Young man in Kansas City, MO
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What it is:
Photo measuring 3.5 x 5.5 inches, inserted into a 6 x 9 inch folding cardboard frame. (I have cropped the cover of the frame from this scan.)
What I know about it:
Photographer is Cooley Studio of Kansas City, Missouri. Written on the back of the folder in pencil is 1929.
Comments:
I knew I hadn’t updated my blog in a while, but I was shocked to realize it had been over two years! My only excuse is that my fickle attention has been drawn in different directions by other interests. So what made me revisit my blog? Out of the blue, my friend Keri mailed me a couple of antique photos! Such a nice surprise! Here is one of them, a beautiful portrait of a sharply styled young man. (What looks like silvering around the edges of the photo is just reflection from the scanner.) Keri is a costumer by trade, and estimated the pictures to be from the 1920s, and the number “1929” written on the back, if that’s a date, would support that. I didn’t find much about Cooley Studio beyond several other portraits of a similar vintage. Admittedly I didn’t look very hard, but a search is complicated by the fact that Cooley Highlands appears to be a neighborhood in Kansas City, MO, and doing a search on “Cooley Studio Kansas City” nets you a bunch of apartment listings.
Pics of Then 
Welcome back! I thought you might have given up blogging entirely. Do you still look for photos for your collection? I ask because I wonder if I’ll ever lose the bug. Collecting and blogging are different activities, after all.
Thank you! I hadn’t formally given up blogging. It’s just that my interest in it comes and goes, and I realized there’s no need to force myself if I’m not in the mood. I sometimes consider blogging on other topics, but I haven’t made that leap. And while I haven’t actively sought new photos for my collection in a while, I’ll admit I perk up when I see ones for sale, so it’s just a matter of time. I enjoy your posts when I see them, and they often make me think I should look for more. Then I look around my cluttered apartment and realize it can wait. 🙂
I’ve been blogging more than four years now. It’s still rewarding, but it takes a lot of time, and I don’t know how much longer I’ll feel motivated to make the effort. Maybe another year or two, unless something else interferes. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement! Your friend Keri is a gem. Bravo, Keri! 👏
Yes, Keri is a gem. I’m grateful for my friends. I enjoy your posts, but if my example can be of any use, just remember that it’s perfectly acceptable to take a break from it if you aren’t feeling motivated. You can take time off without formally announcing your retirement from it.
That’s good advice, thank you. I’m sure I’ll take a break at some point. I haven’t scanned anything new since January. The steps in the blogging process–scanning and editing images, researching and writing posts, responding to comments–all take time and effort, as you know. The effort is rewarding, but it’s still effort.
WOW! Time sure does fly, doesn’t it? Glad you had the energy to share this photo. 🙂
Yes, it does. I thought it had been maybe a year, but was startled to realize it had been two. And thanks!
Harold Lloyd chose his glasses because they were popular with young people, but if the 1929 date of this photo is correct (and I agree it could be–those long collar points are an indicator), maybe this young man was inspired by Lloyd.
Tokens of Companionship, you have a new follower!
Funny, you made me look up to see how old Harold Lloyd would have been in 1929. He was 36, which from my perspective doesn’t seem old. But I can see how he would have still felt the need to adopt things like his glasses to appeal to a younger audience.
He created “the glass character,” as he called it, in the late teens, so he himself was younger, but he wanted to do something more realistic and contemporary than his previous “Lonesome Luke” character, who was more of a clown.
One of the reasons I often find myself preferring him over, say, Chaplin or Keaton, is exactly because he comes across as less of a clown.
Harriedcostumer, it’s an honor!
Ironically, in the only photograph I own of Harold Lloyd, he isn’t in character. But it’s a nice shot with Mildred Davis and the kids (click to enlarge):
Wow!!!
Great picture!
Thanks! It has no stamps, but it must have been a publicity photo.