Charles Cushman with his Contax IIa

[David Murphy]

I just want you all to see this site. It chronicles the life and photographic work of Charles Cushman, a relatively obscure American from Chicago, who travelled the world with a Contax IIa and Kodachrome documenting what he saw.

To me, he represents the quintessential world-view of rangefinder forum members -- in effect he is a pioneer of this genre of art and technology that we endeavor in here . Here is the link:

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/index.jsp

 

[dexdog]

Thanks for the link to the site, it is well done and contains lots of interesting photos. I appreciate old photos like the ones here because of the historical aspects- much of the landsacape (and people in it) no longer looks like it did then.

Great link!

 

[MinorTones]

Thats a great bit of history, I looked through all 120. He seemed to get a lot better with age, the photos span from the mid 1940's through the late 60's.

The one near the end of the Haight street "hippies" gave me a good chuckle, because the guy in the photo is giving the photog the finger. An experience I'm sure many of us have come across.

-Mitch

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Very interesting site David, thanks for sharing. I've bookmarked it 🙂

 

[VinceC]

That's a wonderful site. If I wasn't crunching on deadline at work, I could spend a long time looking at those images.

I did send Indiana University a quick email letting them know that the IIa was introduced for FotoKina in 1950 and so would not have shot the images from the 1930s and 1940s.

 

[c.poulton]

Very interesting, thanks for the link. It was fascinating looking at photographs taken 40+ years ago of places I now know well, or have visited. SOme things have changed beyond all recognition, others have barely changed at all.

 

[VinceC]

FYI, I received a rather quick response to my note to the University. I'll paste it below because it contains addtional info ... he apparently shot the earlier work with a prewar Contax II.
Vince

"Thank you for your interest in the Charles W. Cushman collection. I hope
you enjoyed browsing the collection, and in particular the images and
descriptions of his camera equipment. I do realize that the site might
imply that all of the camera equipment was used to shoot every image
from 1938-1969, but I hope that is not the case. We continue to conduct
research on Cushman and are steadily gathering new information that we
hope will be added to the site at a future date.

"Based on research I have conducted I can tell you this about Cushman's
camera/s: We know Cushman purchased the Contax IIA camera we have here
in the Archives (and shown on the website) on April 5, 1957 from Alfred
Bass camera store at 585 Market St. in San Francisco. We know this from
the receipt we have that also lists the camera's serial number (Q31762).
On the same receipt, he traded in his old Contax II camera (serial
number C88537). NOTE: The "C" in the serial number indicates the camera
was manufactured in 1936 or 1937.

"We know that Cushman owned the Contax II (C88537) at least as early as
February or March of 1948 as he sent it in for an overhaul at that time.
It is probable , however, that Cushman purchased the Contax II no later
than September of 1938 as that is when he begins shooting his first
Kodachromes.

"Please, send me the addresses of the sites you mentioned below and do
not hesitate to send me notes about any other anomalies you may find.
Also, you are more than welcome to look at Cushman's camera equipment if
you are ever in our area, just give me a call and we will set up an
appointment.

Thank you,

Bradley D. Cook
Curator of Photographs
Office of University Archives & Records Management
Indiana University
---
Dear sir or madam,
As an Indiana native who has traveled the world a bit, I was quite
fascinated and enthralled when I stumbled across your site on the
Kodachrome photography of Charles W. Cushman.

However, as a classic camera enthusiast, it should be pointed out that
his Contax IIa camera in your collection was introduced for Germany's
FotoKina trade fair in 1950, and was commonly available for purchase
through the early to mid-1960s. The other equipment in your collection
would indicate that he purchased the camera sometime in the 1950s. It's
very much the working kit of a quality-conscious camera enthusiast of
the 1950s. This is only important inasmuch as your site says the Contax
IIa was believed to have photographed the majority of Cushman's images
in your collection, whereas Cushman's 35mm work from the 1930s and
1940s, and perhaps the very early 1950s, would have been shot with a
different camera, quite possibly a prewar Contax, which was similar to
but not identical to the Contax IIa.

I can provide sources or links to more info if you need them.

Respectfully,

 

[sychan]

The one near the end of the Haight street "hippies" gave me a good chuckle, because the guy in the photo is giving the photog the finger. An experience I'm sure many of us have come across.

Well, here in Berkeley, I get the finger a good bit too when I'm photographing people, but often its because of something I say...

 

[ywenz]

I would hardly call it a compliation of the world if he didn't even touch anything remotely asian in his years of traveling.

These images are more impressive for their age than their quality... well done shots for the family room slideshow, nothing more beyond that.

 

[furcafe]

Who called it a compilation of the world? The web site only says that "he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries."

I would hardly call it a compliation of the world if he didn't even touch anything remotely asian in his years of traveling.

 

[jan normandale]

Ywenz and Furcafe... this is an American view and description not European. The US is somewhat "US centric" ... but you knew this already.

 

[ywenz]

Who called it a compilation of the world? The web site only says that "he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries."

responding the original poster fur.

 

[David Murphy]

OK, I was not trying to start some sort of debate on international culture, my point was that he was simply an observer in his time and space and his tool kit and modus operandi were remarkably similar to RFF members. He clearly seemed to have good sense in his selection of equipment and film, and was a careful worker.

Whether his photographs are in some sense "art", or just family snapshots, or whatever I'll leave that to learned experts to debate (my field is science). As far as the scope of his travels are concerned, he was fairly well-travelled for an ordinary American of his time, but not by the standards of the current age of Globalism.

 

[jan normandale]

David, I wasn't diminishing his work. Just chuckling at the broad global description from the Indiana University.

Regarding his work , I'm actually impressed by his documentation. All I can say there is "wow". I wish I was that disciplined.

 

[David Murphy]

David, I wasn't diminishing his work. Just chuckling at the broad global description from the Indiana University.

Regarding his work , I'm actually impressed by his documentation. All I can say there is "wow". I wish I was that disciplined.

Fair enough!

I think if his work were to be considered art (an open question), it would be somehow be in the realm of "folk art".

 

[remrf]

Thanks for the link. Some of the shots were of places I have been(or am now) such as the Arizona desert and things have not changed all that much other than the "desert" being a little farther from town now than it was then. Many of the shots were just before or at the time I was born or shortly after and it was fun to look at the world I knew as a child though adult eyes.

Love that Kodachrome. It ages so well.

 

[ghost]

looks like a fairly average amateur travel photographer. i wouldn't say he was an artist. i definitely wouldn't say this:

To me, he represents the quintessential world-view of rangefinder forum members

 

[furcafe]

I don't read the statement "he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries" as being especially "broad" or "global." The emphasis is clearly on the U.S. (as can also be seen in the 2 essays devoted to the collection). I would agree w/David Murphy that Cushman appears to have travelled pretty widely for a civilian of his time. His work certainly isn't in the same category as the founders of Magnum, but he seems to have photographed a fairly wide range of subjects, not just standard vacation snaps. And as an affluent white-collar professional who happened to be a serious amateur photographer, Cushman is, IMHO, rather representative of the typical Contax (& Leica) owner of his era . . . & our own. 😛

David, I wasn't diminishing his work. Just chuckling at the broad global description from the Indiana University.

 

[VinceC]

>>as an affluent white-collar professional who happened to be a serious amateur photographer, Cushman is, IMHO, rather representative of the typical Contax (& Leica) owner of his era . . . & our own<<

I agree.

I find this collection interesting precisely because so much of it is a documentation of the ordinary world from 70 to 40 years ago. It is not iconic. It is not struggling too hard to tell a story or search for a particular personal visiion. It is not trying to be especially artful. Because the photographer is obscure and not trying to prove something, not taking photos for any editorial or artistic agenda, I appreciate them for what they are, a piece of well-documented history that offers a brief unaffected glimpse of worlds past.

Several times I've seen postings where someone says something like, "I've just inherited my grandmothers/grandfathers trunk of photographs. It's 10,000 unsorted, unlabeled negatives/slides. What do I do now?"

Here is a man who traveled, documented, and -- importantly -- had the discipline to label and sort his work so that it was coherent and would be understood by others, thereby giving it historic value.

 

[ghost]

Because the photographer is obscure and not trying to prove something, not taking photos for any editorial or artistic agenda, I appreciate them for what they are, a piece of well-documented history that offers a brief unaffected glimpse of worlds past.

completely wrong! this is far from a crystal goblet.