Share your favorites on Show & Tell

St. Paul Ice Carnival Stereoview, 1888

In Photographs > Stereoview Photographs > Show & Tell.
aghcollect's loves17970 of 44595Medicine Bottle????Wee little blue iridescent vase with long neck.  ID = Welz
15
Love it
0
Like it

CathyzCathyz loves this.
MALKEYMALKEY loves this.
BenBen loves this.
inkyinky loves this.
ElisabethanElisabethan loves this.
Virginia.vintageVirginia.vintage loves this.
f64imagerf64imager loves this.
RadegunderRadegunder loves this.
BelltownBelltown loves this.
ericevans2ericevans2 loves this.
ManikinManikin loves this.
aghcollectaghcollect loves this.
SEAN68SEAN68 loves this.
vetraio50vetraio50 loves this.
walksoftlywalksoftly loves this.
See 13 more
Add to collection

    Please create an account, or Log in here

    If you don't have an account, create one here.


    Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate


    Posted 9 years ago

    rniederman
    (343 items)

    Now that a brief respite of an unusual early December thaw is ending and temps are once again dropping with snow returning, most of us in the upper Midwest tundra are thinking of ways to entertain ourselves. Cabin Fever is the biggie problem yet we adapt and show off our rigorous lifestyles in all sorts of ways. Aside from the usual skating, skiing, and snowboarding, odd activities abound. For example, some intrepid souls hop speeding snowmobiles over open water! (Yep ... it’s true.)

    But how did everyone tolerate winter in the old days? The answer was to organize an annual winter carnival! Yeah ... right ... and even that was met with skepticism. According to the official St. Paul Winter Carnival website:

    “Several Eastern newspaper correspondents kindled the start of the Winter Carnival by visiting Saint Paul in the fall of 1885 and returning home to report that Minnesota, in general, was another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.”

    (We are so proud!!!)

    Anyhow the first Ice Carnival was organized and an intrepid photographer - H.H. Bennett of Kilbourn City, WI - was on hand to photographically capture its earliest years. Given how cold it gets and the immense number images, I cannot imagine how Bennett tolerated standing outside with a tripod mounted large format stereo camera shooting long exposures. (Trust me when I say that large format stereo photography is difficult even under good conditions.) Yet Bennett persevered and created a terrific portfolio of the early St. Paul Ice Carnival years.

    This is stereoview #1522 entitled “Statue of Gladiator and entrance to palace.” The carnival’s iconic ice palace has a large sign - BOREALIS – over the entrance. I cannot quite make out the sign on the gladiator’s pedestal, but an extremely high resolution scan shows what looks like a corporate sponsorship by Corley, Chapman & Drake ... Desks, Book Cases (?), Mantles, Hardwood Interiors. St. Paul, MINN.

    Another couple interesting bits of history ... Saint Paul’s Winter Carnival is the oldest winter festival in the U.S. and predates the Tournament of Roses Festival by two years. The 1886 castle was constructed at a cost of $5,210 and reached 106 feet high. In comparison, the 1992 Pepsi Palace cost $1.9 million and set a Guinness record with a height of 165 feet.

    My ... my ... we are indeed a hearty bunch!

    Also shown is an example of a camera from my collection that is capable of making these kinds of stereoviews.

    logo
    Stereoview Photographs
    See all
    100 STEREOVIEW Stereoscopic Photo SLEEVES Pack/Lot ~ 1.5 Mil Poly ARCHIVAL SAFE
    100 STEREOVIEW Stereoscopic Photo S...
    $15
    100 STEREOVIEW Stereoscopic Photo SLEEVES Pack/Lot ~ 2.5 Mil Poly ARCHIVAL SAFE
    100 STEREOVIEW Stereoscopic Photo S...
    $12
    100 Archival Stereoview Sleeves 1.5mil Stereoscopic Stereograph Stereoscope Card
    100 Archival Stereoview Sleeves 1.5...
    $16
    50 LARGE Stereoview SLEEVES Pack/Lot ~ Photo Archival Safe Acid Free Bag 2.5 Mil
    50 LARGE Stereoview SLEEVES Pack/Lo...
    $11
    logo
    100 STEREOVIEW Stereoscopic Photo SLEEVES Pack/Lot ~ 1.5 Mil Poly ARCHIVAL SAFE
    100 STEREOVIEW Stereoscopic Photo S...
    $15
    See all

    Comments

    1. walksoftly walksoftly, 9 years ago
      Cutting & hauling all that ice kept them warm for awhile.
    2. vetraio50 vetraio50, 9 years ago
      Ice Follies !!!!
    3. SEAN68 SEAN68, 9 years ago
      stunning!!! very beautiful Rob!!
    4. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      Thanks!
      David ... yep ... gotta keep warm any way possible.
      vetraio50 ... Ice Follies indeed!
    5. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      Thanks, Sean!
    6. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      Thanks, aghcollect!
    7. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      Thanks, Manikin!
    8. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      Thanks, Eric!
    9. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      Thanks, Ben!
    10. Virginia.vintage Virginia.vintage, 9 years ago
      Beautiful!!
    11. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      Thanks!
      Elisabethan
      Virginia.vintage
      CindB
      Radegunder
    12. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      Thanks, inky!
    13. rniederman rniederman, 6 years ago
      Happy New Years! As usual, it's frigid in the Twin Cities with morning temps averaging -11 to -17 degrees F (raw temp) for the past week. (I won't go into detail how this makes it difficult for our small dog.) Anyhow, this stereoview is also a wonderful reminder that a new ice castle will be starting construction before the Super Bowl festivities are underway. It's certainly cold enough to excavate high quality ice blocks and rest assured I won't be outside for the fun!
    14. Manikin Manikin, 6 years ago
      Happy New Years! From below zero Wi !
    15. rniederman rniederman, 6 years ago
      Thanks, Ben and Manikin!
    16. rniederman rniederman, 4 years ago
      Thanks, Nicefice!
    17. rniederman rniederman, 4 years ago
      Thanks, Thomas!
    18. rniederman rniederman, 4 years ago
      Thanks, MALKEY!
    19. rniederman rniederman, 4 years ago
      Thanks, Cathyz!

    Want to post a comment?

    Create an account or login in order to post a comment.