GREETINGS FROM ATLANTIC CITY (1922)

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The year is 1922. This one is “hot off the presses”, as I completed colorizing this wonderful Atlantic City image only a few minutes ago. This photo turned out just I hoped it would – looking like a group of 2014 girls dressed up like the Roaring ’20s. But, no – this is in fact, a group of girls at the Jersey Shore in 1922 – dressed up like the Roaring ’20s.

Did you realize that the colorizing treatment I’ve given to these young bathing beauties of nearly a century ago – I can also give to your antique museum or family photos?

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

IT’S SUMMER FUN AS ONLY THE JERSEY SHORE CAN DELIVER IT. FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT PLEASURE – HERE’S A PROMO FILM OF SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ IN THE 1950s. SEASIDE HEIGHTS IS ABOUT AN HOUR NORTH OF ATLANTIC CITY. IN THE 1960s, MY FAMILY WOULD OFTEN HEAD DOWN THE GARDEN STATE PARKWAY TOWARD SEASIDE HEIGHTS AND ASBURY PARK. ENJOY!

FASHIONS OF 1934 – MUSICAL (1934)

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The year is 1934. This scene is part of a dream sequence production number directed by Hollywood legend, Busby Berkeley for the Warner Brothers’ musical, “Fashions Of 1934”. When I laid my eyes on this movie still, I couldn’t resist giving it the full-color treatment. Platinum blonde human harps? Alas, only in Hollywood. A short clip of this musical number is included here for your enjoyment.

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

ORIGINAL “FASHIONS OF 1934” MOVIE POSTER

SCENE FROM “FASHIONS OF 1934”

BOOK OF LOVE – THE MONOTONES (1958)

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The year is 1958. This is the year The Monotones posed the philosophical question, “I wonder, wonder who-wah-hoo-ooo-oo – who wrote the Book of Love? Rock & Roll was the official music of Teensville, and The Monotones’ doo wop ode to romance peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Here is a colorized “still” from their appearance on Dick Clark’s Saturday Night Beechnut Show – April 12, 1958.

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

HERE ARE THE MONOTONE’S SINGING “BOOK OF LOVE” ON DICK CLARK’S SATURDAY NIGHT BEECHNUT SHOW

ABRAHAM LINCOLN PORTRAIT (1865)

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The year is 1865. February 5th. Abraham Lincoln poses for Alexander Gardner, in what would turn out to be his last portrait session with the photographer. I’ve created a number of colorized versions of this famous photograph over the years. In this one, from 2012, the heavy shadowing around the eyes that give Lincoln a raccoon-like appearance – have been toned down. These shadows have more to do with 1860s camera technology and lighting – than to Lincoln’s actual appearance.

Because of this, Lincoln has a slightly different look than you’re probably used to seeing. Here, you actually get to see his eyebrows defined, and facial creases that don’t look like they were drawn with a magic marker. Color details were even tended to in the veins of Lincoln’s hands. There’s a 3-D quality to the portrait that connects us with Abe on a personal level.

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN’T GET ENOUGH “ABE” – HERE’S THE CLASSIC 1939 FILM,
“YOUNG MR. LINCOLN”, STARRING A YOUNG HENRY FONDA.

NEW JERSEY – MILK MAN (1915)

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The year is 1915. Yes, Virginia, once upon a time in America, we used to have various product and service people who would go house to house delivering their goods. Some folks sold fresh fruits and vegetables from their horse-drawn trucks. Every summer evening after supper, the Good Humor ice cream man would slowly make his way down our street – and whole families would gather around his truck. Once a week the Breadman would stop by with his fresh baked goods – as would the local Milkman. In those days, our family doctor would even make house calls.

Growing up in North-Central New Jersey, where this photo was taken, I remember the milkman would pull into our driveway as the sun came up. The night before, we’d leave our empty milk bottles in a metal milk box by the kitchen door. He’d remove the empties, replacing them with new bottles of milk. My mom would leave him a note stuffed in the top of one of the empty bottles, telling him she’d also like a pound of yellow butter, a dozen eggs, and a container of cottage cheese. He would leave these items inside the metal box with the milk, and we’d rush to get them as soon as we woke up.

In these hectic times, we often get so busy that little things that were such a part of our day-to-day lives suddenly vanish, and we don’t even notice. Then one day, many years later, we’ll be chatting with friends, and someone will say, “Remember when a milkman used to deliver dairy products to our homes?”. We’ll pause for a moment, nod our heads, and say, “Yeahhh…”.

Same can be true of forgetting to remember our ancestors. They remain a part of us, and yet, how will our children connect with these family icons of the past?

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

HERE’S A JIVE 1944 TUNE, “MILKMAN, KEEP THOSE BOTTLES QUIET” BY WOODY HERMAN. GOT MILK?

NEW JERSEY – HORSE & BUGGY (1900)

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The year is 1900. What a Courier & Ives moment! This is a backwoods road in Northern New Jersey – the countryside I grew up in more than a half-century later. It’s the tail-end of dirt road-horse & buggy days. This is one of the eras I enjoy colorizing most, the 1890s throuugh 1910s. I like that in many cases, much of what existed at the time remain standing today – but the fashions and modes of transportation have changed.

Don’t know which town this photo was taken in, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find this stretch of road is virtually unchanged. The house and the bridge are probably still there. If any of you Jersey folk come across it on a weekend drive, send us a pic.

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the exciting, vibrant lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

NEW JERSEY – BOY & HORSE (1905)

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The year is 1905. Twelve years ago, this image was among the earliest I colorized. The original black & white image was printed from a glass negative – and came to me courtesy of the good folks at “The Antique Photo Store”. A young lad offers a horse what appears to be a ‘salt lick’. This is a quaint slice of rural New Jesey at the dawn of the 20th century.

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the exciting, vibrant lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

NATALI SAMA – VFW DRILL TEAM (1939)

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The year is 1939. Every now and then, I come across a photo in our archives where I can’t recall many of the details. Doesn’t happen often, but all I can tell you is, the girl is Natali Sama and she was a member of a VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) drill team somewhere in America’s heartland.

This was an act of mercy. I saw the photo on Ancient Faces – and decided to restore & colorize it. I posted it on the Ancient Faces Facebook page – but, it slipped under the radar. So, here you go, Natali. This is your day in the sun.

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the exciting, vibrant lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

LET’S HAVE A PARADE! IT’S MACY’S 1935 THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE.

BI-PLANE ON PARADE (1917)

Welcome to the American Photo Colorizing.com photo blog! We colorize black & white photos for museums, educators, media . . . . . and families like yours.

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The year is 1917. Don’t know too much about this vintage photo, except it shows a biplane being transported through the streets of Detroit, Michigan. To the left of the plane is a Lancia Simplex automobile showroom. The vehicle appears to be a modified Lancia Simplex – so this may be some sort of promotional event for the dealership.

Lancia Simplex discontinued their automobile line in 1917, when the U.S. entered World War I. That being the case, perhaps this scene was part of a Bond Drive. It’s certainly a great photo, whatever the back story.

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the exciting, vibrant lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

“BARNSTORMING: CRAZY 1920S AIRPLANE STUNTS”

PSYCHEDELIC PROVINCETOWN (1969)

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The year is 1969. Today is what we like to call “Freaky Friday” on our Facebook posting of the American Photo Colorizing blog. Today’s post fits the description to a “T”. Our colorized photo was taken at Provincetown, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, in August 1969 – the same month that gave us the Woodstock Music & Arts Festival in Bethel, New York.

Provincetown has always been a free-spirited artist and musician colony. However, from the Summer of ’67 through the Summer of ’69, Provincetown exploded into a colorful combination of Carnaby Street-style boutiques and Haight-Ashbury psychedelic poster & head shops. And it sat among the sand dunes, jutting out at the end of the Cape into the Atlantic Ocean (as it still does).

Having been a young teenager during the late ’60s, I have a fondness for Op-Art, Pop-Art, and Dayglo Psychedelic poster art. I used to create my own black lite posters back then. Today’s photo is of a boutique along Commercial Street, known as The Handicrafter. This shop is a perfect example of psychedelic house painting in the late-’60s.

To round off this ode to the days of Flower Children and Hippies – we’ve posted slides taken by my father, along with a couple groovy video clips for your viewing pleasure!

At American Photo Colorizing, our goal is to shred the black & white veil that separates us from the exciting, vibrant lives of those who came before us. It’s time to “Go Color” with your vintage and antique family photos. Your ancestors are counting on you!

ORIGINAL COLOR PHOTOS OF COMMERCIAL ST. – PROVINCETOWN, MA (AUGUST 1969)

BELOW IS THE LOCAL “TOWN CRIER”. HE WALKS UP AND DOWN COMMERCE STREET,
RINGING HIS BELL AND PROCLAIMING, “TEN O’CLOCK AND ALL IS WELL!”
THE TOWN CRIER OF PILGRIM DAYS WOULD REPORT THE LATEST NEWS & JUIICY GOSSIP.
YOU MIGHT SAY HE WAS KIND OF A 17th CENTURY “E CHANNEL”. (AUGUST 1968)

HIPPIE BODY PAINTING IN PROVINCETOWN

STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK – “RAINY DAY MUSHROOM PILLOW” (1968)