Saturday, June 18, 2022

Cowboys

In the early part of the 20th century, and for decades, westerns were the most popular genre in the world of movies and radio (and of course television, eventually). People couldn't get enough of those morality tales, with good guys, bad guys, gunfights, wagon trains, gamblers, and saloon gals (to name just a few of the tropes), all set against the vast backdrop of the American frontier.  Any self-respecting kid played "cowboys and Indians", and if that kid happened to be lucky, his parents bought him or her a fancy getup. Like the boy in this first photo!

There he is, in front of those wild leopard-print drapes, with his mostly-black outfit. Does that make him a bad man?? Or maybe he's the antihero. You don't want to mess with him, but ultimately he fights for what's right. After endless practice, he can hit an empty bottle on a fence post in the blink of an eye. Hopefully there's no girls around, because they always want to be kissing, and that's no bueno.


This next kid looks considerably less-confident than the first buckaroo. Hey, we were all greenhorns, once! His mom has prepared a swell party, I'm sure each kid will get a bottle of redeye to wash down the cake.

14 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
These images are too, too much-! I'm sorry, but that cowboy outfit in the first image seems to be amalgam of every 'fashion-don't'-! What... gaucho pants-? tucked into those boots-? And what's with the patch pockets-? And then a plaid-! yoke trimmed with fringe-?? I could go on, but I fear my heart isn't up to it. This may be the best outfit ever featured on GDB. I'm trying to avert my eyes away from that blonde wood cabinet towards the only thing in the room with any 'class': The leopard curtains.

Number two isn't much better, but at least it looks as though the kiddies are in for a swanky party: party favors topped with a 'pipe-cleaner wire man' holding paper umbrellas-! Mis-matched chairs and the diamond-patterned curtains-! (I certainly hope Mom is wearing matching "...hostess pants. You wear 'em when you give smart dinner parties.") Is 'Junior' wearing suede 'chaps' over his hiked-up pants w/suspenders-?? (And just where is his six-shooter, I ask you-??)

This is all too much to take in. I'm going to bed.

Thanks, Major.

JB said...

First cowboy: Wow, the kid has the entire get-up! I like how his pantlegs are stuffed into his fancy boots; that's to keep the snakes and scorpions from crawling up his legs while he's out in the scrub punchin' cattle.
I can't help but wonder how long he wore this expensive costume before he outgrew it; probably about a year. Maybe it was passed down to a younger brother.
I tried to read some of those book titles but I couldn't make out enough words to make sense of it.

Second cowboy: Don't let the innocent look on the kid fool you. This is Babyface Bart; fastest gun in the Four Corners region. You don't wanna mess with him.
That's quite a spread on the table. All sorts of goodies. It looks like his birthday cake consists of individual cupcakes; two platters of 'em. I wouldn't mind being a guest at his party, just to sample all the munchies.

Nanook, I hope the shock of seeing these photos doesn't cause you any permanent damage. ;-)

Thanks for the fun cowboy photos, Major.

DBenson said...

For the record, Hopalong Cassidy's standard gear was black clothes with a white hat. Lash LaRue was completely in black. Then again, he had a shorter run in cheaper films.

Disney angle: In 1958 ABC pressured Disney to include more westerns in his weekly anthology show, that being the hot trend. He eventually gave in -- according to "The Magic Kingdom" by Steven Watts, Walt burst into a meeting with network execs in a cowboy outfit -- but he didn't like being told to focus on one genre. One more crack in relations with ABC, which eventually led to a breakup and "World of Color" on NBC.

Note that while there were some traditional cowboys on the Disney hour, Davy Crockett's era was a bit before what we think of as the Old West and Swamp Fox was set during the American Revolution. Zorro's California was back in the days of Spanish rule, and pistols were replaced by swords. Walt's instincts were to veer away from the standard horse opera.

Some years later, "World of Color" did several episodes about Gallagher, a newspaper copyboy set on becoming a reporter. The first three were set in the big city (as per the source book), but later adventures placed Gallagher in a classic western town -- for budget reasons, I suspect.

Bu said...

I agree with Nanook...there is quite a lot here...quite an overwhelming amount of a lot...the decor trends of the time seem to be evident...kind of...just a lot of them. Popular Science was the magazine of the day, as was Science and Mechanics. The second shelf I think is Readers Digest- although none of the spines are visible. The ceramics are of note. The deco "Bambi" vases are cool. I would actually own those...and Jambi there on the top shelf...all kind of cool. The blond wood cabinet started out (stylistically) as super cool...then they all got knocked off and made very cheaply...I have some of the cheap ones in my garage...I was doing a design project in mid century and they did not make the cut...so there they sit. The draperies are epic. The draperies in both photos are epic, as is the red shag rug underneath cowboy #1. Let's not forget the shiny textured paint walls making a return visit from a previous post a few days ago. I have seen that finish in real life. It always looks super dirty no matter what color it is, and reminds me of depression era design. I have to do some research on it, as it was "a thing". It might have been a thing filled with asbestos though...Pic #2 and the "Steelers" logo drapes. Like I said..epic...the fabric is also epic. The dishes I got for that mid century house has this same design. Pic #2 is more evocative of a early Disneyland era: Chinese modern chairs, looks like they got the old vinyl ones from the stainless steel and formica kitchen set, and then folding chairs that were usually tucked away in a closet. Don't we all have those "just in case"? The color of balloons hanging from the light fixture is very curated. In fact, everything is done very thoughtfully. Spoons instead of forks, the napkins are placed very intentionally, hats placed very intentionally on paper mugs, the pipe cleaner guys with umbrellas...that had to be an idea from a magazine...very intentional. The best thing is the carpet cleaner on the wall with it's little shelves with plastic and fanciful grapes. It's interesting that there is so much Virgo type behavior here, however the chairs are random and not balanced correctly. This must have been intentional and probably there was assigned seating. "so and so needs that type of chair and they sit there, and Johnny sits there...so he needs the plastic one"....and so forth... Paper clown is cool, I loved those accordion things as a kid. The colors are so saturated due to the paper. I'm guessing due to the wall to wall carpeting that the balloons actually may be tied onto a ceiling fan. When I was younger and looking for apartments in LA, my friends would sometimes help me out. "You don't want that apartment"...me: "Why"? them: "818 (area code in the valley), wall to wall carpet, ceiling fan"....me..."Oh...OK...no...I don't want it". One more odd thing about pic #2...there are twice as many settings as chairs...would there be more folding ones? Will people be standing? Will Uncle Elmo need to take his into the parlor? All good questions. Thanks for a forensically thoughtful morning Major.

Stu29573 said...

Ya'll better watch out, castin' apergins...er asperin....uh, sturgens...oh heck, you know what I mean, on ol' Gary "the Gun" Larson in that first pic. He'll load you so full of cap dust, you'll stink for nigh-on all day!
Babyface Bart ain't no better. Of course, with no gun, he has to hit his caps with a rock. Most undignified...

Chuck said...

Typed this at 5:30 CDT this morning, hit “Publish Your Comment,” and walked away, not realizing that I had left a hypertext tag unclosed and the positing had hung up. I have not refreshed the screen, so my apologies in advance if my comments duplicate (or contradict) any comments between DBenson’s and mine. Praying that today doesn’t go like yesterday and that the failure of a buddy’s chainsaw to start this morning as we are trying to clean up the downed tree isn’t a hint of what is to come.

——————-

I love everything in both photos.

Oddly focusing on that highly-varnished, shiny strip of wood flooring between the carpet and the baseboard under the curtain in the first picture. A non-permanent carpet on top of a glossy floor that nobody will see. Just a different way of designing flooring than we generally do today.

For JB, here’s all of the book titles I could make out:

Top shelf - a book collection with a title ending in “Atlas.” Possibly an encyclopedia or in-depth, multi-volume geographer’s atlas, but most likely the full “Dynamic Tension” course by Charles Atlas.

Second shelf - looks like a collection of issues of >Reader’s Digest.

Third shelf - can’t make anything out, but looks like there may be a Little Golden Book between the black-bound collection and the red-bound collection.

Fourth shelf - multiple issues of Popular Science and Science and Mechanics magazines, plus The Complete Guide to Fresh Water Fishing.

In the second photo, the boy’s orange vest and chaps look remarkably like a set my then-cowboy-mad oldest got for Christmas from his aunt and uncle when he was almost three. He got a lot of playtime mileage out of that.

How confident would you look if you found yourself unarmed and facing off with a legless clown standing in the middle of a dining room table? I know I’d be absolutely terrified.

DBenson, the thing I never understood about Gallagher is where he got all of those watermelons in the old west.

Chuck said...

Bu, I loved those accordion paper things, too. So fun to open them and see the final design come into being, then close them up again. The paper had a very distinct feeling if you put a finger along the edge as you opened and closed them. There was a store we would occasionally visit when I was small that had a huge section of them, with examples on display. I’d always gravitate there instead of the kids’ book section, although the fact that there was a giant sign there that said something like “This is not a library - do not read our books” may have had something to do with that, too.

Stu, I loved taking an entire roll of paper caps, laying it on its side, and smacking it with a rock or a hammer. LOUD bang! It wasn’t cost effective, but it was fun, and it was pretty much all I could do after the grip broke off my cowboy pistol and my mother decided she wasn’t going to buy me any more “violent” toys so I didn’t grow up to be some sort of sicko monster. I was forbidden from watching Star Trek, Speed Racer, Batman (the Adam West series), and The Three Stooges for the same reason. Her efforts paid off and I am now a normal, well-adjusted adult.

Well, off to torture some kittens…I’ll check back in later!

JG said...

We have pictures of Mrs. G’s father and uncle in their respective cowboy outfits hanging in our hallway. Cute kids.

This is a fun interlude, Major. Thank you.

JG

K. Martinez said...

When it came to the Disney "westerns" on the Sunday night weekly Disney anthology show, "El Fego Baca" was my favorite. Still is. And I love westerns of any kind.

These pics are A+ in my book. Cute kid pics with cowboy outfits. I remember having a cap-gun and holster with cowboy hat when I was a kid. Love the curtains with the black and gold diamonds pattern.

Thanks, Major. Today's pics are Xtra special.

Stu & Chuck, I used to hit my rolls of caps with a rock just for kicks. Kids! The things they do for entertainment.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, hey, I am wearing that exact outfit right now! And I happen to think that I look pretty stylish. Sure, it’s unorthodox, but have you seen what they wear at those crazy fashion shows? The leopard curtains are pretty sweet too, you can’t have too many animal-print items in a room. My younger brother bought a fake zebra hide, and wisely decided that it did not look that great in his living room. Do you think those pipe cleaner decorations were hand-made by mom? If so, what a lot of work!

JB, that first kid is clearly very proud of his getup, just imagine how stiff and uncomfortable those boots probably were! Wonder if he ever broke them in, or if they sat in a closet? As you said, he surely outgrew this whole costume very quickly, boys at that age start to spring up. I suppose it is possible that kid #2 gets people to lower their defenses, and then he shoots them in the back! The yellow-bellied sidewinder.

DBenson, don’t forget about Paladin (“Have Gun, Will Travel”)! He wore all-black (as far as I remember, anyway) and was as smart as a whip. I did not know that Walt was generally unhappy with ABC. I did know that he and Roy eventually bought out their shares in the company, and of course NBC was willing to broadcast in color, which was a wise move. We can still watch some of those old programs 50 or 60 years later. And now that you mention it, did Disney not do ANY traditional western TV shows? Seems hard to believe!

Bu, SCIENCE? You believe that stuff? I prefer numerology or astrology. Or psychics! Now there’s something you can believe in. My grandma and grandpa got Reader’s Digest faithfully for decades, I would read the “Laughter: The Best Medicine” and “Humor in Uniform” sections when I went to visit. That wood cabinet is probably valuable today, with the love for all things mid-century modern. Good eye on the textured walls, which look kind of gross to me now. I’ll bet you’re right about the asbestos, that stuff was put in everything. Photo #2 reminds me a bit more of my own childhood, though maybe tidier. My mom had four kids to deal with, I don’t know how she did it. I didn’t recognize the carpet beater, what a funny decoration. I have boxes of my mom’s now-very-vintage paper decorations, I wish I knew what to do with them… but there are many smaller versions of those “accordion”-type items, bell shapes, ball shapes, angels, and more. I was going to sell them to a guy who deals in paper collectibles, but then I was unable to drive out to meet him.

Major Pepperidge said...

Stu29573, so I guess I am supposed to beware of sturgeons? Believe me, I can’t sleep at night, imagining that there are sturgeons coming for me. With those weird bony plates and freaky mouths! No thank you. Bart has a Derringer hidden in his boot, so don’t be fooled.

Chuck, I hope that at this time of the day (on Saturday) that you have managed to get at least the worst parts of that fallen tree taken care of. At least you’ll have plenty of firewood for the coming winter! Or next winter, if it needs to dry out. As for the buckaroo’s home, I’d go for hardwood floors over carpet any day. My mom went for off-white carpets years ago, and of course now it is showing its age. But the prospect of basically moving everything out of those rooms for new carpet is daunting. I thought that Reader’s Digest had uniform spines, but don’t really remember. Maybe that was in the early years (since my grandparents saved them going back to the ‘50s). w“Dynamic tension”! Now I won’t have sand kicked in my face anymore. I can practically smell the slightly-acrid and yet leathery aroma of that second kid’s suede outfit. Looks like a gift from grandma and grandpa.

Chuck, see my comment to Bu! I still have a box full of those accordion-style decorations, though none are as large or elaborate as that clown. I can’t bring myself to get rid of them, though heaven knows I should. Too much junk. I just remembered that there are also accordion-style apples and pears in the mix. The waffle pattern is amazing, I’m not really sure how those things are even made. And does anybody make them today?? We used to bang on an entire roll of caps too, or even use a magnifying glass on them. The 7-11 made millions of dollars off of us!

JG, I might have a photo of myself wearing a red felt cowboy hat, it looked just like the one Jessie the Cowgirl wore in “Toy Story 2”. We were into Batman (the 1966 show) more than cowboys.

K. Martinez, I am quite sure I’ve never seen “El Fego Baca”, even though I feel like I’ve seen it mentioned in print for many years. Can’t you vividly remember the smell of spent caps? I loved it! Boys will find all sorts of ways to cause mayhem, including banging on caps with a rock. My sister would not let her son play with toy guns, so he would just pick up a stick and VOILA! Instant gun. She finally gave up.

Chuck said...

I don’t think that was very nice, Major, calling Bu a clown like that.

And no, the day hasn’t gotten any better. On my way to return the rental chainsaw that we had to pick up after my buddy’s wouldn’t start, only to find out that the rental’s chain is dull and isn’t cutting well. My wife told me to just go buy myself a brand new one for Father’s Day, which was what I wanted to do yesterday in the first place before everyone wanted to “help.”

DBenson said...

Major: Disney did do some standard cowboys-and-six-guns westerns. Just not that many of them. Usually Disney's westerns were tied to very specific times and places rather than generic backlot towns with a fancy saloon for brawls and a bank to hold up. Texas John Slaughter was based on a real person, as was Elfego Baca -- the latter a rare non-stereotyped Hispanic hero.

JB said...

Another smasher-of-caps-with-a-rock (or sometimes a hammer) here. We had capguns, and used them on each other, but the loud banging boom you got from whacking a whole roll of caps was much more satisfying. I remember, right after the BANG (I think I could feel the pressure wave!), that I couldn't hear anything for a couple of seconds. Then the ringing-in-the-ears would begin. I'm sure that's why, at age 69, I'm a little hard of hearing. Now, I hear ringing all the time. Kids... whatcha gonna do? Actually, I would enjoy banging a roll of caps even now, but I don't want to lose what hearing I have left. Old guys... whatcha gonna do?

Major, ironic that the Disney corporation now owns ABC. Or is it the other way around? Seems like Disney is 'bigger' than ABC, yes?
We were also a Reader's Digest family for decades, and had a shelf (or three) of them like we see in the photo here.