These photos from my collection were taken using a Pocket Kodak, a camera produced between 1895 and 1905. While the location of the photos was initially unidentified, there were several clues that solved the mystery.
In the back of the first photo, a large Gilded Age beach resort can be seen. It appears again in several other images. At first, I was unable to find the resort’s name.
The second photo shows a steamship. After zooming in, I was able to read the name of the paddlewheel, the “New York.” After some digging, I found that the ship was built in 1887 and sank in 1908. The ship ran on the Hudson River, so I figured the rest of the photos were taken in New York State.
Based on that, I was able to narrow my search of resorts to New York and found a match: the Long Beach Hotel. The hotel was built in 1880 and was destroyed in a fire in 1907.
Because the camera was first produced in 1895, and the hotel was destroyed in 1907, I can safely assume these photos were taken in that twelve-year window. Sadly, the identity of the family remains unknown.
Right: The Long Beach Hotel, from the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2016803573/)
Note: This was originally posted on Archive of the Past, a site I run on history from across the globe. To learn more, check out my social media page.
Andrew J. Bramlett 