Vintage Family Photo Contest

The first photograph is my father, William Clay McGehee, on board the USS Cumberland Sound, somewhere in the Pacific, Spring 1945.  The second photo was taken upon his promotion to the rank of Commander.

This photo is of W. Oldemar Blum and was taken in a Russian concentration camp for Latvians, possibly Salaspils.  I have always been fascinated by the contrast between the happy, smiling faces and nice clean clothes compared to where they are and what they would soon be facing.  This photo was the last anyone in the family ever heard of W. Oldemar Blum and his family.

Vintage Photo Contest

Here are the first submissions to the vintage family photography contest:

These are photographs of my maternal grandparents, Clarice and Ottie Willich.  The photograph of them together is from their wedding day on May 28, 1937, in Horton, Kansas.  At the time he was 25 and she was 23.  The other picture was taken in 1958 when my grandfather was on a guided hunt in Kenya.

Vintage Photo Contest

The early part of the Twentieth Century is sometimes referred to as the Golden Age of Style.  It is a sad reality that our recent ancestors exhibited a higher degree of style and deportment than we do today.  To illustrate my point, consider the men pictured in the Depression-era photograph above.  Those unemployed men, who are waiting in line for free food, are wearing suits, vests, overcoats and hats.  Imagine how people might be attired if a similar line formed today.

To further illustrate the point, I have decided to host a vintage photo contest.  I am asking that you, the reader, submit classy family photographs from the Golden Age of Style.  Let's see those three-piece suits, fedoras, pinned collars, tie bars and flapper dresses.  With your help I anticipate we may all see some dapper men and beautiful women, and maybe even gain some sartorial inspiration.  You may send your photographs to the blog email address listed in the sidebar.  Please also feel free to share a few details about the individuals, circumstances or settings depicted in your family photographs.

As an incentive for your participation, the winner (as voted on by my readers) for the best family photo from the Golden Age of Style will receive a copy of Alan Flusser's newly updated Style & the Man that will be available on shelves May 11.