kudzurunner
3887 posts
Jan 31, 2013
2:56 PM
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I took a drive up to Sardis, Mississippi today and visited for a while with the woman who owns a store on main street. Her uncle, as I noted in another thread, was the guy who drove the King Biscuit Time bus around the Delta, shuttling Sonny Boy Williamson and his band from town to town. He took lots of photos. They've been sitting in a safe deposit box for years.
The woman's husband handed me an envelope when I got there. There were 29 negatives. They're two-and-a-half inches by three-and-a-half inches. I don't know what format that is. They are pristine, more or less. They certainly haven't suffered for their age.
The dates "1949 and 1950" were written on the envelope.
At least six to eight of the shots feature Sonny Boy and his band. Among the things that caught my eye:
1) Sonny Boy is blowing through an Astatic mic (or the equivalent) and, in several photos, grasping it and the harp firmly with both hands, like a full-on amped-up player.
2) His band includes not just guitar and drums, but a trumpet player
There's more, but that's all I want to share at this point. I got accused of hype last time around. Less is more.
Oh yeah: I took a good photo of what is clearly the best shot--one of the Astatic shots, a great group shot of the master and his band.
Last Edited by on Jan 31, 2013 8:16 PM
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tolga7t
267 posts
Jan 31, 2013
3:20 PM
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are we gonna get to see them?
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bluemoose
845 posts
Jan 31, 2013
3:15 PM
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Sorry, my bad. I do spend too much time looking at youtube bigfoot grainy videos of black blobs. Sincere apology.
MBH Webbrain - a GUI guide to Adam's Youtube vids
FerretCat Webbrain - Jason Ricci's vids (by hair colour!)
Last Edited by on Jan 31, 2013 3:39 PM
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kudzurunner
3888 posts
Jan 31, 2013
3:32 PM
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Thanks, Bluemoose! Responses like yours are precisely why I'm not going to share the photo here. I do hope that your friends on the forum will thank you for being so quick to weigh in!
No hype. Once again, I've freely shared info. I hope it's of interest.
I'll bring the photo of the negative with me this weekend when I'm up in Memphis, so any forum folks who want to see it, just find me at the Rum Boogie on Friday evening.
Last Edited by on Jan 31, 2013 3:38 PM
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tolga7t
269 posts
Jan 31, 2013
3:50 PM
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but what if we are not patient?
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SuperBee
870 posts
Jan 31, 2013
4:44 PM
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I'd love to see these photos. I love this sort of stuff
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rbeetsme
1093 posts
Jan 31, 2013
4:40 PM
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Adam, the negs are 6X9 cm, are they single sheets or cut from a roll? Good chance shot with a Graphlex 2 1/4 camera. Is there a half moon with a number on the side of the neg? Any good commercial photo lab can make a proof sheet of all of the negs, inexpensive. Then, you can choose to print any neg or have the better ones scanned to a digital file.
Last Edited by on Jan 31, 2013 4:41 PM
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XHarp
530 posts
Jan 31, 2013
5:43 PM
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I'm disappointed Kudzurunner, there are far more members on this site then the few who made "snake oil" comments. Please consider those of us who believe that there are hidden gems in drawers, barns and sheds yet to be found. I graciously ask you to reconsider posting the photos.
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"Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
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nacoran
6446 posts
Jan 31, 2013
6:04 PM
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I was waiting for the pudding. I took your word on the proof. :)
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rbeetsme
1094 posts
Jan 31, 2013
6:20 PM
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Adam, could be cut negs from a roll. If they are sheet film, there will be a notch in the lower left hand corner. (the notch indicates film type) Sheet film has a thicker base and is more stable. But either should print well from your description. I hope the family approves the distribution of the image.
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kudzurunner
3892 posts
Jan 31, 2013
7:06 PM
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Holy crap! I just inverted the image and it's amazing. Sonny Boy leaning back in a chair, cupping that big old ball mic. He's eyeballing his guitar player. The drummer looks at first like a kid, but I think he might be older than he looks. Smallish skinny guy with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.
I told the family today that I would be happy to serve as their informal advisor, free of charge. They're very nice straightforward folks, originally from Helena. As for distribution of the image: they're delighted by the idea that somebody might be interested in the images, and interested in distributing and publicizing them. I'm looking forward to connecting them with honest people who can help make that happen--and who can hopefully pay them a little something for the fact that they've got this time-machine archive to share with the world.
It would be in my personal interest to share the photo that is currently burning a hole through my laptop, but it wouldn't be in their interest, which is why I can't do it. You may be assured, though, that I'll share info (and images) when I'm able to. Over and out.
Last Edited by on Jan 31, 2013 7:10 PM
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nacoran
6449 posts
Jan 31, 2013
7:35 PM
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So, are you thinking they might be more of an archival history thing or is there anything with that 'It' factor that might make a nice blues poster or album art?
Okay, I know you can't show the pictures because you need to protect the families interests, but could you maybe draw us a sketch or something?
edit: Don't do this until you make sure Google doesn't make any copies of the images, but Google does have an image search feature that might be able to confirm if there are other copies of the images floating around out there, some facial recognition software might help you track down the names of the other musicians. If that doesn't work, maybe you could close crop a picture of just the other musicians faces and show them around the blues world.
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Nate
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Last Edited by on Jan 31, 2013 7:43 PM
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kudzurunner
3893 posts
Jan 31, 2013
8:03 PM
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Last Edited by on Jan 31, 2013 8:03 PM
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garry
350 posts
Feb 01, 2013
5:04 PM
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you've probably thought of this, but i'd expect there to be someone in your university art or history departments with the skills and expertise to take best advantage of what's captured on these negatives. given their age, i'd want to be real sure that nothing is lost in the process of bringing them to light.
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jbone
1179 posts
Feb 02, 2013
5:23 PM
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I for one am interested and if I have to wait, so be it.
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kudzurunner
4287 posts
Oct 03, 2013
4:08 PM
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I haven't yet seen a copy, but I'm told that the new issue of Living Blues, just out in the UK and presumably out in the USA, has the article with the new Sonny Boy photos. Giles Robson emailed me, very excited, and is hoping to find a way of bringing the original photos to the UK.
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walterharp
1186 posts
Oct 03, 2013
4:18 PM
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I would suggest finding a library or museum that collects similar things and having them curate them properly. If the family mainly wants them in the public domain, that would be the most responsible thing to do as a blues historian. If the family wants to sell them, then I guess having a magazine buy use of them (but not distribution rights) would be good.
My friend just scored a storage locker full of Jimmy Rogers stuff, and got the library at the university here to pay for the lot, and they will take care of it according to proper practices.
Last Edited by walterharp on Oct 03, 2013 4:20 PM
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