Street Vendor Photographer in the '40's & '50's (Houston: house, neighborhoods)

[glater]

I've been having a discussion with old high school classmates about photographers in downtown SA back in the late '40's & early '50's. They took photos like the one shown & sold it to the people walking down the street. My question is what was the process in getting the photo to the customer? I'm not sure polaroids were used back then. Did they take payment & mail the photos? If anyone can shed light on how this process worked, you'll make my old Harlandale friends happy. Thanks!

[TrapperL]

I have the same type of pics of my grand parents. One pic is in front of the Majestic Theater and the movie showing was from 1938. There were still photo bugs around when I was a kid, that would be in the 50's. The entire thing was a setup kinda deal. They would be hawking their trade on the sidewalk, you stopped and paid them, gave them you name and address. They set up the scene and you started walking while they took the pic, usually a couple of them. The photographer made the selection as to which pic was best. The photos were mailed to you directly from Fox Photo is how it worked in the 50's. As kids, we had our taken a few times. There was also the guys that came around the neighborhoods with a pony that they would take a kids pic on. It worked the same way- name address, pay, and it was mailed to you by Fox Photo. I have one of my dad taken in their yard when he was probably 6 years old. He's sitting in an airplane which would have been something back in the 20's.

[glater]

I appreciate the response. I didn't know the process, but knew you couldn't get the picture too quick. Because I know the girl on the right, I know this picture had to be taken in the late '40's.

[huckster]

My family owns a couple of those street snapshots also. Black and white portrait , but pretty clear pictures. Taken it looks to be. on Houston Street in the late 1940's .

[ranchodrive]

In the mid 1950s.

My mother would take my two sisters and me downtown when she went
shopping.
There were no malls.

Woolworth and Grant stores by Alamo Plaza had grocery merchandise in
the basements.

We would wait by the Alamo.
Back then there was a street in front with traffic passing by.
Nearby close to the front were two bandstands or “gazebos”.
One was made of stones.

Below the bandstands were restrooms.
It was like a small park.

I remember a “street” photographer in this area who took photos
of folks or tourists in front of the Alamo.
I don’t recall Alamo security guards at all.
It was a relaxed atmosphere back then.

I recall discovering a cardboard box with black cans or jars
and boxes with paper inside.
I opened up one. It smelled of vinegar.
I realized it was developing fluid and the paper was photo paper.

The photographer would take pictures of his customers and either the
customers would wait or go shopping and come back for their pictures later.
The park was his studio and probably used the restrooms by the grandstands
to develop the images. I believe the camera used plates not roll film.

This is the first time I have ever mentioned this to anyone.
I still feel bad that I opened one of the cans.

[glater]

From your responses, I can see that depending on the photographer, each had their own way of making & delivering prints. I did a lot of B&W processing in the '70's & '80's & it isn't a fast process, so it's impressive that the photographer by the Alamo, was able to process prints in a public restroom.
Ranchodrive, it's funny how we still carry guilt, many years later.

[ranchodrive]

Originally Posted by glater

From your responses, I can see that depending on the photographer, each had their own way of making & delivering prints. I did a lot of B&W processing in the '70's & '80's & it isn't a fast process, so it's impressive that the photographer by the Alamo, was able to process prints in a public restroom.
Ranchodrive, it's funny how we still carry guilt, many years later.

Is it possible that he used plates instead of roll film in a can that required a darkroom.
I recall that he had boxes with chemicals.
Perhaps he used a black cloth bag .
But...this is all guessing.

And yes,,,I still feel bad about dumb things in my youth.

There was a TV show in black & white about “Robin Hood”.
The opening scene was Robin shooting an arrow into the sky and
landing far away on a target to the tune of the opening show.

I remember throwing a round stone into the air while sing the tune.
My sister was very far away playing with her doll. Never thought that I
would hit her. Was just fooling around.
But it did.
My mom came out when she heard the crying.

I still feel bad about it and had no excuse but to take the spanking.
I couldn’t sit down for a long time.
And I never threw a rock at anyone again.

[Basse Bud]

The family "album" has several photos of various family members walking west on Houston St., just west of the Majestic theater. These dated from the early to mid 1940's. I don't know the system of paying for or receiving the photos, however there were several of female family members.

[huckster]

Ditto,
Same here Basse Bud. We have portraits of G. Mother and of Parents walking down Houston Street at different times. The parents were just kids in these pictures , say twenty or twenty one years old, now they are ninety and near ninety.
Rancho poster , it could have been plates instead of film rolls the old time San Antonio street photographer used I might postulate; simply because of the astonishing clarity of the pictures. Looking at these ancient pictures is like looking back in time.
The street portraits I own are of good resolution. It seems like a large format negative was probably used.
Trapper, the home portrait photographer with the Shetland pony in tow strolled by our house also. I probably refused to participate in their scheme. The little horse loved to eat the carpet grass lawn off the front yard of our little southside Burke home I remember and... the horse would lift its' head on cue.
We still have a portrait of my sister on that little paint pony.
The photographer remarked to me that "the horse eating grass did not hurt the lawn". It looked like
a free meal for the horse, to me.

Originally Posted by Basse Bud

The family "album" has several photos of various family members walking west on Houston St., just west of the Majestic theater. These dated from the early to mid 1940's. I don't know the system of paying for or receiving the photos, however there were several of female family members.

[glater]

Basse Bud, how do I find the family album?