Orchids in Bloom
A few floral delights.
Most Fridays I send out an email that features photos from the Rupert Leach Collection, snaps taken from the personal reels of View-Master’s Director of Photography in the 1940s and ‘50s. These never-before-published images show alternative shots of some commercial View-Master reels and personal photos of Leach, his wife Poppy, and others.
I try to get to the bottom of the people and places pictured within despite the limited context provided by mostly unmarked reels. Let’s dig in!
This week’s reel is simply named “Orchids” and he’s not lying.
I’m not gonna lie. It’s been a week. And I got a new phone and the data transfer was a nightmare and I don’t know how to best use the camera on this thing yet so getting these snaps was hard (I’m writing this at 9:30 on a Thursday night and the email goes out in 9 hours and this is cutting it all a good closer than I like). So, I apologize for the middling quality of these images. Hopefully, I’ll have a better handle on the capabilities of this phone and it’s THREE lenses that keep moving in and out of focus on me than I do this week!
So! ORCHIDS.
What is about these flowers that so enchants folks? Probably the fussy blooms? That’s what I like about them.
I’m not sure where this reel was taken. It was sandwiched between two reels that feature U.S. locations but that doesn’t mean much. Portland State University (not terribly far from the original View-Master factory) does an annual orchid show and sale? This could be related!
These were clearly from an orchid show of some sort but it’s also possible that they were part of a planned orchid View-Master set? View-Master has several such products including an Alpine Wildflowers giftset and a set dedication to Mushroom species.
You can read about this variety here. It was first discovered in 1842! It is found in eastern Brazil in hills near the coast in swampy areas at elevations of 600 to 900 meters!
Now this provides a great deal of context. The Ann Follis is an orchid hybrid originated by E.W.McLellan in 1963. It is a cross of C. granulosa x C. Ethel Merman! So these photos were likely taken around 1963 (or a later). And the orchid was developed by E.W.McClellan, an orchid grower located in the San Francisco area.
I do love solving a tiny mystery.
I can’t read this one. BUT let’s look at this gorgeous illustration all the same:
The C. Feather is a hybrid that was registered with the Royal Horticultural Society by E.W. McLellan in 1954!
Cattleya Pacific is an orchid hybrid originated by McLellan in 1954!
So, I went through my entire View-Master digital archive (yes, I have one) and I couldn’t find a single reference to orchids. And since this reel dates a little later than some of the others we’ve reviewed, I think it’s a safe bet to assume Leach took these photos for fun or for a friend. They were likely not related to his job at Sawyer’s or View-Master!
And that’s it for this week. Sometimes these reels are filled with the exact kind of random flowers and places that any shutterbug would photograph.
That’s it for this week! Thanks for reading along. Be sure to smash that ❤️ button so I know you’re out there and following along!
Amazing photos! I live in Florida and learned how to grow orchids on trees. The roots hug the tree and grab their moisture from the air. Amazing and they are all blooming at the same time right now!
Thank you for sharing!
Rob
There's a bunch of orchid shots on various VM reels, and you can find them on Dave Machin's searchable database. (None of the reels are titled with the word "orchid," though, it's just listed in the captions.) Dave's orchid photos don't match the types in your reel, so Leach must've attended some special show or collection!
https://vm.vmdatabase.com/
Smithsonian does an annual orchid show, usually in conjunction with the U.S. Botanical Garden, but I don't know if their partnership stretches back to the 60s (probably not).