Saturday Snapshots: November 27, 2010

Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough. ~ Emily Dickinson

{Identified as “Marilyn Crocker, Jeanne and Leanne”, this trio of elegantly dressed young women was photographed in November of 1951. Though I don’t know where this shot was taken (does anyone recognize the large white church in the background?), the roof top skyline makes an especially neat backdrop for these three beautiful young women to pose against.}



{I have such a soft spot in my heart for vintage wedding photos. I love to look at them and imagine the lives that lay ahead for a given couple, to ponder how their marriage unfolded, if it lasted, and if they turned out to be each other’s soul mates until the very end. The romantic in me likes to think this was always the case, but of course the realist knows that not every marriage was a bed roses. I don’t know the tale that became this incredibly dapper looking couple’s life after this photograph was captured, but I like to think that they remained as radiantly happy for the rest of their lives as they looked on their wedding day in 1938.}



{This darling pair of youngsters have been hard at work (most likely with mother’s assistance) and have created a positively scrumptious looking, large gingerbread house to help them celebrate the holidays. Tell me you don’t adore the sweet, spunky grin of the little boy as he mischievously attempts to pluck a candy wafer from the house’s edible roof?}



{Ohhhh, how immensely cool would it be to know what these two beautifully attired 1930s women were looking at on those reels of film? Were they staring at frames filled with the likes of Shirley Temple, May West, Errol Flynn or Greta Garbo, or was it something a little less thrilling like a news reel? Either way, they seemed to be enjoying their task and having a great time posing outside in their lovely spring or summer dresses.}



{A large American Italy family gathers around a small kitchen table in 1948 to celebrate one of its young relative’s First Communion day. As someone with a very small imitate number of immediate relatives, I love images like this through which I can various live out my desire to come from a generously size family. (For anyone who’s interested, the person who posted this photo has identified the names of the folks, who are his relatives, in this great shot.)}



{Doing his best “Bark-thoven” impression, this precious vintage poodle entertains onlookers as he paws adorably away at the piano keys (looking every bit as though he really is reading the sheet music perched in front of him!).}



{In the picturesque golden sunlight of an autumn day in 1957, a family enjoys a simple picnic together in the fresh air (note the wonderful large wicker basket and iconic 50s style thermoses, both of which add to the charm of this fun family snapshot).}



{At first glance it might appear as though this was just a simple street scene of a parade, but upon closer inspection there is much to observe about this lovely shot taken during 1960. From the wood paneled station wagon (complete with suspender and bow tie adorned little boy leaning out the driver’s side window) to the flag carrying veterans, and the ironically wonderful barber shop there is such a wealth of American history wrapped up in this one terrific shot.}



{Three Texan sorority sisters take a break from the demands of collage life, as they sport jeans and enjoy a tipple, in the great outdoors. I wonder if the gal on the left was simply tired or if she’d had a smidge too much to drink and was now leaning on her smiling girlfriend to help her keep her balance?}



{Standing outside of “Antoinette’s Sweet Shop”, an adorable little blonde haired girl appears to be taking a small packet (perhaps of candy) from a man’s hand, as a gorgeously dressed woman smiles on for the camera in this appealing 1930s street photograph.}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}


It’s been a staggeringly long time since the last edition of Saturday Snapshots (June 5th of this year, to be exact). Okay, granted it’s not been decades, but still far longer than has ever passed between editions before! I’ve sincerely missed putting together this post more frequently, perusing with great intent the realm of vintage “real world” photographs – peering to the lives and worlds of those who lived 60, 70, 80+ years ago and selecting ten particularly engaging shots to share with you.

Though I know the multitude of reasons why it’s been nearly half a year since this post last appeared (chief amongst being the state of my health this year) – and I know that I won’t be able to go back to putting up a new edition every week at this stage in time – I sincerely hope that nowhere no as much time will elapse between today and the next Saturday Snapshots post!

This week’s quote, by the intensely insightful Emily Dickinson, is one of my all-time favourites and also one that has resonated strongly throughout my life – at perhaps not time more so than throughout 2010.

These words, simple yet profound, on the one hand obvious, on the other sage-like in their wisdom, remind us all to step back from our worries, to stop dwelling on what we think we need to buy, find, or do to achieve happiness. To stop chasing the unobtainable, stop beating ourselves up over regrets and impossibilities, to strip away the hustle and bustle of the rat race, to return to simple pleasures, and to extract a sense of purpose from the amazing fact that we are blessed to be alive. Or at least that’s what this beautiful quote says to me when I reflect on its words, written in a time so incredibly different yet also timelessly similar to our own.

Life will always come part and parcel with a myriad of reasons why our happiness may lie on line (it did for the folks in the photographs above and it still does for us today), yet – and I can attest to this firsthand – sometimes it is remarkably invaluable to step back and realize that the fact you are here, in this moment in time, drawing breath, feeling the cold November air, creating your own destiny each day, is more than enough reason to be, at a deeply rooted level, happy.