From collection Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company Collection
John P. Morris Store, East Thetford, VT. 13.
Scene of a village store on a dirt street. Two men stand in the entrance of the shop, which is marked "John P. Morris" with a handsome sign. Two early motor cars frame the shopfront on either side. The camera has caught a scene documenting the early commercializaton of the automobile era, when business owners were adapting their signeage to attract the attention of motorists moving by at increasing speeds, For this image the Eastern photographer has likely directed the store's proprietors and other figures to pose, turning the scene from a documentary one into a more relatable, animated tableau. On the left, the driver of the car and his passenger, a boy, look out at the camera, as do the two men standing in the shop's doorway. The latter, perhaps a father and son, look a bit glum; their well-kept storefront is housed in the false front of an older residence, giving it an up-to-date, commercial feel for the time period. The large commercial windows, dressed with geraniums and small American flags, are clean and reflect the summer day outside. At the left is an early gas pump, made more visible from the road by a round sign with an early Texaco logo star atop a tall post. Nearby a sign "Camping Ground" hangs on a tree. Another sign announcing "Speedwell Farm Ice Cream Sold Here" stands near several milk cans at the side of the dirt street.
