Sledding

Though it's officially been spring for a few days now, the weather in some places (such as where I live) hasn't necessarily caught up. So for those of us who verge on insanity every time they see it snowing-- again!--, a set of pictures to remind us that it can in fact be fun. And for those lucky folks who do have spring--well, they're good fun pictures anyway!

University of Washington Libraries

Obviously this is staged, and I have my suspicions it may in fact be a studio shot altogether (that mountain looks suspiciously painterly...). I love it either way. 1920s, Washington (State). Source

Peter Stackpole, LIFE 

Kids sledding in Central Park, NYC, 1954. Source

Library of Congress

People sledding in Central Park again, ca. 1910 this time. Source

A sixteen-year old girl's photo album, 1947, Part Four

The last installment of this 1947 photo album. I hope you've enjoyed it!

A sixteen-year old girl's photo album, 1947, Part Three

The next section of this 1947 photo album.

Some of the pages in this section are blank; I've reproduced them anyway for an accurate representation of the layout. I believe some of them once held pictures that have fallen out, as I have several in the same format, with the same people, same captions, and same bits of tape at the top. As albums are just as interesting for their creator's choice of layout as for the pictures, I have not attempted to put these back in, not knowing where they went. Most of them are pictures of Nancy and Barbara and their parents. 

A sixteen-year old girl's photo album, 1947, Part Two

Pictures of pets and days at camp in part two of this 1947 photo album:

A sixteen-year old girl's photo album, 1947

As promised, the first installment of a photo album newly digitized (by me). My grandmother made this in 1947, when she was sixteen. It's her choice of snapshots about her life, taped into a loosely bound album of 28 black pages. Most of the photos are captioned on the reverse. For sharing I've photographed each page in its entirety, then each individual photo and its caption. I'll do about six pages a post (a couple are blank) for the next three posts (hopefully equating to the next three days--I'll try!).

The album's creator is Nancy Gallagher, sometimes also captioned "Nan" (she captions herself in third person, for the ages). Her sister is Barbara. I don't know who any of the other named people are and unfortunately I never had the chance to ask. The family lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, though they also clearly took a trip to California at some point.

I love personal photo albums-- the way people structure the narrative of their lives is absolutely fascinating. I hope you think so too!