Norwegian Family Photos - Day 9

Man with beard and unbuttoned vest.



Identity: Unknown

Norwegian Family Photos - Day 8

Woman with hairband.



Identity: Unknown

Norwegian Family Photos - Day 7

Man with bow tie.



Identity: Unknown

Norwegian Family Photos - Day 6

B. Gratz Brown

Go here for more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._Gratz_Brown



Identity: B. Gratz Brown

Norwegian Family Photos - Day 5

Madeline Henriques

Go here for more information:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/u?/19thcenturyactors,240



Identity: Madeline Henriques

Norwegian Family Photos - Day 4

Girl sitting in chair with flowers on table.



Identity: Unknown

Norwegian Family Photos - Day 3

Loren Olsen.



Identity: Loren Olsen

Norwegian Family Photos - Day 2

Olaf Olsen.



Identity: Olaf Olsen

Norwegian Family Photos - Day 1

Woman sitting in chair with arm on sidetable.



Identity: Unknown

Norwegian Family Photos

Special Edition

We will be covering these unique and very rare photos every day for the next ten weeks or so. That's right ten weeks. We will post a photo every day, Monday through Friday. We'll start things off with the photos of the cover and title page then dig into the actual photos themselves.

Location:
The UFO Team was shocked to find this miniature photo album stashed away by our purveyor of goods. On his recent trip to the Western Warehouses, our Procurement Officer was able to secure this ancient relic.

Description:
This photo album appears to be leather bound and has a dark and heavy grain. The front cover is embossed with a black geometric pattern that looks like scroll or lattice-work. Due to the heavy wear and tear, the binding is currently held in place by scotch tape. The rear of the album is plain and only has a slightly raised border. Holding the covers together is a brass clasp. The inside cover page appears to have some gold leafing and is intricately scripted and decorated.

Unique Marks:
Inside Cover Page - "The Photographir Album" [yes, it is spelled with an "r" on the end]

History:
Unknown, but likely once owned by Olava Hanson.

Photos:










References:
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Van Dyck Cigar Box

Location:
The UFO Team had a difficult stretch over the past few weeks, so we have decided to have a Friday today. Thus, we bring you a cigar box. Specifically, a Van Dyck cigar box. Empty of course. Kind of like our heads today (thus explaining today's brevity).

Description:
It is a cigar box. The lid is broken.

Unique Marks:
Pretty much the whole thing is unique to us. We were all raised in non-smoking households.

History:
Clearly at some point there were cigars in the box. Beyond that, we could not find anything.

Photos:




References:
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Remington Monarch Typewriter - Part 2

Photos:
Here is the second batch of photos:




















References:
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Remington Monarch Typewriter - Part 1

Location:
Hidden away in a dark and dank corner in the rear office of an obscure building in Area 51, this typewriter sits on its last legs (or keys) waiting for an old secretary to come along and rescue it from the death grip that time has on it. The UFO Team will let you know if that old secretary ever arrives.

Description:
In a word, heavy. Our best guess (without using any mechanical devices to make a scientific measurement) is around 20 pounds. There is surface rust and various places from the keys to the bits and pieces that make it move. There is no tape present. The brass parts are beginning to show signs of a green patina. It is also interesting to note the lack of the number 1 and the different placement for certain special characters (when compared to a present day keyboard). Several of the keys are coated in dirt while others have a cracked or crazed look to their protective covers.

Unique Marks:
Front - Top - There is a circular label on the left of the carriage return. The circular, white/cream label shows a typewriter with "Trademark" under it in black. Below that, in larger red print is the word "Visible" running around the outer edge of the circle.

Front - Top - Printed in white across the top of the carriage return is "Monarch" with "Remington Typewriter Company" in smaller font below it.

Rear - The serial number plate reads "103802."

History:
Apparently produced between 1910 and 1915, this is a Monarch Number 2. Assuming the serial numbers were sequential, it was likely built in 1913.The Number 3 models are very similar but appear to bear a different print design on the carriage return.

Photos:
Here is the first batch of photos:


























References:
- Davis, Will. Retrieved on February 2, 2008 from http://www.hometown.aol.com/wdssbn641/Monarch.html and http://www.geocities.com/wbd641/Monarch2.html.
- Milton, Richard. Retrieved on February 2, 2008 from http://www.portabletypewriters.com/portable_typewriters_remington.htm.
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Grand Island Business College

Location:
Like a historic version of Where's Waldo, the UFO Team has been looking for Benjamin Richard in this group photo. Unsure of where he is in the photo, we can only speculate that's he is actually in it. It could be any number of other individuals that make this particular photo important, but without any clues, the UFO Team is stumped.

Description:
This large group photo is of the Grand Island Business and Normal College in February of 1907. Somewhere in this group is likely one Benjamin Richard. The UFO Team has been unable to locate him.

The photo itself has sepia tones to it and is pre-matted on a larger piece of cardboard. The cardboard and photo show signs of serious wear and scratching. The read of the matte also shows signs of mud wasps.

Unique Marks:
Front - A red embossed logo in the center of the matte - "Studio Leschinsky Grand Island Neb."

Rear - Green oval sticker in the center - "J. Leschinsky, Photographer" and "Grand Island, Neb." around the outside of the sticker with "This picture was or should be framed at our studio where you can obtain the best in hand cameras & Kodak supplies" in the center.

History:
The photo appears to have been taken on the steps of the Courthouse in Hall County, Nebraska.


The Grand Island Business and Normal College was founded in 1885. Outside of that, not much else is known about the photo.

The photography, Julius Leschinsky, was a prominent photographer in the Grand Island area and the Western United States. His gallery operated out of 113 East Third Street in Grand Island, Nebraska. He has taken photos of Presidents and expanded the culture of Grand Island by opening an art gallery. There is a wonderful, but short, biography of Mr. Leschinsky here.

Photos:










References:
-Buechler, August F. and Robert J. Barr. History of Hall County Nebraska. Page 634. Retrieved on February 7, 2008 from http://books.google.com/books?id=lOwGAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA634&lpg=PA634&dq=j+leschinsky+grand+island+nebraska&source=web&ots=d_O5LXOyBR&sig=fOwGcpvLXvhExyBFk0nNh_2oyuM. - Historical and Descriptive Review of Nebraska. Volume II. Page 122. Retrieved on February 7, 2008 from http://www.rootsweb.com/~neresour/OLLibrary/hdrne/pages/hdrne122.htm.
- Lawrey, Roberta. Grand Island Public Library - The Presidential Groundbreaking. Hall County History Paper. Volume IV, Number 5. May 1984. Retrieved on February 7, 2008 from http://www.gi.lib.ne.us/teddyr.html.
- Nebraska State Historical Society, Retrieved on February 6, 2008 from http://www.nebraskahistory.org/images/histpres/nebrasko/hall-courthouse.jpg.
- Patterson, Homer L. Patterson's College and School Directory of the United States and Canada. Page 137. Retrieved on February 6, 2008 from http://books.google.com/books?id=VqEVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&dq=grand+island+business+and+normal+college&source=web&ots=ehovkCj50h&sig=WwLZikpBkXXhXo90GM5udslUMVc. - Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Final Risk Analysis

As previously mentioned, the UFO Team has been busy auditing our previous posts to see what private information may have been released to the public. While the very nature of our work is taking, displaying, and discussing photos of objects in a private family collection, we have found the following breaches in privacy:

1. Private Family Document - (http://unidentifiedfamilyobjects.blogspot.com/2008/01/gordemodre-ufo.html) - This particular post has a private family document that reveals the Age, Weight, Height, and Hair Color of an individual. The individual has been deceased for over 70 years. Risk assessment is nominal.
2. Private Family Photo - (http://unidentifiedfamilyobjects.blogspot.com/2008/01/glasses.html),
   (http://unidentifiedfamilyobjects.blogspot.com/2008/01/richard-phillips-wedding.html),
   (http://unidentifiedfamilyobjects.blogspot.com/2008/01/phillips-piester-wedding.html),
   (http://unidentifiedfamilyobjects.blogspot.com/2007/12/ufo-ammunition.html) - These four posts each have a private family photograph. None reveal anything that is not already public knowledge. Risk assessment is low.

Final conclusion? While some of our revelations may appear to be revealing to the family's privacy, nothing appears here (with the above exceptions) that is not already public knowledge. Names, birth dates, maiden names, wedding dates, etc. are all a matter of public record if you know where to look for them. Nearly all of the information can easily be found on Ancestry.com alone.

With that information in mind, we would also like to make a little disclaimer. The UFO Team is in no way responsible for how this information is used. Some individuals in or out of the family may choose to use our information as some kind of "ammunition" against others. While we may do our best to minimize any private information from being revealed and will do our best to keep a moderate and impartial tone about certain people, we cannot take responsibility for the actions of others. And if you feel there is something here that should be removed, you are always welcome to contact us. We will gladly discuss the item or information in question and determine if it should be removed.

Rethinking, Retooling, and Reviewing

The UFO Team would like to deeply apologize to all of our readers. We had promised last week to bring you quite an exciting discovery today but there has been a bit of an intervention. The UFO Team has received a warning/request from various Congressional parties to stop publishing our interesting discoveries from Area 51. And in the spirit of CYA, we are taking the following actions.

1. Rethinking. We are rethinking how and what we publish. As many of you know Area 51 is a private location and nearly every item we have found there is under the governs of private ownership. We therefore need to respect the privacy of those individuals who own or did own the items. And because of that, the UFO Team will rethinking our publishing protocols.
2. Retooling. We will be retooling what we publish so that more information will remain private. We will also retool our standards for publishing, meaning what gets published and when.
3. Reviewing. We will reviewing what we have already published. A cursory look shows that some content may be questionable and may need to be removed. And while we know not everything can be removed from the web, we can do our best. If we find anything.

That being said, we'd like to hear your opinions on our situation. Should we continue to share everything we find, or just select items? Should caution be thrown to the wind and all of the secrets of Area 51 be shared? Or should we judiciously edit certain things so that no innocent civilians can be hurt?

After an initial meeting, the Area 51 Team has come to a decision of sorts, but we'd like to think on it for a few nights. And we'd like to hear from you. In the meantime, don't fret too much. The Area 51 Team hasn't given up. We're here to stay and will return with that mysterious "special" item. It just might be a few days before we get final word from our Oversight Committee.

Red Plow Toy

Location:
The last of the toys for this week was discovered in the same plastic bag as the two previous John Deere toys and in the same bin as next week's headline discovery.

Description:
Red disc plow on three wheels. The third wheel (at the end of the plow) can turn 360 degrees. The plow appears to be fully functional with adjustable heights and moving parts. The discs and plows are bare metal silver. The plow shows signs of use with dirt and rust residue in various areas.

Unique Marks:
The tongue of the plow shows "Tru-Scale" in yellow.

History:
According to our research, this appears to be a "Rim Plow" or "Two Bottom Plow" similar to this one:


Photos:










References:
- Red Wagon Antiques, Retrieved on January 27, 2008 from http://www.redwagonantiques.com/

- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.