Charles W. Cushman - Poseyville, IN

10/29/50 - 910 Maxwell St.

Taken from the Indiana University Archives website dedicated to Charles W. Cushman:
"Charles Weever Cushman, amateur photographer and Indiana University alumnus, bequeathed approximately 14,500 Kodachrome color slides to his alma mater. The photographs in this collection bridge a thirty-two year span from 1938 to 1969, during which time he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries."

I went to Maxwell Street once in my early teens - before it was shut down and "renovated", and long after its legendary heyday. I bought some crappy socks, but was looking for a cheap Starter jacket. Back in its prime (arguably before the '60s), it was a melting pot of people, filled with an array of goods and products. Musicians played on the streets, churches and their congregations preached the gospel from the sidewalks, and food vendors provided those who packed the street with iconic grub like the Maxwell Street Polish Sausage.

Maxwell Street is also highlighted in the film, "The Blues Brothers," when Jake and Elwood go into The Soul Food Cafe (and run into Aretha Franklin) after checking out John Lee Hooker playing "Boom Boom" on the sidewalk. In the DVD version, the scene is extended, and you get to see/hear the entire song - even the joking/arguing between the musicians afterward. Classic scene in a classic movie, and Maxwell Street remains a historical piece of Chicago to this day for anyone who was alive when it thrived, and anyone else who has heard the stories.

Cushman's photographs give us a glimpse of what it was like. I also included a few Library of Congress photos - a couple from the Tribune, and a couple by photographer, Russell Lee. There is also a documentary called "And This Is Free: Maxwell Street" that is worth watching (it's currently on Netflix's "watch instantly"). It's straight documentary/journalistic style, but it's extremely interesting to watch nonetheless. It was filmed in 1964, and even then, the purists in the film talk about how things have changed, and that the street has lost its luster.

04/18/43 - Maxwell Street

10/01/50 - Maxwell and Newberry

10/09/58 - on S. Halsted at Maxwell St.

10/19/58 - Maxwell St.

Maxwell Street - 1935

Maxwell Street - 1927

Photo by Russell Lee - April 1941

Photo by Russell Lee - April 1941

Siobhan's Photography & the Samsonite Bag

Samsonite Silhouette Suitcase at The Inn on Bourbon Street

A couple weeks ago, my friend and outstanding photographer, Siobhan, stopped by to say hello and check out a couple new Junk and Howe items I thought she'd like. She was on her way to a still-recovering New Orleans for Mardi Gras that week, and spotted a light blue Samsonite Silhouette Garment Bag/Suitcase. She wanted it for her drive down to Louisiana. The only problem was that someone had put a small lock on it and I didn't have any bolt cutters to get it off yet.

She had some.
Problem solved.

The bag hadn't even been photographed yet, and thus hadn't been added to the Junk and Howe store either. But, for someone I've known for years and whom I've kind of adopted as my little sister, I had no problem selling her the bag, along with a couple other items. My only condition, because I didn't want it to leave without having something to remember it by: "Please take a picture of the bag somewhere in New Orleans." She did, and as with most other pictures Siobhan takes, it's amazing, as you can plainly see above.

Siobhan did her undergraduate work at Columbia College in Chicago - Fine Arts Photography - and is currently doing graduate work there as well. I've known her since I ran my rock and roll publication, The Crutch, and I was always amazed at how easily she could adapt to photographic situations that she wasn't familiar with. After seeing so many bad snapshot type of photographs at small rock and roll shows here in Chicago, I urged her to get up there against the stage at Chicago staple venues, such as Empty Bottle and Double Door. She did, and she has taken some of the best rock and roll concert photos I've seen. Unlike the stuff you see in magazines, Siobhan captures the rawness that is rock and roll. The other stuff is too polished, and lacks the feeling that you get at an $8 show at a small venue.

King Khan

But it's her original, innate visual artist's eye that puts her on the fine arts level, as she is able to extract the feeling of even inanimate objects - as if she somehow is able to give voice to the walls of the Packard plant ruins in Detroit, or a lonely forgotten railroad track in tiny Argenta, Illinois.

Packard Plant

I did a couple favors by modeling for Siobhan while she was studying her undergraduate. By no means am I a model, and yet while attempting to play natural in a familiar setting, she revealed an emotional skeleton that I didn't realize was visible in every way. I, as a writer, would have a real task to match that kind of temporal breakthrough in words. Her gift couldn't be overstated.

Younger me, as a smoker

The Samsonite Silhouette bag is nothing like I've ever seen. Literally - I've never seen another one of these, and still can't find one anywhere on the Internet. Its design is so interesting, with both sides opening up to create a garment bag - with a hook for hangers and all. It's boxy, but it's rounded, so as not to crease whatever you want to keep unwrinkled. And its fabric zip-up girdle on the inside helps keep those hanging clothes secure against the skin, and separate from all the folded clothing you fill the bag with, as it acts like a large duffel would. It's pretty cool.

It's even cooler sitting on the bed at The Inn on Bourbon Street in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Thanks, Siobhan!

Check out just a sliver of Siobhan's portfolio at her website. I believe she is going to be making available some stunning prints of her work in her own shop (on Etsy) sometime soon. We'll keep you posted.