Knott's Pitchur Gallery
It's been quite a while since I've shared photos from Knott's Berry Farm's "Pitchur Gallery" - let's take a look at one (plus some extra stuff) today!
The "bucking bronco" was one of the more popular scenes in the Gallery, we've seen folks ranging from children to grandmothers holding on for dear life. This boy makes it look easy!
A.jpg)
This is the first time I've had the negative, which is pretty cool! I've since acquired one other Pitchur Gallery photo along with the matching negative.
B.jpg)
Reverse the negative, and you get a positive! Who knew??
C.jpg)
Both the photo and the negative were in this Pitchur Gallery envelope; I see at the bottom that it says "Negative made from Photograph", which leads me to assume that it is a second-generation negative and not the original.
Many years ago, somebody emailed me to say that they had hundreds (or was it thousands?) of negatives that once belonged to the man who ran the Pitchur Gallery; I think the person might have been his daughter or granddaughter. I tried contacting her, but she never responded. I wonder if she still has them all?
D.jpg)
7 comments:
Major-
I think I prefer the negative and the envelope. I'm weird that way...
Thanks, Major.
Major, I'm pretty sure that, what you call a "negative" is actually a photo that was taken during a lightning flash! Such a photo is rarer than a toothless T-Rex! I'm sure it's worth thousands of $$$, maybe even millions! The kid is really rockin' that 'yeehaw' pose. He must've seen a lot of western movies and TV shows.
Thanks, Major... Don't spend all your millions on frivolous things. Invest wisely in things of value, like Beanie Babies.
I'm guessing that the Pitchur Gallery photos were "Polaroids," so If you wanted the negative, they'd have to "take a photo" of the original picture. I've had a couple copies made from Polaroid photos, and they first had to make a negative. When they gave me the copies, they gave me the negative that they had to make.
I love "Pitchur Gallery" photos, but that's extra cool that you have the photo, the negative, AND the envelope!
Thanks, Major!
My first comment disappeared! It will probably show twice now. Anyway, remember 'Brick' Heck? He would tell you that the fonts on that envelope are Cooper Black and Copperplate Gothic, both popular on advertising from the mid to late 20th century.
Cool that you found the trifecta of Pitchur Gallery photos.
Thank you, Major
Zach
What a great pichur of that kid, he’s really rolling with it.
Major, you have a knack for finding the strangest things. It’s too bad that lady never wrote back, I could see a long series of posts from those pics.
Thank you!
JG
Nanook, you ARE weird! ;-)
JB, indoor lightning (not to be confused with indoor lightening) is one of the rarest natural phenomena. This photo must be worth millions. Which I really will invest in Beanie Babies. I still need the rare purple “Princess Diana” bear!
TokyoMagic!, while Disneyland and other parks (POP, I know) used Polaroids, I do not believe that Knott’s did. They appear to have used a real large format camera, surprisingly. You’re right though, if you need a copy of a Polaroid, they have to make a negative. I’ve seen duplicate prints of Polaroids, and they always have that “2nd generation” look to them.
zach, I sure don’t remember Brick Heck. What a name! Souds like an action hero. Gosh, how long ago did he tell you about the fonts on the envelope? Good for you for remembering the names of the fonts! I’m not sure if that very bold font is Helvetica, but I don’t think so, now that I look at it more closely.
JG, I was actually very disappointed that the lady didn’t respond, and I know Chris Merritt, who was working on his first KBF book, REALLY wanted to speak to her!
Major, Brick Heck was a character on the TV series The Middle, and among his character traits was a love of fonts. I only know that because of Wikipedia, but now I will never forget it.
I can't speak to the era when these photos were taken, but in 1995, they were using a vintage-looking medium format camera in the Pitchur Gallery. Mrs. Chuck & I bought the negative of our photo, and it was definitely shot on 60mm-wide sprocketless film.
That kid in the first photo is awesome.
Thanks, Major!
Post a Comment