photo by wilbur holmes, circa mid 1970s
Carlos of Surplus of Options (a smokin’ hot Antique/Resale shop full of curiosities here in Chicago) found these pictures… in fact, he picked up dozens of them… at a West Side Junk shop for almost nothing. I was immediately struck by the photos, both for their composition and tone. I bought the pictures from him with the promise that I’d share them with Darkjive readers.
All of the photos came from the same lot and are presumed to have been taken by one Wilbur Holmes (who apparently had a way with the ladies, based on the subject matter of many of his shots). A good number of his photos had West Side subject matter, such as the Garfield Conservatory and Malcolm X College. At first, the photographer was a mystery. Only one shot (not pictured here) had his name embossed in the corner.
A bit of research turned up that Mr. Holmes worked for the post office for 40 years (as well as being a self-employed photographer).
I found some of his shots published in Jet Magazine, during the 1970s (image below from the March 4, 1971 issue).
He was a First Lieutenant in the Army in World War II, and he died in 1991. If you know/knew Mr. Holmes and have more info, please share it here in the comments section. I’m so grateful that Darkjivers are so good at sharing…
darkjive.com 
December 20th, 2011 at 10:39 am
Love it… I’m a South Sider, but they have always got it in out West. Would like to see more pictures.
December 20th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Hi, On My Square: There are more pictures. I will probably post them in future installments. Thanks for your comment!
April 5th, 2012 at 9:01 am
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July 7th, 2015 at 10:53 pm
I worked for Mr. Holmes at the post office. He was the supervisor of Unit 6A on the ninth floor. He took the photos of my wedding ceremony in 1965. My wife and I were fondly thinking of him tonight, so we searched the internet for his name. We are sorry to find that he is now deceased. He was a very respected man and great photographer.
June 14th, 2020 at 1:11 am
I have a case of his negatives!