My Sepia Saturday post this week is a bit of a mystery. I found it in the large box which is labelled "Old Family Photographs" and which is filled with photographs passed down within the family. There is a scribbled note on the back of this one which states "Johnny Wyatt - Used To Live With Gladys". The Gladys in question must have been my mother and all I can assume is that the "used to live" is a literal statement referring to the habit of families taking in lodgers to earn extra money. But if he was simply a lodger living at my grandparent's house - it can't have been my parent's house because I know for a fact they never took in lodgers - why did my mother have his photograph? And why has the bottom left-hand corner of the photograph been torn off? What could possibly have been written there which had to be destroyed?
But the real mystery is, of course, where did Johnny get his hats from. I love that hat, I crave it, I lust after it. It is a hat of distinction and wearing a hat like that a man would be infused with charm and savoir-faire. So if you are out there Johnny, surfing the internet even though you must be well over 100 years old, send me an e-mail and let me know where you got it from. And whilst you are at it, how did you know my mother?
OTHER SEPIA SATURDAY POSTS
If we decide to keep Sepia Saturday going we will invest in a Mr Linky and all such things. But for the time being just let me know if you are featuring a Sepia Saturday post and I will add it to this list. I will keep the list updated over the weekend. The following blogs are participating in Sepia Saturday this week (let me know if you want adding to the list)
Johnny is dapper in that hat! Too bad you didn't find the hat in the box of photos. I love a good mystery. You never know who might see this post and respond!
ReplyDeletePS~ You'd love this post from last year, Alan...
ReplyDeletehttp://willowmanor.blogspot.com/2008/02/hats.html
You are a riot, Alan! The hat and coat make me think Roaring 20s mobster (oddly enough, I had a boyfriend who used to wear a trench-coat or mac and a fedora in the early 80s. He fancied himself...well, he fancied himself.)
ReplyDeleteJohnny's name, mind you, makes me think of cowboys in the old west. I wonder if he was packing heat under that coat?
It would be a hoot if you heard from someone, wouldn't it?
(I better get cracking on my own post. I wish I had a mysterious one like this.)
I just noticed the gloves. That makes me even more suspicious. He could easily have been a hired killer hiding out under an assumed name at Gladys's house. I wonder who his target was?
ReplyDelete(I've been playing too much "Mafia Wars" on Facebook!)
Got me really worried there for a minute - it's only Friday... er isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWillow : I've looked at your back-post and I so agree with you.
ReplyDeleteKat : I'd never thought gangster, but now you mention it.
Edwin : It is the early bird (wearing the hat) that gets the worm.
Alan, that's no rip. It looks suspiciously like the natural end result of a dogeared photo. The corner eventually falls off.
ReplyDeleteWhat a suave bugger!
Hey, Alan, link me in for a Sepia Saturday post!
ReplyDeleteHe looks like a "private-eye", Alan. And the mystery surrounding the missing corner.... hmmmm... do you suppose there is a story in there?
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that came to my mind was "the Susquehanna Hat Company" (if you are old enough, think Abbott and Costello...)
To Kat: LOL! well, he fancied himself. That just cracked me up.
What a fascinating mystery! It is a great hat.
ReplyDeleteAlan
ReplyDeleteI'm with AngelMay. this has all the ingredients for a nice little 'page turner'.
And the gloves, Alan, what a touch they are in the one on-one off set-up that seemed so popular. I love the intrigue and guesswork of old family photographs.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there's a fedora shop somewhere near me. Perhaps I'll see if they have any lookalikes...
ReplyDeleteI don't know, Alan, he's pretty hot! And he has the sexiest eyes. I'm thinking of taking in borders now.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you don't need a hat like that to be filled with charm and savoir-faire.. although I have to say, it is a very nice hat and I do hope you find one!
ReplyDeleteI love the poses in the sepia photos - the photographers clearly knew what they were doing. I am sure we could all look just as grand and enigmatic...
Interesting mystery. Why did she have his photograph? The message on the back could suggest a lack of significance - perhaps people needed reminding who it was of.
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the list, Alan!
ReplyDeleteYou would look very handsome in that hat! I hope you find one like it!
That is a mystery for sure! With a juicy story attached, perhaps! :)
Perhaps you could locate a hat store and show them the photo. Better yet, if you've a library in your area, the reference librarian may have information on the history of hats. If you know where the photo was taken or the year, that might narrow your odds of finding more information as well.
ReplyDeleteI'll check the IPL and see if anything pops up...
He looks like he has been shopping at the same stores as all the male movie stars shopped back then. His trench coat doesn't look like a full length, but the hat looks like it is straight from the movies. We had a hat factory in Des Moines that sat closed for forty years. I bet when they opened the building to create a coffee shop, that they found that hat.
ReplyDeletemaybe no-one tore the corner off, maybe it was just damaged?
ReplyDeleteit's not such a good story though, is it?
i have a post up again this week
k
yea Alan.That Hat Is Rather Cool.It's a great pity that they are no long in fashion.Re Your Man's Identity.I will run off a few photo-posters and distribute them around Halifax next Saturday night when I go Out On The Work's Christmas Do."Have You Seen This Man?"
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone. I have re-examined the photo and the corner does seem to have been definitely removed. Thanks for all the suggestions about sourcing the hat, like Willow I have always been fascinated by hats and I am always on the look-out for a new one. Tony, thanks for the wanted posters, who is going to be offering the reward you or I?
ReplyDeleteHello Alan,
ReplyDeleteI love your Sepia Saturday idea and wish I had some to share!
This hat looks like a Borsalino, which I used to see quite often when I lived in Milan, Italy in the 1970s.
Evelyn in Montreal
He is an adventurer. You can tell by his eyes.
ReplyDeleteAlan
ReplyDeletePlease add me to the list of Sepia Saturday participants. Thank you.
Another compelling post. I suspect your suspicions about hi being a lodger are correct. You know there is a site out there where on e can list photos (usually found) where others can and sometimes do recognize someone to reclaim them. It would be interesting if any of his family might one day see it.
ReplyDeletethat's great name he has too. BUT is it real? Hmmm.
Yes, his hat is fantastic. What a mystery you have on your hands. Do you plan to research it further?
ReplyDeleteGoodness so many unandwered questions. Wouldn't you like to think that there was some clandestine romance between them, a little family scandal, a skeleton in the closed. Perhaps she told him "You can leave your hat on . . ."
ReplyDeleteIf you really love the hat,there are loads of online shops that sell fedoras. I bought two for a friend in Ireland in June, he loves them.
Ok Alan, I guess I am breaking the rules. I turn my photos into sepia, but I do have a lot of old photos. I will to warm up my scanner and get ready for next Saturday. I have old photos in a couple of albums and my dad's war pictures from Belgium and Germany. Thanks for including me. I now belong to a club.
ReplyDeleteWhat a marvelous hat.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, I just posted a mystery for Sepia Saturday too (and I was a bit late, but it's still Saturday where I am!)
Neat post, Alan.
Johnny Wyatt and his elegant hat make a wonderful mystery. I'll participate again next week.
ReplyDeletewhat a cool pic...rather mysterious acually...kinda like bogart...
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed a beauty of a fedora with a snap-brim, even! -Jayne
ReplyDeleteOh come on...look at him. If she didn't at least kiss him she was a better woman than I am!
ReplyDeletex
And I don't have a sepia Saturday but I do have this old thing.
ReplyDeletex