mobilene Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 I recently won an eBay auction for a short stack of eight cards, like postcards but smaller, of National Road scenes from 1920. I'm in that part of the winter where I am ABSOLUTELY ITCHING TO GET OUT ON THE ROAD, and so I thought I'd share these to help scratch that itch a little. Ah. I feel much better now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 IAh. I feel much better now! Jim, Even I feel better and I'm not the expert you are on the National Road. Thanks for sharing your nice find. As a small matter, do you think some the cars may have been dubbed in? I often wonder in thses old shots, especially when the car tends to stand out. Dave keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilene Posted February 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Most of the cars do look drawn on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanderlustjake Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Thanks for sharing! I particularly like the shot of the river, canal (looks like the towpath was still being used), road and railroad all together, neat timeline of travel. Oh and the dubbed in "plane" Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Colby Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Jim, Thanks for sharing your postcards! A couple of comments... The Gilbert card with the airplane originally had me stumped. I'm quite familiar with that section of road east of Hancock, MD and have traveled it often. Most maps I've seen shows the Road to the north of the Railroad... Like Robert Bruce's map of 1916. The postcard show the Road between the railroad and the canal. The 1901 USGS Hancock Quad solved the confusion. It shows the Nat'l Road running between the railroad and the Canal from Millstone (East of Hancock) to Parkhead Station. Who knew? As for Gilbert "dubbing" items into a scene, check out this 1907 gem of the LaVale Toll House... Steve Do you think the guy on the fence is waiting for the trolley?<g> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilene Posted February 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 That LaVale postcard is great! That guy on the fence looks so natural! (not.) What gets me about the LaVale postcard is how rural it feels -- nothing like what I remember from my one trip through LaVale! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Colby Posted February 2, 2010 Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 Jim, Judging by the contrast and clarity, I'm guessing the kids in the road may have been the focus of the original photo. The toll house keeper with the wagon looks pretty good but the contrast is darker than the area around it and the wagon wheels have a hard edge. The trolley has no tracks and the scale and clarity don't match the original. And... The guys on the toll house porch must be leprechauns. <g> Here's a MD SHA photo I added to the Upper LaVale section yesterday of the National Road east of the Six-Mile House (in the distance) and Toll House (at Winchester Rd.) I believe it's circa early 1930s. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Burr - hester_nec Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 Neat cards Jim - have to say one of them looks familiar to me. Dave, in a lot of the old photos of automobiles moving the stretched effect was due to the slower film speeds used back in those days. They also gave, in some cases, an impression that the radiators were leaning fwd with the top out further than the bottom. That may be the case in these photos. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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