Blog - Barbara Levine

Spooktacular! 16 Great Vintage Halloween Photos from the Collection of Barbara Levine

Looking at and collecting vintage Halloween photographs is always great fun. Here are some favorites from my collection. Check out over 50 years of great costumes - Happy Halloween! Bank robbers? Vintage photo, 1913Which famous 1920s movie star is man on left dressed as?Vintage Halloween photos, c.1925. Love the Geisha (and look at carved pumpkins too)!Bird costume, c.1930.Great Halloween mask! Vintage photo, 1939. Watch out, Creature from Black Lagoon (below) is in the living room!Mr. Peanut(s), Kodacolor photo, 1955Merman (below), c.1960Gypsy Princesses, c. 1965My favorite vintage Halloween photo (below), Nurse, 1967Devil Witch! Vintage photo, 1976.All photographs from the collection of Barbara Levine / projectB.com. Questions? email me: blevine@projectb.com                 Read more 1 comment Barbara Levine, Halloween, Vintage photos

A man, his dog and a photobooth in New York City.

In 1943, a well dressed man took several photographs of himself with his large dog in a photobooth located in New York's Grand Central Station. All of the photobooth strips were cut into individual pictures but I have tried to recreate them here based on lighting and the man's clothing. Looking at the different coats he is wearing it appears he and his dog visited the photobooth regularly. Can you imagine trying to get a German Shepherd to sit still in the small space of the booth? These photos reveal to us not only a beloved animal but a whole relationship - and these two make a handsome pair!All photos Collection of Barbara Levine / projectB.com Save Read more 2 comments Barbara Levine, Dogs, Photobooth, vintage photos of dogs

Why Collectors Treasure Vintage Photo ID Badges

Collection of Barbara Levine/projectB.comVintage employee identification badges are simultaneously a memory object, advertisement, photograph and artifact of business history. They have become of great interest to collectors (especially ones that feature women) since they exemplify two important cultural traditions: the use of photographs as jewelry (mourning pins, rings and novelty pin-back buttons) and as an instrument of authority or identification (mug shots, passports and licenses). The photo badge above, c.1945, was issued by New Departure, a Connecticut-based division of General Motors that manufactured ball bearings. Above is a c.1955 photo id badge. The Formfit Company was established in 1917 with headquarters in Chicago as a maker of women’s “foundation garments” – mainly corsets and girdles. It was one of the... Read more Barbara Levine, vintage photo id badges

Fabulous Space Age Christmas Trees!

Collection of Barbara Levine/projectB.comOne of the reasons I love collecting and selling vintage photographs is often the photos lead me to learning about history and interesting stories. Recently, I purchased the above 1970s snapshot of a silver Christmas tree decked out in gold glass ball ornaments. In addition to my appreciation of the photo for it's unique color, I became curious about the origin of aluminum Christmas trees and decided to find out the story.In 1959, America saw the first commercial aluminum Christmas tree manufactured by the Aluminum Specialty Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Named the 'Evergleam', it was advertised as a ''permanent'' tree.  No more having to tie a tree to the top of the car or cleaning up falling... Read more Barbara Levine, mid-century modern, Vintage Christmas trees, vintage photos

Before Facebook: A Photographic Collage of Friendship

  Collection of Barbara Levine / projectB.com Photo albums can be more than collections of images; they can reflect a whole artistic sensibility. In this remarkable 1920s example, the inside back cover is a collage of faces and maker has inscribed a question—or a title—at the bottom: A "Million" Friends. Are you Among Them?. It is a (pre Facebook!) photographic map of friendship, and an invitation to find ourselves in it. Save Read more 1 comment Barbara Levine, Found photos, Vernacular photographs, Victorian collage, Vintage photo albums 1 2 3 9 Older articles »