Buried in the vault at town hall is small box of what I assumed were glass plate negatives. They were given to me for the town's archive ages ago and I haven't really thought about them since. Well, BHA is doing a small exhibit on photography, and I remembered those interesting slides and dug them out for a closer look. It turns out they are actually lantern slides. And what gems they are!
They were created by J. A. Glenn of Albany and look like a set for the First United Methodist Church of Delmar's 1928 Build or Bust campaign. I think they were taken all about the same time. I imagine a gathering at the church, perhaps with a potluck supper, a presentation of the slide show, and then the fundraising pitch. The campaign, by the way, must have been successful. It resulted in the construction of the Parish House, the Norman Gothic addition at the rear and west side of the main sanctuary.
Below is the whole set of slides. Please note that these are digital snapshots of the slides resting on an LED light box. The light box (yes it is a cheap one I ordered online) has a glare reducing mask on it that I had to cover with a sheet of paper. Unfortunately, this makes the images muddy - like the pictures were shot on a cloudy day. The actual slides are crisp and clear black and white images. If anyone has a better light box or idea on how to digitize, please let me know!
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Delmar Methodist Church
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Poster for the Build or Bust Campaing
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Delmar Fire Hall former Adams Hotel
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District #10 - Delmar School
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The new Delmar School
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The new new Delmar School
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District # 15 - Elsmere School
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St. Stephen's Church on Elsmere Ave.
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Unknown church, perhaps for architectural inspiration.
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Another unknown church, architectural inspiration perhaps?
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One of the actual slides.
My supervisor in the back there was saying "get back to work and leave me alone!"
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A correction in terminology. These, like most Kodak slides are not negatives, they are positives.
ReplyDeleteThe Epson Perfection V600 scanner will scan negatives or positives up to 3 inches, the V700 or V750 will scan ip to 8x10...but they are pricey. Otherwise a similar method to use on a scanner is place the positive on the scanner, place a white sheet of paper over it and use an LED lightbar to mirror the movements of the scanners light. It will work on negatives, but you will need a photo program to reverse it to a positive.
I think the first unknown church is the Methodist in Delmar. I don't know about the second church.
ReplyDeleteI believe the second church is the original St Thomas Church.
ReplyDelete