I enjoy looking at vintage photographs, and catching a glimpse of people's lives in a time before my own. The fascination increases immensely when the photographs are of a country that I call home. Despite living abroad for years, being an Indonesian is always going to be a strong part of my identity.
These photos were taken by a US pilot who served in Indonesia during the WWII era (late 40s).
There are 2 pictures here. You can see a faint image of a man behind the sign (sideways).
my hometown! You can tell it's raining by the ground, as well as the lady in the middle with a parasol. Ironic that the name of the store in the background (toko "Terang") means bright/sunny.
This photo made me laugh. First of all, it say "Paris", and there's absolutely nothing Parisian about this place. Then the words "Toekang Sepatoe" underneath translates to Shoe (repair) Man, which not only makes me wonder where the shoes are, but also makes me wonder what's up with us Indonesians associating shoes with the west. You see, this isn't the only instance of shoe places using foreign locations as names. In the next photo taken in Bandung, there's a shoe store named "London". Also, when I was young, I often passed a shoe store named "Canada". I bet people who bought shoes there found amusement in telling their friends where they got them from! Any Indonesian readers out there want to back me up on this?
Photos, except for last, from this flickr.
Last photo from Djawa Tempo Doeloe.
I highly recommend checking out the second link if you're interested in Indonesian "tempo doeloe" images (they have great photo caption information too).
PS. I know this is probably really different from my usual "pretty" posts (it's gorgeous to me, but I'm biased), but I hope you didn't find it too dull.
24 little notes:
I think these pictures are beautiful and fairly fascinating! That's really funny about shoes being associated with Western cities. :)
Oh this is great - i love old photos! pretty funny when during the colonial period many places in indonesia were using western names... (instead of local's, like javanese or else) and you know what? i think we came from the same hometown - jogja, eh?
what a coinsidence, if it's true! great post :))
I don't think this is dull at all. Beauty can be found everywhere and especially in old photographs. When they hold a special meaning, as the ones you've shared clearly do for you, they're even more beautiful :)
iya dari jogja! dan deket banget dari janti - di seturan. hehe. eh gimana kalo kita ngobrol lewat email? email kamu apa? :)
What a great find!! It's interesting to see how our landscape used to look like.
Not dull at all, the pictures are wonderful and seeing them made me realize that while I come across many beautiful vintage photos out there in vintage fashion blogland, they don't tend to be very culturally diverse, so this is a welcome and refreshing change :)
They are lovely! I love black and white photos too - so much more to see somehow? Hope you're having a lovely week!
These are so captivating.
absolutely stunning!!! i have to say tho, indonesia back then is actually much more beautiful and peaceful (!) compared to today.. don't you think? such a shame! not saying that it's not pretty anymore, it just makes me sad to think of all the politics, bombings, pollutions, crimes and all those terrible things :(
beautiful photos!
I love the Indian tailor picture...
Indonesia looks very unique at that time.
Absolutely gorgeous pics.
Not dull at all Anna! I love vintage photography from whatever part of the world, and also very much relate to your connection to Indonesia. I have a similar thing going with Mexico. Though I was born and raised in Los Angeles both of my parents are Mexican and I grew up with pride and love for where my ancestors came from. It's funny you mention Canada shoes since there's a big shoe chain store in Mexico called Zapatos Canada. Maybe it's the same one! :D
I don't find it dull,the photos are gorgeous!
I love these! Old photos are great :)
Oh, I'm with ya! I absolutely love vintage photography, often even more than modern/recent photography, I always like to imagine how it must have been then, seems like another world (and I guess, in a way it was)! :)
xoxo,
S-C
Lovely post and great pictures!
Its true how we find old things or history more interesting if they connect with us and our heritage.
awesome post and such beautiful pics.
anyway, you live in melb? r u in college or wht?
These are gorgeous! I think we learn a lot more from history in culture than the present time. Beautiful post
:O you're from Jogja?! Mwahahaha... same here! :d
Okay, not my hometown but I'll pretend that it is since I'm so in love with this city, well... I am currently living here in Jogja, hoho
great photos! it's interesting to see what was it like in the past. and yes, I can back you up for sure about the shoe stores names.. we also have "Canada" in Jakarta, tepatnya di pasar baru. Haha.. itu mah gudangnya toko sepatu jadul.. dijamin katrok nama tokonya..
That is really interesting! These pictures are beautiful, I really like the rainy one with a woman and parasol in the background. I also love learning about my favorite bloggers!
mbak saya suka liat foto - fotonya, saya izin untuk save ya buat blog saya nantinya
@rijal : silakan :) asal jgn lupa utk beri credit/link yg sesuai nantinya :)
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