Category: Pictures From Nowhere

Northern Capitals 16 : Arrival In Oslo

  The caption under this photograph states "Oslo and the SS City Of Nagpur from the mountains". The camera lens clearly was not up to the challenge: either that or the ship has sunk beneath the sepia waves. This time the caption says "Carl Johans Gate, Oslo - with the Grand Hotel". I instantly recognised … Continue reading Northern Capitals 16 : Arrival In Oslo

Between A Rock And A Hard Place

A group pose for a picture - their identity and the location has long since faded into obscurity. Wherever they are, they are caught between a rock and a hard place, with the sun shining down

First Cousin To An Impression

Unknown Man On A Hill (1920s) The older the photo, the less detail it conveys, the more dust and scratches it has acquired: all of these often conspire together to lift a photographic image to another level, so it becomes first cousin to an impression.

Clinging To The Mast

Clinging To The Mast - Unknown Man On A Boat  (1930s) Whoever he is, he doesn't exactly look happy to be at sea. And why is he balanced on the edge of the boat, clinging to the mast?

Striding To Sherman’s Studio

Unknown Soldier : Studio Of George Sherman, Great Yarmouth (1880s/90s) He stands so upright, you can almost imagine him marching into the Pier Studios in Great Yarmouth. Photograph taken, he marches out again - striding towards his future.

Northern Capitals 15 : Veranda Gong

These days on the cruise ships, passengers assemble outside the restaurant doors like expectant gulls following a herring boat, waiting for the doors to be opened. Back in 1925 on our tour of the Northern capitals, things were much more stately: a smiling restaurant steward would bang a gong to summon the guests into the … Continue reading Northern Capitals 15 : Veranda Gong

Trench Parting

This is an old Cabinet Card of an unknown soldier. How it came into my possession, I do not know. But look at the parting in his hair: as straight as a die, as pronounced as a Flanders trench.

Northern Capitals 14 : The Look-Out

So here we are, sailing across the Skagerrak in 1925 on the SS City Of Nagpur and here is our look-out. I can't attest as to how good a watchman he was, but he made an excellent subject for a photograph. The look on his face is up there with the Mona Lisa in the … Continue reading Northern Capitals 14 : The Look-Out

Northern Capitals 13 : Flora, Matilda And Reg

We are a third of the way through the 1925 photo album of a voyage around the Northern Capitals and by now I feel as if I am getting to know some of the passengers quite well. I give them names - that's Flora on the right and Matilda on the left. The ship's officer … Continue reading Northern Capitals 13 : Flora, Matilda And Reg