05 April 2010

I could hardly believe it as I pulled not one, not two, but...

HUNDREDS of old photographs from the decaying cardboard box. Yes, the box from the very old bus in the woods across the street from my apartment. And I couldn't believe what these images were of! See for yourself:




















































Photographs of the Korean War! The explicit destruction in these images is so unbelievable; this glimpse into a time 50 years past leaves my mouth agape (well, metaphorically speaking.) 

Continue after the jump to see what other objects were in the box.


 Oh, and!...I almost forgot to include: 


I wonder why a soldier might have had this picture..? :-)

A box of old war photographs, right across the street? I couldn't help but wonder what the backstory was. Here are some of the other objects I found, which help give an idea of just who the person behind all this might be:

Shell map of NYC (it says NJ, but...it's not a map of NJ, clearly)
















Transit map of Chicago


















A book, the title of which has been cut off. However, when cutting, the person also snipped through the first few pages. When flipping through, I couldn't help but notice the funny juxtapositions--for example, this one here, of a sexy lady riding something, with lots of people running around below, and a caption up top that reads: "In Your Mind's Eye."














A stamp, with rearrangeable rubber letters







A novel...in German!


















A return envelope to some sort of patent office











Drawings of electrical circuits (this is one of a handful)
















Film!! Unused rolls of Verichrome Pan film that expired in 1959!

















It looks like a box of photo paper, doesn't it? Had me fooled, too. Until I opened it...













So...what you are supposed to do with this little kit, is to place a stencil over a tiny piece of photo-sensitive paper. You then slide that into the brown rectangular frame where you see the blue text, close the top flap, and let it expose in the sun. Voila! A primitive process of developing photographs. I am pretty sure this was probably a kid's toy.

These little photos were in the bottom of the tiny box (you can see them in the box on the right in the previous picture). Also, that isn't a real dollar...it's a photograph of a dollar.














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There is so much other stuff in the box, but I put it all back in the bus after I photographed it. Each of these objects plays its part in hinting at a narrative. Who was the man behind all these treasures? I feel compelled to find out. However, maybe the mystery is just as valuable as the truth.*

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an amazing find!

-Sabrina

Donna said...

Why'd you put it back? You'll take better care of it than the bus will! The stuff is awesome. It must have been so much fun to sort through. That dollar might be worth something. Don't let it all rot. I want the stamp with rearrangeable rubber letters and the drawings of the electrical circuits!

Frances said...

That is an AMAZING find! Will you take me to see this bus sometime???

 
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