Photo Friday
By Don Taylor
This week, for Photo Friday, I examine and research five more envelopes from the Ethel Wight Studio Collection[i]. The envelopes usually contain the name of the person who paid for the photos; however, as I get closer to the end of this project, not all of the envelope packages contain any information regarding the image. As such, my expectations are low, but I’ll try to find out what I can about the images.[ii] Ultimately, I aim to reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the image.
Choir – Holy Trinity Hellenic Orthodox Church, 1934.
This negative envelope says, “Choir in Greek Church #350” (c. 1934-1935)
What I learned about this photo package.
- The 1935 Portland City Directory lists the Holy Trinity Hellenic Orthodox Church, 141 Pleasant, with Rev. Paraskevas Theofrastou. It appears to be the only Greek church in the Portland Directory, where Ethel Wight was a photographer.
I hope that someone from today’s Holy Trinity Church can confirm the Reverend and the apparent choir director portrayed in the photo. Their Office email is htrinityportland@gmail.com.
Although I only posted one photo of the choir here, I have three additional photos available. Please get in touch with me though the contact form below if you are interested in them.
Two unknown girls, probably circa 1935.
This negative envelope had no information regarding it being torn and missing.
The photo includes two young girls, one from 4 to 10 and the other probably from 10 to 14. There is no identifying information.
If you can identify these young girls, I’d love to hear from you.
Besides this photo, I have five additional photos of them. Please contact me though the contact form below if you are interested in them.
Unknown man, Portland, ME, circa 1935.
This negative envelope also is torn and had no information.
What I learned about this photo package.
- This photo appears to be of a young man, possibly late teens or 20s. There is no ID on the envelope because the titling area is torn off.
If you are able to identify this man, I’d love to hear from you.
Besides this photo, I have three additional photos of him. Please contact me though the contact form below if you are interested in them.
Cape Cod style house, 1947.
The envelope this negative was in says, “Bills friends at Litchfield, Covered Bridges, Oct 1947.”
What I learned about this photo
- Sadly, this photo doesn’t appear to match the envelope. The envelope only contained a single photo of a Cape Cod style house. I don’t see anything about this house that would identify where it is located.
Fresh Snow on the Trees, circa 1943.
This final negative envelope says, “Snow & Church Mar 1943.”
What I learned about this photo package.
- There is insufficient detail about the church in the background to identify it.
It is a nice photo a fresh snow on the trees, but is unidentifiable.
Conclusion
- I identified none of the thirty individuals in these photos.
I would love to hear your reaction if any of these photos are of your family member. Especially if this photo is of a loved one for whom you hadn’t seen this photograph before.
For all postings of the Ethel Wight Collection, please see here.
Endnotes
[i] The Wight Studio was in Portland, Maine. Many thanks to Ethel Wight’s family for access to and permission to use the collection of their great aunt.
[ii] These images were converted to positives using a lightbox, a Nikon camera and computer software.
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