The New Adirondack Vernacular
Friday, July 18, 2008 at 03:53PM 
Postcards from the woods • click to embiggenI have been reading Adirondack Vernacular, The Photography of Henry M. Beach. Beach was one of many, albeit very prolific, native late 19th / early 20th century Adirondack photographers. This book is by the same author, Robert Bogdan, who wrote Exposing the Wilderness: Early-Twentieth-Century Adirondack Postcard Photographers, another book in my collection.
Nearly every village and hamlet in the Adirondacks at that time was home to at least one picture maker. They were usually jack-of-all-trades, photography-wise. In addition to the landscape, they pictured people, towns, industry, events, and just about anything else from which they could make a buck. The result is a treasure trove of photography from that era, most of which is still hanging around in area museums, libraries, and private collections.
The sheer quantity of pictures can make one wonder if there has ever been a region of the US of A that has a more picture-documented past than the Adirondacks. In all likelihood, this stems from the convergence of 2 events - the newly developed ease of photography at that time which coincided with the opening up of the Adirondacks to a veritable flood of tourists.
In an effort to capture the tourist dollar, many a photographer offered a line of Adirondack picture postcards. I have a very modest collection of Adirondack postcards, some postmarked as early as 1911. Amongst the postcards, my favorites are those that have been mailed, replete with all manner of messages - some short and sweet - Having a fine time. Wish you were here. Others much more wordy, like the one posted here whereon the writer not only writes small but also strings the sentences around the edge of the card.
The reason that I like these used postcards is that the written messages are so utterly timeless. Many of the pictures, despite the differences from today in dress and transportation, are timeless as well. Lots of people - locals and tourists - doing then exactly what they are doing in the Adirondacks today.
Soooo ... I just can't leave this alone. After noodling it around in my head and on the computer for a while, I am fairly certain that something in the manner of what you see here is how I want to present a sizable chunk of my Adirondack photography. I very much like the sense of same as it ever was that derives from the then and now juxtaposition of the old and the new.
I also am intrigued by the idea of writing many of the messages myself - directly on to a blank postcard back on the prints. In fact, there are quite a number of possibilities .... time to get back to the noodling. And, tomorrow, it's off to an auction that lists a nice collection of vintage Adirondack postcards as an auction item.
gravitas et nugalis
Featured Comment: Steve Durbin wrote: "... There might well be something gained by printing much larger than actual postcard size; it would certainly clue the viewer in to your message. I see only one problem: you'll have to abandon your beloved square."
my response: I am still wrestling with the details of how I approach this concept, but one thing is certain - I will be printing the postcard component large than life-size. Currently, I am printing them at 9 inches wide.
As for my beloved square, I am leaning towards the postcards as an "addendum" of sorts to my square prints, printed on the bottom border of a large print - 48×60 inch paper, 30 inch square image, postcard front and back printed side-by-side (approx. 5×8 inches each) centered underneath the main image.
Reader Comments (4)
Ola, back again. Postcards have been a powerful landscape shaping media. It is interesting, i left you with the problem of going bigger to compete in the "not to be seen again market", and now you are in the very little (i would say web) size.
Size matters, i was thinking hard about it in terms of content (either photographic or objective).
By the way some of your book selections are pretty interesting. While away i had the pleasure to study Euclaire's book (found used).
I suppose you already know it but if not have a look ad Fratelli Alinari's site, they were the first postcard industry in Europe, they used to have several photographers around with a precise set of rules on how to take a view. Lot of these rules are now in use in every day photography (statistically speaking: where the ruling aesthetics is formed)
Nice appropriation! This strategy offers so much room for outright satire as well as subtle irony, I'm not surprised you're attracted to it. There might well be something gained by printing much larger than actual postcard size; it would certainly clue the viewer in to your message. I see only one problem: you'll have to abandon your beloved square.
"The sheer quantity of pictures can make one wonder if there has ever been a region of the US of A that has a more picture-documented past than the Adirondacks."
my guess would be a resounding yes. Just poll 300 people from different demographics and different regions of the US of A and ask if they've heard of a) the Adirondacks and/or b) Yellowstone.
My bet would be 90% have never heard of the Adirondacks and would probably also pronounce it horribly wrong, and the opposite for Yellowstone (90% know of it).
This completely made up poll would lead me to believe that chances are more photographers have been to and photographed Yosemite (or Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, etc...).
my 2¢
Hey -- regarding Squarespace. Sorry you're having any issues, and I'm following up via your ticket. I'd like to be clear on something though:
Firefox and Safari are Squarespace's PRIMARY browsers, and the issues you're having are caching and upgrade related -- I wouldn't want it implied that we're somehow avoiding those browser, especially since they're the ones I use :)
Thanks!