Pictures from the Past: Eads Bridge Disaster and Outdoor Games at the Organ Festival.

Like many of you, I've been spending more time at home due to the current lockdown restrictions here in the UK. With my own camera unable to venture out as much as I'd like, I've been diving into a different kind of photographic adventure: my collection of vintage pictures and postcards. It's a slow process, but I'm gradually working my way through them and sharing some of the fascinating glimpses into the past that I uncover.

Today, I wanted to share two recent finds from my collection:

The Eads Bridge Disaster

The first picture I pulled out was tucked away in a sleeve with a stark note: "St Louis and Illinois Bridge disaster. Eads Bridge."

This immediately piqued my interest. The Eads Bridge is an iconic landmark, a marvel of 19th-century engineering that spans the Mississippi River. While the note offers a dramatic hint, I'm still researching the specifics of this "disaster." It's a powerful reminder of the challenges and dangers inherent in the early days of such monumental construction projects.

Outdoor Games at the Organ Festival in Sweden (1920s)

The second gem I discovered today transports us to a completely different scene, titled "Outdoor Games at the Organ Festival" and dating back to the 1920s in Sweden.

This image offers a charming peek into leisure activities from nearly a century ago. One can almost hear the laughter and feel the festive atmosphere. It's fascinating to imagine what kind of "outdoor games" were popular at such an event back then.

Sadly, beyond the notes on their sleeves, I don't have much more information to share about these particular pieces. That's often the nature of collecting these historical artifacts – sometimes their stories remain a mystery.

Clicking any image should open a link in another window to my Colin Green Photography store on Zazzle.

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Bill Ward Pin Up Girls

 In addition to my own photography I am also a collector of images, having purchased many collections of photographs, images, 35mm slides, postcards over the years. A few years ago I bought a job lot collection of pin up girl cartoons and images, I was advised at the time that they were all copyright free or public domain so there is no intention to infringe any copyright by me.

Bill Ward was an American "Good Girl" artist and cartoonist who was notable as the creator of the comic character Torchy.  Born William Hess Ward on the 6th March 1919, he grew up in Ridgewood New Jersey where he developed illustrating as a hobby. Attending the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Ward graduated in 1941 and obtained a job as an assistant at a Manhattan art agency, where he was eventually fired for cutting through a half finished illustration of a Ford motor car. After this Ward went to work for comic book artist Jack Binder, the creator of Daredevil a modern Marvel comics hero. Over the next several decades Ward worked on features such as Captain Marvel, Bullet Man, Blackhawk, Judge Dredd, and his most famous creation Torchy.

The following video features 20 of his "good girl" images with the original caption displayed in the clip.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share.