousand-yard stare was probably pretty common.

Thanks for posting these, Jo.

[Ranald]

There are likely many reasons, your observations among them. Hard to speculate. Including just the norms of the day.

I found this quote ' “people begin to smile in effervescent ways” in painted portraits during in the Edwardian period, about 1895-1914, after the same change took place in photography.' which is quite something.

Lots of ideas about it in this article. https://time.com/4568032/smile-serious-old-photos/

Early photographs took so long that people posing couldn't hold a smile. I heard on a radio program (I think it was "Under The Influence" on CBC" but I can't find a reference) that in the early 20th Century, Kodak advertised that their new film could capture a smile. Apparently their advertising campaign led to the custom of smiling in photos. This is coming from my memory. I'm not guaranteeing that the story is true.

[Frankdolin]

Thanks very much for taking the time to post such wonderful images!!!

[journeybear]

The Mandolin Café postcard collection includes examples illustrating (yes, I said it) the wide range of image choices, including some real gems. Yet not one of these is in it. They must have been popular in that era. I wonder how many were produced, and how many have survived.

[Dusepo]

Scott Tichenor, the owner of the Mandolin Cafe has a collection of his own that is here on the Cafe.

https://www.mandolincafe.com/archives/postcards/

Wow! I wasn't aware of that part of the site. Thanks for bringing to my attention.

[brunello97]

Great collection, Jo. Thanks for sharing.

I have a feeling this mandolin might show up again around here at some point or another in a "What is this?" type thread.

Maybe it already has.....

Mick

[Richard500]

One factor in the ‘say cheese’ history is the uncredited, no residuals swipe by George Eastman of the the hyper-trendy Brownie image in his marketing of the immensely popular Brownie camera, to wit:

The Brownie characters were often depicted smiling. Now the mandolin craze and the Brownies hit at about the same time, and the concept of easy and low-cost no fuss photography (originally you sent the camera back to Rochester to get dozens of ‘snap’ shots). Smiles, informality became another craze.

Also note the number of postcards titled ‘Mignon’ or showing a badly-dressed, barefoot girl: that’s related to an opera; the main character was raised by Gypsies (Romas these days), and by Act 3, reaches the castle, hence the unshoddedness and probably clutching a pop instrument in then contemporary productions. I imagine that all sorts of stage productions may have generated souvenir postcards.

A great pair of collections, and thanks! Mandolins aside, an evocative snapshot of the times.

[Jim Garber]

Wonderful, Jo. Do these all belong to you? I have also been collecting mandolin and other musician images for some time and mine with those from other folks are posted on this forum thread: https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...lin-of-the-Day

[Dusepo]

Wonderful, Jo. Do these all belong to you? I have also been collecting mandolin and other musician images for some time and mine with those from other folks are posted on this forum thread: https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...lin-of-the-Day

Nope, these aren't mine, they're from ebay.
Thanks for the link, I wasn't aware of that either! I clearly should've used the search function before posting these...

[Dusepo]

Happy new year everyone!

[Jim Garber]

Happy New Year to everyone.

Jo, will you make a repro of that flowery bowlback you posted above?