Calogero e Rosa

Introducing my great-grandparents, known in America as Charles and Rose, but I call them Nanie Rosie and Grandpa Charlie. They both immigrated to America from Sicily in the middle of Ellis Island's peak immigration period.

I'm guessing the photo was taken in the late 1920's. I'm not sure on the date, but it does explain Nanie Rosie's fabulous Louise Brooks hair style. :) (The woman in the background is great as well!) Isn't just adorable how they are holding hands?

When did men's hats go out of style? I think they're great. I love when you look at an old photo of a crowd of men, especially in the city, all you can see is an ocean of hats. I think they should come back into style!

I actually have their wedding photo that I'm dying to put up, but it's huge. It's too big to scan, so I need to get my camera working to take a picture of it. Hopefully soon! :)

La Bellissima Regina

I was going to post this photo later after I introduced my great-grandmother, but I couldn't help it. I'm in love with this picture. I found this photo with others of my great-grandmother from 1920s. This woman is in other pics with my great-grandmother, so she is probably one of her friends or family members. My great-grandparents lived in Little Italy, NY on Broome Street in the 1920s. That is probably where this picture was taken.

I think this photo is gorgeous! There are so many things to love about it. I especially love the juxtaposition of this elegantly dressed woman set against the dilapidated, urban background. It looks like she is a queen sitting on her throne.

I wonder how much thought was put into it. The composition is just beautiful...the levels and the textures... G'ah! It makes the art geek inside me happy. lol

Rascals, Scamps, and Urchins

Here is another photo I know little about. I found it with other pictures of my great-grandmother during the 1920's, so I am assuming it was taken around the same time. Judging from the kid's clothes the 1920's seems about right.

Their clothes are fantastic! It reminds me of when my mom would dress me and my sister in the same outfits. My favorite parts are their shoes and stockings. I love old fashioned shoes. When I went to the St. James General Store here on Long Island, they had old shoes displayed behind the counter that I wanted to touch and examine so badly! I love any old household items. Forget the copy of the Gettysburg Address, I want to see Lincoln's toothbrush!

That's why the St. James General Store is so great. They have old boxes, signs, clothes, and

things of that nature on display. It's just a little torturous if you're like me and want to touch

everything. It is supposed to be the oldest continuously operated general store in the country. It's small, creaky, and uneven, but that only adds to its charms. They have a whole bunch of knick-knacks for sale, but the best is the candy!

Here is a site for more info if you want it : Link

I digressed a bit, sorry :)

Truly Thine

I have no idea whom these two wonderful women are. I found this photo in an old shirt box (hence the blog name) with a hundred other pictures from my grandma's childhood.

The photograph itself is mounted on some sort of mat board. The colorful designs on top are not original. They are stickers (when were stickers invented, anyway?) or things someone has pasted onto the board. If you look close you can see the original design beneath the stickers.

I don't have any idea when this photo could have been taken. It appears to be very old. The picture is faded, and the women's dresses are in a very old style. Maybe pre-1910s...? I'm pretty positive that it is from Italy....Sicily to be exact. My grandmother's family was from Vittoria. There was part of a stamp on the back that had something in Italian.

Can anyone help me date this fantastic photo?

I Ragazzi

I had to post this one! That's my great-uncle Joe to the left with a couple of his friends (maybe cousins) sometime in the 1940s. Their outfits are great! Look how high the waists are on those pants, and the saddle shoes are awesome. It's amazing how that generation still dresses like it did when they were teenagers. I hope that doesn't mean that in 50 years from now my generation will still be wearing low-rise skinny jeans....** imagining it in my head **...**shudders**

The cross hanging by Uncle Joe's waist screams Italian, don't it?

Beach Babes

I love old beach photos! The progression of bathing-suit styles fascinate me. Not many men would be caught dead wearing a one-piece now.

My grandma is the little girl to the far left. The boy in the middle is her brother Joseph. I'm not sure of the exact year in which this was taken. My grandma was born in 1926 and in the photo she looks about 3 or 4 years old.... so possible late 1920s to early 1930s.

Prima Donna Nonna

This is a photo of my nanie when she was a little girl taken in the early to mid 1930's. I love how you can see the shadow of the person taking the photo. You can tell he is probably using a box camera (or something like it) from the position of his hands!

"Why?" you may ask.

Because I can. :) The internet is such a wonderful tool to connect with people you may not have other wise ever gotten the chance to connect to. I know there are people out there that are like me and love to look at old photos and other things with history and great memories attached to them. Recently I have been cleaning out my grandmother's house and found tons of old photographs and print material. I just thought it would be fun to share some of the more interesting ones. It seems selfish and wasteful to just lock them up and keep them for myself.

Most of the things I have are from my grandmother's life. I have some from my great-grandparents as well, so I would say most of the things I will post will be from the 1920's to 1960's.

This blog is dedicated to my nanie, Anna, and all those who came before her!

Hello

This is my first time ever writing a blog. I don't know if anyone will ever see this but I'd like to think that there are history nerds like me out there that like this stuff! :)