It's about that time again, the end of summer and back-to-school for the majority of American students. This September I'll be entering my third (and final) year of graduate school, my last time to have the opportunity/excuse to buy shiny new notebooks, pens & clothes for the semester.Lately I've found myself drawn to old school photographs-- especially those from the 1930s & 40s. It started with three 1940s photos found in an antique shop in East Lakeview then this week I found a few more at two antique stores in Forest Park, a suburb just outside of Chicago. My friend Albert has also contributed to the cause, he gave me an album full of 1960s and 70s school photos from the Chicago area.
There's something about the odd formality of these images that intrigue me, they also have that nostalgia factor of School Photo Day-- the day where you wore your cutest clothes and showed off the latest haircut to be recorded forever in the annals of school history (I always hoped I wouldn't be THAT person who blinked).
Click on the photos for a larger version-- it's worth it to see the details of the clothes!
I don't have any additional information about the above photo. The following three photos, however, have identifying notes on the back. They are all from the same person who went to school in Downers Grove, a suburb of Chicago. The students' names are noted on the back of the photos... some girl names from the 1940s: Louise, Rita, Shirley, Vivian and Isabella. Boys: Billy, Ray, Stanley and James. It's interesting how names can be so generation-specific... do you know any Vivians or Ritas?
Miss Hanson, Whittier School, 5th Grade. May 25, 1945.
Lincoln School, 6th Grade. May 25, 1944.
Whittier School, 4th Grade. May 25, 1942.
This is my favorite of the group, it's of a group of Toronto (yay Canada!) school children that seem to be celebrating some sort of holiday/are having a pageant or play. Dated 1943.
Private school photo! Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Grade 1, Feb 1962. I love how they took the photo in the classroom rather than having the kids stand in the auditorium/outside.
Stewart School, Chicago, Nov 1970. I think this might be a first grade class? I like the coloured tights won by the two girls in the front row and the sudden ethnic diversity that appears in the '70s photos.
A few vintage back to school finds via Etsy, below is an old wire (gym) locker basket. If I had known how trendy these would become I would have stolen my old one in 7th grade!
