Musical Accompaniment: I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire by the Ink Spots
It’s been a while since we checked in with Arnold Genthe, so I went looking for something new. I found some pictures that were assembled into an Arnold Genthe calendar for the year 1946, a few years after the photographer’s death. The photos were actually taken decades earlier in San Francisco’s Chinatown, probably in the months or year before the Great Quake of 1906.
I read that, during this time, Genthe had some way of concealing his camera. I’m curious how he managed to do it but I believe that must be right. These pictures don’t look like he posed the subjects. Well, maybe the shoemaker does. Let me know what you think!
Mother and child
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Aristocrats of Chinatown
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The Shoemaker Does anyone know what he’s holding?
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The New Toy
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Baskets for sale
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old spirituals 
I love try he tune! my favorite of these is the new toy. you can see how excited the little boy is
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He reminded me of a little second cousin I have (more like a nephew). He’s such a cute little boy and he has a similar kind of posture when he’s really excited about something.
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Wow! These are amazing pictures. I have no idea what the shoemaker is holding but I liked his pose.
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Thank you! I agree about the shoemaker. Some people have a demeanor or a vibe that says I’m important or significant, and they look impressive even when they’re just standing around.
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The children in all of the photos are so precious! Could the camera have been hidden in a basket such as the ones in the last photo? I don’t know what the long stemmed item is.
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Ah! That’s a good theory!
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