Dangerous work. A cofferdam gave way and five workers were killed and another two were injured. If you look closely you can see a law enforcement officer on either side of the bridge. Notice the pistol on their hip. This photo was taken 10 days after the collapse by Lent. Date of the collapse was April 12, 1929 during the construction over the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan.
“Collapse of the South Logan Street Bridge“; Lansing, Michigan (April 22, 1929).
Many creative images of Mont-Saint-Michel in France are available in beautiful colors, but not from DPI. Our style is more concerned with the photojournalism/documentary aspect than in the creative. Having said that we present our take on Mont-Saint-Michel from 1933. A unique viewpoint on the abbey in our opinion.
And so it has come to pass, the eruption of the volcano, Cumbre Vieja, on La Palma. Lava continues to flow and there are earthquakes. Follow here for latest updates. The question on everyone’s mind is will the long feared tsunami actually occur? Not much we can do about it except give some warning time if the worst happens. This photo shows a peaceful La Palma c.1900. Cumbre Vieja is seen in the distance to the right.
The Watergate hotel as it appeared shortly following the scandal. Once a noun that became an adjective. Today the term can be used as a verb. A symbol of political intrigue.
“Watergate“; Washington, D. C. (October 23, 1973)
Calvin who? No, not John Calvin. Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States of America. “Silent Cal”. President Coolidge is seen here riding with his wife Grace in the presidential open limousine. Shown in the original sepia. Presidents riding in open limousines ended with the assassination of JFK. What is especially interesting is that this amateur photo was taken at such close range to a sitting President.
“Calvin Coolidge” c. 1925.
A very special, newly acquired photograph. Our first title was supposed to be “Los Vaqueros” (The Cowboys) even though we had hoped that upon investigation we had stumbled upon something more valuable. Notice the removed wall plaques which would be consistent with actions taken toward l’ancien regime during a revolution. What we have here, in fact, is a scene taken during the Mexican Revolution c.1917. Signature on the new plaques on the wall bears that of Emilio Zapata. So our new title is “Los Zapatistas” as these vaqueros are most likely supporters of Zapata. That being the case the best guess as to the location of this scene seems to be in Cuernava in the state of Morales. Viva Zapata!
We acquired this photo without any accompanying documentation. Our initial conclusions regarding time and place were completely wrong. Only after we did our homework were we able to make a final assessment. We assess that this photo was taken in Port of Spain, Trinidad c. January 1942 following reaction to local labor issues which were compounded by British colonial policies in which the population did not receive adequate representation. Sound familiar?
“The Rebellion“; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago c. January 1942
Time to play detective. If you are unable to positively identify a photo regarding time and place at least you should try to determine what it is not. That is how we have always proceeded. This photo caught our eye. Was it a troop ship or a refugee ship? Close examination of the passengers ruled out the former as these are clearly not soldiers or sailors. So, refugees. We eliminated “boat people’ from Vietnam as the passengers appear to be Caucasian. Mariel boat lift from Cuba? Ship is way too large. Albanians fleeing to Italy? Wrong kind of ship.
Could these be survivors of the Titanic aboard the Carpathia? The hull does not match that of the Carpathia. Wish that is what it was, but the final answer is also significant. These are, in fact, Jewish refugees who were survivors of the Holocaust emigrating to Palestine (Israel) in 1948. Documentation that accompanied the photo set the date as 1948. The ship’s hull does not match the Exodus nor the Theodore Herzl. Possible match is the S.S. Patria, but we give a higher rating to the S.S. Providence which sailed from Marseilles. Again, we cannot be completely certain as to the name of this ship but its passengers and destination are beyond question.
“Jewish Refugee Ship“; Palestine (Israel, Feb. 1948).
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is probably a duck. We assess that the men in white shirts and ties are high ranking members of the Ku Klux Klan, and along with other members are marching down Main street at the Crossroads in Tupelo, Mississippi (1923). This was during the second coming of the Klan. A sale on fedoras perhaps? Unlikely.
“Klan“; Tupelo, Mississippi (1923)
I believe that most of us are familiar with the statue memorializing the flag raising atop Mt.Suribachi on Iwo Jima that stands in Washington D. C. It has been photographed countless times, and we have several images of it on our website. What we show in this blog is the original monument to the flag raising atop Mt. Suribachi as it appeared in 1945 while still under construction. I understand that the completed monument has been moved off Suribachi and is now located near the landing beaches. It was also explained to me that there was a cemetery for our fallen soldiers on Suribachi in 1945 which has also been relocated near the monument where it now stands. Photos of the completed monument can be seen on the internet, but none at the original location as we present here. It is like looking at Mt. Rushmore while only partially completed, and by the way we have that too on DPI. So honor the 5th Marines and Joe Rosenthal for capturing what Henri Cartier-Bresson called the “decisive moment”.