Monday, March 26, 2012

An Americana Charmer

(click to enlarge)
I was looking for a different photo entirely when I came across these barn photos. I took them four years ago with a little point and sho0t camera when I didn't know much about taking photos. The bright afternoon sun didn't help. Let's just say the images are very grainy. Better yet, let's say they were very vintage looking. Yeah, let's go with that!
It's a wonder I didn't delete them but I'm glad I didn't. In this case the photo stands to document a piece of Americana History. Regular readers will know that the more familiar barn ad dealt with the Mail Pouch Tobacco Company that paid farmers for letting them paint ads on their barns. I tried to research what I could on the Melo-Crown company but pretty much came up empty handed in the forty-five or so minutes I surfed the net to find some information.
Assuming Blogger is being cooperative you should be able to enlarge the photo. Looking just past the barn behind this one you can see it appears the silo was being repaired or taken down. The gray outline of a building is the farmhouse. The barn is near Barlow, Ohio.
This was an equally grainy image so I added some texture to this one as well and gave it an Andy Warhol pop art effect. Not art gallery worthy but I like how it came out.
Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm and Ruby Tuesday 2.

40 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

glad you had them saved, too! nice editing! (and i get 'vintage' too!)

George said...

I'm glad you kept (and shared) these as well. I don't think I've seen an ad for Melo-Crown before this. I like your pop art image as well.

Felisol said...

Thanks for informing me about the bad link. Now I've added a new one, but cannot seem to be able to remove the old.
I am a permanent net clumsy.

I love your Andy Warhol barn picture. It's great fun to make a twist on reality now and then.
I tend to take it to far.
Yours were more like water color. I love it, even though I stopped smoking 20 years ago!

Again, the window to the world makes my horizon wider. In Norway tobacco ads have been forbidden for about as long as I have been a non smoker.

Mild - satisfying, oh yes.

Colin said...

Very rustic scenes of country life.
Now what on earth are stogies?
Looks like the farmer has corn growing in the right hand side of the top photo?
Not too sure, but the clumps in the paddock in front of the barn, they are not thistle or prickly bushes are they? Not good for sheep but goats and camels will eat the stuff.
Very interesting photos of bygone days, well done.
Off to the movies this morning to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", it better not rain as I have a pretty decent walk from the rain station to the theatre complex in a very upmarket new area in Brisbane, but the roads do flood down there when heavy rain falls!
Cheers
Colin ( Brisbane, Australia)

Linda said...

Very nice vintage photos! Glad you kept them!

Colin said...

Oops - I have rain on the brain - ha ha.
Rain Station!!!! Naturally it is Train Station, and it better not be raining!!!
Colin

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Great Barn Charm pictures. I have never seen nor heard of Melo-Crowns before... Hmmmm... Quite interesting... Thanks for sharing.
Hugs,
Betsy

Debbie said...

I do believe I remember this! I love how the first one looks when you enlarge it!! Very rustic...my kind!

Jimh. said...

Nice shot!

Amy Burzese said...

Great barn advertising!

Rose said...

What a wonderful find.....don't you love going back through your photos. It brings back so many memories for me.

Mari said...

Great barn shot! I love the advertising. Glad you found them.

Ralph said...

Actually, the graininess really adds to the patina of the barn. Like the paint underlying the yellow paint is peeling ahead of the yellow paint itself. The early advertising is wonderful on a barn - unlike a billboard that stands in the middle of nowhere, the barn ad just looks so right on a building nestled in the field. I am glad you kept it!

Elaine said...

I do like the vintage look! I'm glad you didn't delete the photo. I always hesitate to delete photos because as my knowledge has increased I have found many photos can be salvaged, or sometimes just a good cropping can let you see something you didn't before. Nice job on the Andy Warhol look! That's a barn ad I haven't seen before.

Pamela Gordon said...

This barn has beautiful graphics on it! I like the way you aged the photos.

Maude Lynn said...

I love that vintage look!

Kathy said...

Sometimes the oldies are the goodiest!

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

I love barns with advertising on them. Glad you kept these oldies.

barbara l. hale said...

Those old barns with advertising on them are terrific. Seems we see a lot of those in Ohio especially Mail Pouch ones. Terrific shot with a little point and shoot. Nice processing.

Robin said...

The images work really well with a vintage feel - nice job!

diane b said...

The vintage looking photo matches the vintage barn. Its a corker!

Gattina said...

How original, I love old barns ! I smoke and enjoy, lol !

Brian King said...

I love barns with advertising on them. You don't see that much any more. Glad you didn't delete the photos!

Lesley said...

I was going to say pretty much everything that Elaine already said.

Dianne said...

they're great shots especially the 2nd one
I love the effect

Jan n Jer said...

Love these kind of barns...not too many left1

Debbie said...

oh i am so happy you saved them also!!

it looks like you put a lot of editing work it to get that beautiful "texture"....that's the story i would have told!!

those point and shoots take nice pictures, but it's the photographers eye that really makes the difference.

beautiful!!

Kim, USA said...

I love barns that has words painted on it. It is a bit rare here in Michigan to have those. Love the vintage look too. Happy Tuesday!

Barn Charm

genie said...

I do not now how you do it, girl, but you come up with some of the finest specimens of barns I have ever seen. I just need to “go across the border” and start driving the back roads of WVA. This is a great one...and the ad painting is still in fine shape. genie

lina@women said...

Love the result :)

Ruta said...

Beautiful shots and a great vintage feel to them!

Chubskulit Rose said...

That is a beauty!

Please come and have some strawberries at my blog. Your comment will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Linnea said...

I also really like the vintage feel to these! They're keepers! Thanks for stopping by.

Powell River Books said...

Amazing it has remained in such good condition. - Margy

EG CameraGirl said...

I like very much how you've worked these photos. You have added much charm to both!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

You in USA have a lot of barns, not so many here in New Zealand.

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i've never seen a barn with this on it. so fun & different. i will be linking up next week. missed out due to being in disney world. take care. (:

Leah H. said...

That's a cool sign!

Visiting for RT-2- hope you can stop by:)

http://dsahmblogs.com/2012/03/my-comfy-earrings.html

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

Love them! Never throw away your old photos -- they document your life's journey back then -- that's more important than the photo quality. (Of course, you know I'm not much of a judge of that....I just like to look at the places you've been...) I posted a barn w/sign when we were back in Oregon last summer .. it was supposed to be torn down and they were trying to save it...I am off to try to find out what happened to it.

Louisette said...

Greeting from Belgium, lovely blog