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They Were Caught In Our Old Street Pics...

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Think he must have lost his way on some military orienteering exercise. But not to worry the army truck has just arrived to pick him up! Viv.
 
In this 1898 Aston photo, is that a baby cart ? Two well dressed little girls crossed the road to talk to the urchins on the other side.
Love that 'face pull' of the little one on the cart. Just think, all of them probably lived through WW1.
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They look like they are plotting some mischief, the boys are looking at the camera as if to say don't do anything yet we are being watched lol
Sue
 
In this 1898 Aston photo, is that a baby cart ? Two well dressed little girls crossed the road to talk to the urchins on the other side.
Love that 'face pull' of the little one on the cart. Just think, all of them probably lived through WW1.
Image28_A_Street_in_Aston_1898~0.jpg

The original pic is in the post https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=38169&p=422278#post422278

Although very, very sadly the boys may not have survived the war, as they'd have been old enough to fight. I love the girl in the straw boater, maybe she's wanting a ride in the cart. Viv.
 
They look like they are plotting some mischief, the boys are looking at the camera as if to say don't do anything yet we are being watched lol
Sue
They look 'Likely Lads'. Many things about the photo are interesting, it looks to be 'arranged' by the photographer who maybe even supplied that unusual cart. It could be making a point about contrasts in children's lives, well dressed children looking at the less well off. Two of the lads have no shoes and it would be many years later before Daily Mail Charity Boots appeared on the scene. It would be interesting to have seen any caption the photographer may have put under the photo.
 
Ha ha Carolina. He looks like he's up to no good!

Stephen, now you've got me wondering more about this photo. I'd like to think that perhaps the wealthier kids had shared their goodies with the others. The tall boy with cap is carrying a package under his arm. The girl in the straw boater is, I think, eating an apple. The girl (left) with the stick might be liquorice. And one of the smaller boys seems to be holding a white packet and is eating something. Wonder what? Intriguing. Viv.

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She holds her hat in her dash across the road maybe to catch that old bus.
A wise move from the cyclist stopping to let the policeman leisurely walk across.
Salford Bridge looked like a bridge in those days.
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Re. #182 Knowing about stageing or not makes a difference to how one appreciates the photo but still one of the great photo's on here. I don't think that going shoeless for the youngsters would have been totally unusual for poor families or ones where the corner pub was visited a lot...at the time. I wonder what the cart was in real life...for carrying a mechanical music device with a trained monkey maybe. Anyway it was a specialy designed cart for something. Another thing is...what was the seemingly demolished site on the left? No bombs had been dropped by that time...the result of a fire perhaps which probably happened more often than latterly with the open coal fires and gas lighting. One might think that it would be staged since cameras might well have been cumbersome slow working devices at the time. Not like using your 'I' Phone.
 
Spot on Stephen, it definitely looks like a slice of bread! Would love to know what the boy with the cap has tucked under his arm. Viv.
 
Spot on Stephen, it definitely looks like a slice of bread! Would love to know what the boy with the cap has tucked under his arm. Viv.
The cart is puzzling me it has a foot rest which the little one has her foot on, and she's also got her eyes on that slice of bread.
 
I originally thought it was a child's pony trap, but it has no back to it. It looks like an animal would have pulled it but there doesn't seem to be any seats on the cart. I wonder if it was for carrying something, probably lightweight as the wheels aren't particularly substantial. And I now wonder if the reason the two distinct classes of kids are seen together is because of the cart itself, an object of common interest. (Surely it would be rare for the two very different classes of children to have mixed in this way?) Or maybe the cart was simply a prop from the theatre or a photographer's studio. Viv.
 
The original thread said the photo was taken in Aston. Wonder if it was near Aston Hipp, and the cart was a prop. Paulyx points out it looks like bamboo-style. Taking Pauly's suggestion a step further, the side looks like a light basketware material, and that along with the skinny wheels suggests to me maybe the sort of prop used in the theatre. Not built to last, but decorative. The mechanism for attaching an animal (?) is extremely long (continues behind the boys). Now I'm going to hazard a guess at it being part of a rickshaw, pulled by a human, not an animal. Viv.
 
GOOD MORNIN VIV
Personally speaking i think if the truth of the matter it was an Aston picture taken not far from parliments street
If not it was actually parliment street its self and i would commit myself to say and given the years of the making of the cart;
and the scene of the street ; that was one of jenning ,s cart whom made them and they probly nicked it or found it abbanded
or it was one of there parents whom bought it or hired it from mr jenning[ the cart maker of parliment st just down the rd
or should i say about a mile down of the park lane ;
my grand mother was maried to jennings the cart maker of parlimnt street Aston and my mother was brought up at no 3 parilments street
i know they both was living in parilment street way back in those years and i think john houghton could also verfy it
but i think john was banned but we do have records on this forum files that jenning was the cart maker of parliment stret aston
during those 1800,s and 1900,s period along with my grand mothers family f sibbling whom was sibbling and my uncles to me as given to me on my tracing of my grand mother many years ago he [ mr jenning was also a battery maker and hirer along with the cart hireing as well
thats why say it would if any think be oneof thoses carts in the early years of carts from mr jenning of parlient street
best wishes to you all Astonian;
 
HI Oldmowhawk;
glad you found the site it as been some years since i traced it and it was john houghton whom gave me a the info; about old mr jenning
and his cart bussiness and the details of my aunt and uncles whom lived ith him along with my grand mother
whom later became a stevens at some point in her years and married a william stevens ;
he posted me the dates and the years they was with mr jenning and my mother grew up along side of them in the post war years
her name then was jelf ; and some where along the lines at which year i do not know but they was involved with the thearter world
and they was stage dancers and one of the jelfs way down the line was some kind of compare in the old music halls mom used to tell me
and they travelled the globe taking there monkey with them which was her mothers they used to go away on holidays with we georgie wood and sandy powell and the late billy cotton ; my sister as al those pics ofthem all together along some of the resorts and on the gongal s in venice
i think the jelf member was her great grand father whom was at the compares in some of the old music hall in digbeth which apparently was some kind of a
political party at some point it is recorded by a guy whom was full of knowledge andvery valuable knowledge to this forum
i do not know whether they will block it out if i mentionion his name [but this is whom it was ] cromwel ] whom gave us this part of info;
in my mind he was a real value to this forum but reasonswhich was barred and never discussed again;
but getting on track about the cart i would say thats where it came from and it would have been on hire from mr jenning or as you say the kids whipped it
from out side one of the pubs may be the black horse i do not think the share holders was there at that period and to me it loks liks park lane
best wishes Mow ; Astonian;;
 
I don't think the cart looks robust enough for something that was hired out, more like a stage or photographers prop has someone suggested.
Has for the parcel under the boys arm, he could have been on his way to the pawn shop to 'pop' something for his mother.:encouragement:
 
Friends, Im not fully convinced (apologies) about the pic being set-up in much detail - I feel it was an impromtu person with a camera. What I cant make out is the sitting girl - theres something above her head - I originally thought it was her sticky up hair :)
 
Interesting info Alan. Great to make these connections. But I too can't understand the hair on the little girl Stephen. I wondered if she'd moved while the camera took the photo but it doesn't really make sense. She must have been moving up and down quite a lot to produce that effect and I'd have expected she would have tipped out of the cart. Another little mystery. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1369917299.225463.jpg
 
I've been counting the feet in the pic ... there is a discrepancy ... I'll report back when my research is complete...:sneakiness:
 
In 1952 you couldn't even look at the wheels of a tram without getting caught in some photographer's pic.
They are looking down at the wheels, but maybe they should be looking up because it appears someone has nicked the wires.
It is a wire-less tram !
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Re the photos of the children and the cart, I don't think Alan is correct that it was taken in Parliament Street as the houses on the left are three storey and there were no 3 storey houses in Parliament Street or Park Lane. The mystery deepens.
 
I've been counting the feet in the pic ... there is a discrepancy ... I'll report back when my research is complete...:sneakiness:
I can see the tousle haired boy behind the cart has bare feet. I can see a pair of shoes behind each side of the boy's left foot, and I think these belong to the 'fuzzy' haired boy/girl behind the baby. I have a problem with the baby appearing to have only one visible leg, maybe her right leg is folded under her.
Those wheels on the cart are a nice delicate design , but not suitable for pushing up and down kerbstones.
I think I will just enjoy looking at the photo, it's one of my favourites on the forum...:encouragement:
 
This man is going all out to have the best decorated house in Middleton Road Kings Heath for the Coronation 1953.
He looks most pleased with his decorative lamp posts. They done things proper in those days.
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