When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
An original 4.5x2.5" antique photo (NOT a modern reprint) from the estate of a family that lived in the Los Angeles area during the 1920s. This is likely a one of a kind photo.
Photo Overview
A snapshot from 1926 showing a dark-colored late-1920s coupe - likely a Dodge Brothers or Chrysler model - parked curbside on a quiet residential street in Los Angeles, California. The bungalow behind the car bears the house number '401' above the door, and the neighborhood features several similar modest wood-frame Craftsman-style bungalows typical of the booming Los Angeles suburbs of the mid-1920s. The unpaved or lightly paved road, young landscaping, and freshly built homes capture the city at a pivotal moment of explosive population growth.
This small 4.5x2.5 inch snapshot is a charming piece of Southern California Americana, offering a rare street-level glimpse of everyday Los Angeles neighborhood life and period automobiles from the Roaring Twenties.
Historical Notes
Los Angeles in 1926 was in the midst of a spectacular real estate and population boom. The city's population had grown from around 576,000 in 1920 to over 1.2 million by 1930, fueled by the automobile culture that this very photograph embodies. Neighborhoods like the one shown here - filled with modest bungalows and young streets - were springing up across the city at a remarkable pace. The automobile on display reflects the era perfectly: Dodge Brothers had been acquired by Chrysler in 1928, and vehicles of this style were the pride of upwardly mobile families settling into the new Los Angeles suburbs. Many of these bungalow neighborhoods still exist today in areas like East Hollywood, Silver Lake, and Jefferson Park, though the specific block shown here has likely been transformed over the ensuing decades.
Print analysis
This is a small snapshot-format silver gelatin print measuring 4.5x2.5 inches. The image and paper style are consistent with a contact print made from a small amateur camera negative in the mid-1920s, typical of Kodak Brownie or similar snapshot cameras of the era. The back notation in pencil and the paper stock are consistent with a Type 1 original print made at or very near the time the photo was taken in 1926.
Condition
Fair to good antique condition. Please see photos for exact condition details.
