Vintage Photography « In Case You're Interested

“Tommy writing home after battle, 1917.”

With Veterans Day on Monday, I thought it would be nice to share some images of soldiers writing home during war time. Most of the images are from World War I, with a few from the horrific sequel, and one from 1908, before anyone knew what lay ahead.

I can’t help but wonder what these guys are writing – are they easing worried mothers’ minds, regaling a lover with tales of heroism real or imagined, or are they admitting their terror to a confidant? Whatever the subject of their letters, these images highlight the deep need humans have to communicate and connect, even as the world crumbles around them.

For other related imagery, check out this gallery of the iconic Tuskegee Airmen.

All images are, of course, Found in the LOC.

: “American Soldiers, Chateauroux, Oct. 1918.”

: “Soldiers in Texas Writing Home, April 1914.”

: “Military Hospital Tent, France, August 1918.”

: “British Soldiers with Bug Nets, Egypt, 1940.”

: “At ease / Signal Corps U.S.A., 1917.”

: “Red Cross, Chateauroux, October 31, 1918.”

: “Theodor Horydczak writing at desk, 1920.”

: “Nurse Writing for a Soldier, Neuilly, June 1918.”

: “A Letter Home, June 1918.”

: “YMCA Writing Room, Nice, 1915.”

: “Writing Home, Fort Hamilton, 1908.”

: “Writing a Letter Home, Greenville, SC, 1943.”

“Red Cross Worker Helps British Soldier, 1942.”

Image Links:

“Double exposure ‘spirit’ photograph of girl standing, holding flowers, surrounded by spectral figures of three people],” G.S. Smallwood, 1905.

To celebrate Halloween, here are eight “spirit photographs” straight from the Library of Congress’ deepest, darkest crypt. Or, rather, their very convenient online database.

As Wendi Maloney explains at the Library’s blog, the general public was mystified by photography when it debuted in the mid-to-late-1800s. This meant unscrupulous rapscallions could dupe them into ghosts actually photo bombed in the afterlife. And these weren’t just gullible rubes who bought into the supernatural hype: respected folk like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were about it, too.

All this hoopla outraged Harry Houdini. The magician had made it his life’s mission to debunk spiritualist charlatans, and took a hands-on approach to the matter. Maloney writes:

“To demonstrate how easy it was to fake a photograph, Houdini had an image made in the 1920s, showing himself talking with Abraham Lincoln. He even based entire shows around debunking the claims of mediums and the entire idea of spiritualism.”

That image is included in this gallery. It did not, however, completely debunk the spirit photo business.