My favorite website for vintage photography is Shorpy.com. Their annual Christmas tradition is to post this photograph. As they so aptly caption it:
Washington, D.C., 1925. “Western Electric Co. group.” There are enough little dramas playing out here to keep the forensic partyologists busy until Ground Hog Day.
If you want me to be happy this Christmas season, you WILL click here for a full-sized version of this festive time capsule. Everybody instantly springs to life. Oh, so many things to study.
Let’s see, it’s 1925, so we’re smack-dab in the middle of the Roaring Twenties. World War I has ended, but surely some of these men are veterans. In just four more years, Wall Street crashes and the Great Depression begins.
And the hair! The shoes! The faces! Not to mention a teddy bear….Tell me what you see!
Fa la la,
Barbara
Silver in the Barn 
Goodness Barbara, I see someone holding a, possibly a horse? A small wooden horse. That must have been some party! And those men in the back had to be standing on a desk to put them so high. Beautiful.
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Oh yes, Angie, definitely a horse! And there are other little gifts scattered all about….Thank you!
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I’ll just sum up: the shoes and hair are just not me; so glad I live now!
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No Marcel wave for you, Linda? I LOVE the shoes on both the men and women. I should have been a flapper!!
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i love this so much.
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You and me both, Beth!
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The most interesting thing I noticed was that some people in the photo seemed to be distracted by something over to their right. Whatever it is, the men seem mildly amused by it, but the women – not so much.
… also the old ceiling light with the long cord to turn it off and on. I actually remember those in some old homes before the renovation craze started in earnest in the 70s.
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Yes, the lady in the lower left of the photo is more interested in whatever is going on over to her right. And the woman next to her with the white lace collar is giving her a similar look to that which Sophia Loren gave Jayne Mansfield in that other famous vintage photo.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/celebs-caught-checking-gallery-1.1176315?pmSlide=1.1176350
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As you said, there’s a lot going on in this photo … as is typical in any office dynamic 😉
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Yes. That was what struck me. Your comparison is great–I’d forgotten about that photo! The one I had in mind was more recent:
http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-53806530/us-president-obama-shares-a-moment-with
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Bwahaha! I’d forgotten about THAT little episode. Honestly, though, I’ve seen pictures of myself looking just like Michelle does here and only I know that I was actually just trying to remember whether I needed milk or not at the grocery store. Looks can be deceiving, can’t they?
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You are right about that. My ex, a sociopath who arranged the theft of money from a church “in my opinion” (and the opinion of the LAPD that charged him), has jolly laugh crinkles all about his eyes–like Santa.
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Ah Yes! I can see my mother now with that wavy crinkle hair style. In fact, the whole clothes style as well. They used to have a whale of a time at those Xmas party’s My Mom was a real good looker so you can imagine the times she had. She always said if you didn’t wear a hat you were not properly dressed. I have a lovely photo of her with her very best hat on..
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The Marcel wave, Rita! I would love to see a photo of your mother in full flapper regalia. I love this era. One can almost imagine Scott and Zelda in this photo.
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Hi Barbara, I haven’t a photo of my mother in her rouring twenties clothes just one where she is wearing her ” cheeky hat ” as she called it. But how do I upload it onto your blog ?
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I don’t think there’s a way, Rita. But maybe you could email it to me as an attachment. I’d love to see her.
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What strikes me most about these old photos is that no matter what their age, everyone looks and acts like an adult. It was our generation, the boomers, who obsessed society with youth. A big part of that was marketing, youth sells soft-drinks and blue-jeans but there was something else going on there too. I am convinced our parents who came of age during hardships of the depression and WWII, tried to live their lost youth through us.
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I have the same reaction to vintage photographs, Greg, when I learn the age of the subjects. So young! That’s part of what I find so touching about this particular photo. All of these people are headed into desperately tough times and I can’t help but wonder how they all fared. Most of these people would have been born roughly around 1900, right? Much older than most of our grandparents yet here they are, brimming with youth and possibilities.
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Oh my, I could be here all day! Lets see… I particularly like the Christmas oil can. It looks as if the health and safety officer might have been a little oiled for I cannot imagine that he/she would have allowed the tree lights to be wired to the overhead fixture. Perhaps the wiring issue explains the frizzy do’s on some of the gals.
Thanks for the lead to Shorpy!
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I’m so pleased, Maggie! Some of the gals had to go through the torture of hair pins and Marcel waves and at least one had the natural curls to pull off the look. And speaking of health, the big bald man who looks as though he might be the boss is smoking a cigar, I think.
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I tagged the same guy as the boss. He has a mild Hitchcock think going on…
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Agreed! Funny how that air of authority conveys even over the decades.
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Hey, I like those frizzy do’s – reminds me of me!
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oops! Um. Yeah. hee hee. Oh, hell, I can’t backpedal my way out of this, can I?
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When I was a kid I used to try and flatten my hair with buckets of Dippity-do and bobby-pins every 1/2 inch or so. My hair came out looking very much like some of the gals in this photo. Now I know what era my hair was meant for.
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You’re a flapper at heart, Susanne. Or should I call you Zelda?
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I always fancied myself more of a Tallulah than a Zelda.
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Then so it shall be. She was a lot more fun, you’re right, and the voice!
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I went and had a look at some old footage on YouTube – a sketch she was in on the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz show – OMG! She WAS wonderful!
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She was under serious consideration for Scarlett O’Hara role. I’ve always liked her especially in Lifeboat.
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I didn’t know that – she would have been an excellent Scarlett!
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Bet there were some good stories not told afterwards!
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That’s one of the things that intrigues me about the photo too, Beth.
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Wow! I do love this post and the challenge of “seeing things.” My first reaction was the lack of joy in the faces there. Only about four people were genuinely smiling and the rest looked ready to go home and take a nap. I especially like the lady in the Police Department hat (even if she’s not smiling either). I wonder if there was a photo taken before this one when there was some holiday gaiety (if there was some). Even the ladies holding the candy canes look pretty sad. There is one lady far left who has a wry smile like she knows something secret. How interesting this is Barbara! I could go back and back and still see something else. Thanks for sharing. ~Dor
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I think we may be seeing vestiges of proper “photo” behavior here. These people were from an era where casual photography wasn’t an everyday occurrence, and they may have felt the need to pose a bit more stiffly than we would. Yet there are traces of gaiety everywhere….Police Department hat as evidence!! I imagine them all bursting into laughter immediately after the photographer snapped the picture. So pleased you enjoyed, Dor!
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That does not look like a fun and festive party ~ so many serious faces.
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I think some were aware the photo was being taken at that instant and others weren’t. Something was happening that captured the attention of the lady on the lower left. She strikes me as the office loner.
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I, too, immediately noticed the oil can when I enlarged the photo. And I agree with a previous comment that I could just look at that photo all day. Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you, Dianna! I’ve looked at it so many times I’ve lost count because it fascinates me so. And almost always I spot something new. So pleased you enjoyed it.
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Looks like a very serious “party”
All the little gifts around are confusing- but my favorite is the Christmas tree. Remember when all our trees looked like that- now if they are real they are all trimmed to perfection! Or as one of the few that still gets a live tree ( and we must not forget the tinsel that was put on a strand at a time)
I’ve saud fir 2 years I want an “ugly ” tree and have not found one)
Most for safety and ease have gone to the fake tree that are so good they are hard to tell if they are real or not
-that’s a picture of a party one could miss but love the hair and outfits
Thanks for sharing!
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Our first Christmas tree looked almost as good as this one. We dug it out of the woods because who could possibly afford the $20 for a tree? I love the dresses and jewelry and did you notice the fabulous glittery shoe buckles on one of the seated ladies? Betsy, of the vintage jewelry creations, would have a field day with some of these items.
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Do you think the man standing in the middle of the first row of men is in charge? He looks like he might be important. (or thinks he is) This reminds me that my parents came from a mixed-tree background. My one grandfather thought that the only true Christmas tree was a balsam and the other was all Scotch pine. I don’t think you can get either around here anymore.
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Hello! If he is not, then he should have been. Maggie and I have already anointed him Top Dog! Mixed-tree background! You poor thing having to deal with such confusion!! LOL.
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They must have opened up presents because there is crumpled paper on the floor and one man is still holding a wrapped present. One man is brave enough to sit on the floor with the women while another man scowls across the room at the rest of the office! People posed differently back then for pictures. They were serious for pictures but not necessarily in real life. Present day…we pose for pictures in more dramatic fashion to look like we are having an even better time than we probably actually are! Cheers to all!!
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Oh, what an excellent observation! Yes, the forced frivolity and gaiety!!! I know exactly what you mean. I noticed the wrapping paper too. And there had to be a love affair or two in this group. I insist upon it!!
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Love this photo challenge! Of course, I’m at the end of the line and all my observations have been noticed and commented on! But, there are a few….hand on the shoulder and the lady’s demur look. On the table 2 packs of something…cigarettes? Loved the scrawny tree. And there was no flowing hair anywhere. The hair parts were off center. What’s with the PD police hat? The haunting look of the lady sitting on the floor next to the desk! Thanks, Barbara, this was fun!
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Excellent observations! I have no idea about the PD hat. Maybe it was a gag gift. And maybe those are cigarette boxes, I hadn’t noticed them before. Today I noticed something new: two of the men in the front row have removed their eyeglasses for the photo. That’s rather endearing to me. Oh yes, the hair. All very Clara Bow, aren’t they?
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I see an oil can and much more, what a great photo!
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Ahhh, I imagine the photographer would like this one!
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Enough for some clever writer to make a book out of, Barbara … someone who can write fiction, of course.
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Those were exactly my thoughts, M-R. Teeming with potential, isn’t it?
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Make it a challenge ! Dare someone to do it !
Maybe Elizabeth …?
https://elizabethkrallwriter.wordpress.com/
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I don’t know Elizabeth. Obviously I should! And there other great fiction writers all around us….I am thinking of Helen, Sandra, and Nicki as just three. Anybody care to rise to the occasion?
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I see tinsel!! Tinsel! That brings back fond memories. I also see too much holiday cheer in that photo, Barbara. I’d just be a ‘downer’ at their party. 🙂
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Oh, Eric, surely not. You never know, these Roaring 20s kids must have had a ball with you!. And yes, tinsel, another throwback!
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How fun to look at! Can’t wait to check out the site when I have more time to linger! LOVE the tree. Love imagining life then and office protocol and love seeing the styles. I will linger later!
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OK, have fun. This is just meant to be a lighthearted glimpse into an office party and I will refrain from my usual tendency to go off the deep end and start ruminating about equal rights, employee diversity, and all the rest. Why can’t I ever take anything at face value? EGAD!! LOL!
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It’s what makes you YOU, and what we love about you! 🙂
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(Blush) and thank you! Or maybe “tolerate” is a better word…..COL!
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HI Barb,
Great pic! These vintage photos are so fun to look at! First thing I noticed was that wonderful scale sitting on the desk. Next, one man holding a rocking horse, and a small oil can on the floor next to a toy house. Lover thefashion! Peter Pan collars especially. Those were certainly the days! If only we could dress like that now and wave our hair……..
COL,
Joanne
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Of course you would notice the scale which I have completely overlooked while studying the jewelry. Did you notice that there is an object on the scale that looks like the world’s first troll doll? Seriously! And yes to the gorgeous dresses, shoes, and hair! Observe….not an ugly Christmas Sweater in sight!!! COL. XXX
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Not a terribly jolly lot. Where is the ‘ho-ho-ho atmosphere, let alone the red nosed reindeer? That bulky man at the front must be the manager or director.
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We’ve decided he is definitely the boss. And I have decided that they are all having a blast but got serious when somebody told them “All right, calm down, y’all, we’ve got to take a photograph now!” That’s my story, Gerard! The reindeer is just out of the frame….that’s what the woman in the lower left is looking at!!!!
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The women’s hair, Barbara! So many of them have the same, rowed style. I see by reading the comments above that it’s called the Marcel Wave. I wonder if this was a Christmas party ‘do or if the women word their hair this way every day. I also wonder if they could fix it this way themselves, or needed to “have it done” by a hairdresser. I notice that there are a few older men in the photo, but no older women. I wonder if the women quit when they had children, or got tired and left the company because they were not promoted. I think the Christmas tree in the back is quite scraggly. I also think there might be another robust variety, Scotch pine maybe, as Cat brings up in her comment, just barely creeping into the photo on the right side. It makes me wonder if they had arguements over which should be center tree, to be settled by big boss, who I think is the full-bodied, don’t-miss-a-meal suited fellow toward the right with a cigarette in his right hand and a towel or something in his left. Do you think the photographer said, all skinny short men climb up on chairs in the back, or that was natural order of selection? As you say, Barbara, the stories of office dymanics this photo only hints at. Mesmerizing. Thanks for letting us take a swing at commentary!
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OK, fellow music buff. Do you remember a certain Annie Lennox song? “Keep Young and Beautiful” mentions Marcel wave at 1:11.
They did the Marcel with a special curling iron and/or pins. I think it lasted quite some time; people didn’t shampoo as frequently as we do now. And they definitely all did their hair for the party, of that I’m sure, but it was common to have one for everyday.
Mark, you really saw a lot in this photo. I love it!! Yes, why no women of a certain age? Back then you couldn’t stay employed if you were pregnant, as a matter of fact many employers didn’t want married women. We definitely think the guy with the sort of Tony Soprano demeanor is the head honcho. And, yes, all skinny short guys climb up on the desks please. Now I have to go look for this second Christmas tree!! Thanks, Mark!
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Thanks for the Annie song, Barbara. I have never caught her line about the Marcel Wave before now. I know you are right about the ‘do lasting longer because of bathing habits. That didn’t strike me as I looked at the photo.
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Thank goodness those Marcel waves have never come back in style! Did anyone look attractive with them?
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Not even Annie Lennox, right?
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There are a few people who may have had a little bit much to drink just smiling away. I love the fatter candy canes from their time period, there is a bear and odds and ends, a person may have sheet music, but no one is singing. I liked the kind of messed up hair and distracted appearance of the woman by the desk. There was a pointy paper holder and a miniature house, possibly one from off a desk and another off of a train set or decorated scenery. I think the message of enough drama to keep everyone talking until Groundhog’s Day is so funny, Barb. Great photograph and fantastic question that got us all talking… smiles!
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Hi Robin, now all I need is to imagine the whole thing in color! It’s been great fun hearing what everybody’s thoughts and observations have been on this one photograph. Whatever would they think if they knew almost 100 years later, we would be dissecting their every pose? And will this happen 100 years from now to our bazillion photographs? I
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I cannot imagine our own photos being dissected but what fun it would be to be a ‘fly on the wall’ at this Christmas party, Barb… did you mean to say something else? Your comment ended with a final sentence starting with “I…” ?
This reminds me of almost all my conversations with people, just wondering since I start somewhere (like you have called me a bee buzzing and covering multiple flowers and topics…) Hugs, Robin
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What fun! I saw ” pilgrim-type” ladies shoes, a Charlie Brown-type tree, lovely women with finger waves galore, an oil can??, a bald man with some kind of pump on his head, a woman with a fireman-type hat….did not see a teddy bear. I feel sure pot I’d there somewhere! 🙂
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Those pilgrim-type glittery buckles are worth a fortune now, Jeanie, to the vintage jewelry crafters. I wrote about my friend Betsy who makes jewelry last summer and she made a necklace from buckles just like that. So cool. Yes, an oil can and I saw the guy with what looks like a pump on his head too. The teddy bear is on the floor. It looks almost like a little Steiff. Glad you enjoyed. And Merry Christmas.
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It is definitely an interesting photo worth poring over. Despite the bobs and Marcel waves, only one woman is wearing make-up (to quote my mom, ‘only tarts wore it!’). And the tree, so simple and barely adorned. How things have changed! I love the rhinestone buckle shoes. And what’s with the oil can?
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And I know just who you’re talking about, the little tart! My mother remembers getting into huge trouble for wearing red nail polish. As you say, how things have changed. I have no clue as to the oil can; surely a reason but for what?
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Maybe she has a squeaky little voice and it was a joke present!
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Why not? Sounds plausible to me!
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I couldn’t get over how the women and men were in separate groupings in the photo. As a previous commenter wrote–I’m glad I live now.
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And to think this was ten years after Grandma wrote her diary, right? The world has changed enormously and in a very short period of time relatively.
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What’s with Baldy and the Go Go sign on his head? Bet he got his pink slip the next day. Or possibly he got it that morning and he’s lost all sense of dignity. Is that a 1920s version of a troll doll on the scales? Boss Man obviously disliked his present because he’s re-wrapped it. I think the man sitting on the desk next to him should be really, really nervous about his work colleague behind him. And someone just threw their ripped paper on the floor under the desk. I hate that.
Sigh. Hours of endless fun available and I have to go and cook dinner.
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Yes! Definitely the world’s first troll doll on the scale. And I cannot believe nobody has noticed the Duke of Windsor in the back row with his wrapping paper as handkerchief!! Good ones, H!
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This is fun! It is like the Highlights books when I was a kid where you find the hidden pictures! I saw Western Electric Co and my Dad just popped in my mind. He worked for Union Electric Co. The oil can cracks me up, I use to collect them!
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Why do you think it’s there, Pix? We’ve been wondering.
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Hmmm.. I don’t know. Ima ask CH. He always has an answer for everything.. 😀 My Dad had quite a few of those oil cans and he used them all the time. He was such a tinkerer. I have the sweetest vision of him this morning with one of those oil cans and I can hear the familiar oil can sound it made when he pushed the bottom!
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That is such a sweet memory.
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CH says they were always oiling some kind of machinery.. bah. I think it was some kind of inside joke. I haven’t read all the comments yet.. CH noticed the guy with the gift tag in his breast pocket.. cracked me up!
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Bah, is right! How very predictable of you, Mr. Pix. Surely there had to be another, more scintillating reason for it! How funny.
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That’s who I’m calling the “Duke of Windsor!”
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To whom or what is the girl in the lower left front giving the “stink eye?” LOL!
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A mystery for the ages, Jan! But I would so love to know.
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Right away I noticed the horse the man is holding. And next I noticed the tree because…it looks a lot like the one I purchased this year for $12. An old-fashioned tree and it’s perfect.
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It is an absolutely perfect tree, I agree, Audrey. I am sooo over my big, overly decorated thing that there are no words for it!
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What a classic! The men are dressed so well. And I almost missed that teddy bear. Great find. Cheers
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You are absolutely right! The sartorial splendor of the men has been completely overlooked as we go on and on over the hair and clothing of the women. They were quite something, these fellas! Thank you for popping over and visiting!
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No eye make-up. All the effort put into the hairdos. I like the hair of the pretty woman in the back left. Some nice shoes. We usually see photos of movie stars in their 1920s dress-up clothes. But these are ordinary people. Some of the faces would fit in any decade; others belong specifically in 1920. A fun exercise.
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I know what you mean about certain faces seeming to fit their decade. Because I am guilty of overthinking just about everything, Nicki, I have actually contemplated things like would Greta Garbo be considered beautiful today if she were presented in a completely contemporary mode? Yes, make-up was still a bit too avant garde for the average woman to wear to the office, i’m sure.
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Reblogged this on buenisimowithdb and commented:
Hi Barbara the photo is sooo cool! 🙂
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Hi Barbara! I looove the photo! 🙂
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HI Daniel! Isn’t it fab? Don’t you just love all the “costumes?” It is a step back in time!
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Barbara, that is hilarious! As a pro photographer, I always LOVE these old shots! I think the ladies with the permed hair are great, considering what they had to go through back then to get a perm. The woman up front with the leprechaun shoes is especially “stylish” with that hair. 🙂 I wonder what the “go go” sigh is in the back, and what those men are holding in napkins? Fruitcake, perhaps? The woman with the police hat is hysterical! Thanks for sharing! ❤
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Rachel, I like the idea of fruitcake in the napkins. We’ll stick with that. And I think the police hat lady was obviously the life of the party too. Glad you enjoyed.
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You’ve made me fall in love with the whole website! 😀
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WOW ! Those men in the back on the right must be 14 feet tall. Thanks visit my blog.
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Too funny, Carl. The tall guys always have to go in back, right?
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Hi Barbara, Finally getting to read my favorite blogs and I’m so glad I saw this! The photo is priceless! It seems like that clothes change but people and personalities are constant through the times.
Marry Christmas!
Caroline
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Caroline, Hello and thank you for popping over into the WordPress arena. So pleased you enjoyed this photo; it is a favorite of mine. Many warm wishes for the happiest of holidays to you and yours! Merry Christmas.
Barbara
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I’d love to know what’s going on with the 3 women, near the desk, who are staring off to the left … and the man, in the top row, who also has interests elsewhere. Wonderful photo. It captures a time I’d loved to have visited BUT not been a permanent part of. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 😉
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I so agree. The twenties would be fun to visit through the “Time Tunnel” but I’d want to come home very soon. Somebody smart said they would never want to live in any time period before the invention of novacaine and I feel the same about equal rights. We have it so good now!
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I just got around to looking at the photo and I’m so glad I did–it is endlessly fascinating in a “can’t look away from the train wreck” sort of way! I feel like we’re seeing people in much more their natural state than we do in photos today–we’ve all learned how to pose and mask our feelings so much more completely in photos by now!
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