Gods and Foolish Grandeur

Friday, November 19, 2021

A man behind the camera - George Hurrell in FRONT of the camera and at work

George Edward Hurrell (1 June 1904, Cincinnati – 17 May 1992, Los Angeles), usually billed as simply Hurrell, considered by many to be the greatest of the classic Hollywood portrait photographers, and by far the most remembered. The latter distinction aided by the fact, that although his most iconic images date from the 1930s and 1940s, he continued to work almost up until his death at the age of eighty-seven.

With Carole Lombard. (Those studio lights were warm.)

With Joan Bennett.

With Ann Sheridan.

With Ann Sheridan. (I think.)

Most, if not all, of the portraits of Hurrell, here, he took himself.

With Robert Montgomery - who appears to have "pulled the trigger" himself.

With Bette Davis on the set of "The Little Foxes."

Surrounded by prints of Anita Louise, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, and Ida Lupino.

With Olivia de Havilland.

With prints of Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino, and Olivia de Havilland - the latter a pose from the session pictured above.

Sunday, November 14, 2021

On the rails in style - SF to LA, LA to SF aboard Southern Pacific’s Streamliner Coast Daylight

Adapted from Wikipedia. The Coast Daylight, originally known as the Daylight Limited, was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via Southern Pacific's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful passenger train in the world," carrying a particular red, orange, and black color scheme. The train operated from 1937 until 1974.

The parlor/observation car. (Three images.)

The tavern car. (Two images.)

The staff of the coffee shop car.

Southern Pacific had introduced the Daylight Limited on 28 April 1922. The train operated on a thirteen hour schedule between the Third and Townsend Depot in San Francisco and Central Station in Los Angeles, running on Fridays and Saturdays only. In 1922 and 1923 the train ran seasonally, beginning in April and ending in November. Daily operation began in July 1923. Southern Pacific shortened the running time to twelve hours for the 1924 season. Until the late 1920s it made no intermediate stops other than for servicing, making it the longest nonstop run in the world at that time. Its twelve hour schedule was two hours better than any other train on its route.

The new streamlined Daylight began service on 21 March 1937, pulled by GS-2 steam locomotives on a nine and three-quarters hour schedule. It was the first of the Daylight series that later included the San Joaquin Daylight, Shasta Daylight, Sacramento Daylight, and Sunbeam.

The Los Angeles ticket counter.

The coffee shop car. (Two images.)

The coffee shop car menu., circa 1940s.

By 30 June 1939, the streamlined Daylights had carried 268.6 million passenger miles on 781,141 train miles for an average occupancy of 344 passengers. A second train, the Noon Daylight, ran the same route 1940-42 and, after a suspension during World War II, 1946-49. The original Coast Daylight became the Morning Daylight during this time.