How did he do it? Arnold Genthe, Old Spirituals’ favorite photographer, once again captures the essence of a time and place in a fraction of a second.
In this case, imagine a poor neighborhood in New Orleans, 1920. One slender gent is sitting rather stiffly on a wooden chair in a small, dirty courtyard that has seen better days. Interestingly the man’s shoes are neither dusty nor dirty. He’s not wearing a coat though he might be carrying one. His hat is balanced on his knee. The man is sitting in the shade of an arch and seems to be waiting.
You get a feel for the man and the place. Who was he, do you think? And what feeling do you get from him?
old spirituals 
Your description reminded me of the song Black Velvet. The building behind the man looks like there may have been a fire. It was probably the man’s apartment that burned down.
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Oh you might be on to something Ruby!
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Suspect this photo is an alley off Bourbon Street, a unique, historic city district of America.
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You probably know New Orleans very well, Jax! Didn’t you live there for quite a while?
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Never lived in Louisiana. Had responsibilities for two large and several small unionized manufacturing plants in the State for over a decade, so that required many trips to the State. Will never forget the first trip after purchasing the assets from the prior corporate owner. Spoke with one employee in a small facility near place Andrew Jackson defeated the British in The War of 182. This employee spoke with a strong Cajun/Creole dialect for several minutes. It was very difficult to understand him, though I knew he was speaking English. The CEO was with me; he later asked me what the man said. All I could tell him was it had something to do with an explosion that occurred years earlier in a neighboring plant. Most people do not realize that New Orleans and Baton Rouge are very different than Shreveport. Many think of Louisiana as have 3 distinct regions: New Orleans, South Louisiana and North Louisiana. The differences are based on the geography, historic immigration, religion and culture.
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