Hollyhocks in Vincennes, Indiana, July 1941, by John Vachon, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Tag: rustic fence
Ronde kom
Round enclosure on Eeuwigelaan (street) in Bergen, The Netherlands, 1926, by A. J. Bonda, via Archief Alkmaar Commons on flickr.
I have been wondering about the purpose of this really nice rustic fence in a wooded area (there’s another view here). In a much larger version of the photo, you can see barbed wire all around the top rails. The ground inside has either been dug out or worn away. There are two benches nearby, with more barbed wire fencing behind them. What appears to be a road in the background is actually a canal. (And you can also see that the man standing on the right is wearing wooden shoes.)
It could have been the site of a large tree of special local significance, which then died and was removed. Or the spot of some other removed shrine or monument. But why not take away the fence and fill the hole after dismantling what was inside? Then I thought it might have been the small crater itself that was important — perhaps the remains of a WWI shelling in the area.
Today, this street is lined with very large homes.
ADDENDUM: Nope, wrong all round. 🙂 Please see the very interesting comment below.
Verdun, France
Soldiers’ graves in the region of Verdun, France, ca. 1914 to ca. 1918, photographer unknown, via Université de Caen Normandie Commons on flickr.
“A gravesite decorated and trellised by the soldiers of the X. . . regiment of infantry.”
The photo is one of over 1,800 donated to the archives of Seine-Maritime in Rouen and the Université de Caen by the founder of Lafond Printing in Rouen. The sepia photographs have been digitized in their original condition: glued on bristol board with handwritten captions identifying places and scenes. Most of the pictures concern World War I.
You can click on the image to enlarge it.
Grimsby, Ontario
Major E. M. Bullers’s tent in the Prince Consort’s Own Rifle Brigade encampment at Grimsby, Ontario, between 1862 and 1864. Photo taken by a member of the Ridley* family and used here courtesy of Local History & Archives, Hamilton Public Library (both photos).
“Prince Consort’s Own” was a previous name of the British Army infantry regiment that is currently called “The Rifles.” Their history during the Napoleonic Wars was popularized in Bernard Cornwell’s “Sharpe” novels.
A battalion of the Brigade was sent to the Grimsby/Hamilton† area during a British military buildup in Canada in response to the Trent Affair of 1861. They arrived there in February 1862, just after the crisis had been resolved diplomatically — evidently clearing time for landscaping.
Above is another photo of the encampment, showing the tent of its Lieutenant, Lord Edward Cavendish.
The Library’s notes say that Hamilton had landed the most socially desirable regiment in Canada — after the Grenadier Guards, a prize won by Montreal.
*The photos are from the Mills Family Album.
†Grimsby is about 18 miles from Hamilton.
enclos*ure 