Seeking Your Street Photographs

 At the end of this post, you’ll find a homework assignment. But first, here's a little background on street photography.

A street photographer in action. Most street photos were candid although this one looks like it was posed.

Street photographs captured a split second in the lives of thousands of people as they strolled down city streets.

Street photographers made a living by taking candid photos of people walking along urban sidewalks. Pedestrians were captured in mid-stride, going about their day; shopping, on their way to work, chatting with friends or just out for a walk.

After snapping the shutter, the photographer handed you his business card. You could then make arrangements to purchase as many copies of the photo as you wished, after the photographer developed your image. There was no obligation to purchase the photo.

Street photography’s heyday was in the 1930s to the 1950s, a time when not everyone had the money to afford their own camera nor the budget to afford a studio portrait. For a low price, a street photographer could provide you with a photograph and copies for your friends or sweetheart.  

Let’s look at a few examples of street photography. The first two of these examples are from members of the Culbert family…

PHOTO #1:

Ches Culbert (left) in Calgary, Alberta.

Photo #1 (above) is courtesy of Susan (Culbert) Block of Sherwood Park, Alberta, east of Edmonton. Susan is the 2xgreat-granddaughter of John Culbert and Mary Ward. Susan’s great-grandparents were Joseph Culbert and Eliza Dempster.

The photo above shows Susan’s grandfather, John Chester “Ches” Culbert (1891-1969) on the left. The man on the right is probably Ches’s wife’s brother, Edward McHugh. Susan thinks that the photo may have been taken in the early 1960s. Ches and Edward are walking along a street in Calgary. 

Ches Culbert was born in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario but he moved to Calgary around 1912 when he was about 21 years old. Ches Culbert owned and operated a barber shop, and was married to Marie McHugh. Ches and Marie had two sons: Maurice Joseph Culbert (1919-1988) and John Chester "Jack" Culbert (1924-2016).

PHOTO #2:

Mary (Patrick) Culbert with son Terry Culbert and daughter, Dana Culbert (in pram) on Dundas Street in London, Ontario, 1945.

Photo #2 (above) shows Mary (Patrick) Culbert (1917-1989), the wife of Milward Taylor “Mel” Culbert (1920-1958). Mary is accompanied by her son, Terrence Patrick “Terry” Culbert (born 13 May 1942), and her baby daughter (in the pram), Dana Elizabeth Culbert (born 4 August 1945). Mary is walking past Rowland Hill Shoe Store at 203 Dundas Street in London, Ontario; one of London’s most popular shoe stores. Since Mary and Mel lived in the small village of Lucan, they often visited Mary’s hometown of London which offered a greater variety of shopping services. During World War Two, Mel Culbert was posted in Toronto. For a couple of years following WWII, Mel and Mary lived at 183 Rectory Street in London before they returned to Lucan. It was during that time living in London that this photo would have been taken.

Photo #3 (below) is courtesy of Garnet Douglas Haig Thibideau of Courtice, Ontario. Garnet Thibideau was born 1947 in Toronto and raised in London. Although Garnet isn’t a Culbert descendant, he shares some DNA matches with Culbert descendants. It’s possible that Garnet is related to us through a distant Irish ancestor. Garnet’s ancestors are from Biddulph Township, and before that, from Ireland. Garnet has several surnames in his family that are connected to members of the Culbert family. Some of these names are Hodgins, Stanley, Atkinson, Haskett, and Ward. Garnet’s 3xgreat-grandmother was a woman named Margaret (Ward) Stanley (c1792-1869). Whether or not Margaret (Ward) Stanley was related to our Mary (Ward) Culbert (c1810-1888), we don’t know but they both settled in Middlesex County, Ontario from their native Ireland.

PHOTO #3:

Left to right: Mary Evelyn (Stanley) Bowes, her daughter, Zillah Iretta Josephine (Bowes) Harvey/Thibideau; and Zillah’s daughter, Eltamae Ruth Harvey.

 

Photo #3 (above) shows Garnet Thibideau's grandmother, mother, and half-sister in a photo he calls, “Stanley Girls on the Town.” The photo was taken in London, Ontario in the mid-1940s. The store in the background is C. Wallace Co. Ltd., a dry goods store located at 197-199 Dundas Street. This photo was taken just a couple of stores west of the previous photo (photo #2) showing Mary Culbert with her two children.

The next photo gives you an idea of what Dundas Street looked like in 1954, about a decade after photos #2 and #3 were taken ...

The C. Wallace Co. Ltd. store (seen in the background of photo #3) was situated on the south side of Dundas Street between Richmond Street to the west and Clarence Street to the east. The C. Wallace store was next door to Arliss Shoes to the west (195 Dundas Street), and Maher Shoes and Rowland Hill Shoe Store (seen in photo #2) to the east. This section of Dundas Street would have been a popular spot for a street photographer to wait for passers-by because it was in the heart of downtown London. Photo source:
Western Archives London Free Press Collection.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:

Please look through your old photos and see if you can find any “street photos.” If you find one, please scan it and email it to me at this address…

I’ll publish your street photos on the Culbert Family History blog at a later date.