Just musing about the labeling on the photos of the houses … if this album did belong to E.L.C., wouldn’t he label his brother’s house something like “Lewis’s House”, and then E.L.C. House would be “Our house in Peking” (although that would be kind of long). So, as someone previously said, it is either a naming...

I believe the Zalewski album belonged to the Cockell’s and spans the time frame from 1920 to 1935.   Here’s my reasoning. I’ve been looking through the album pictures just now as if through the eyes of ELC, and I can see how he could have labeled his own house in China as ELC house.  It’s not quite as impersonal as you might think, especially since he...

If we can discount Slim as being the original owner of the album, then it is quite possible that Clarence Zalewski who was a POW during WWII is our Clarence Zalewski.  If he wasn’t the photographer, but rather a young soldier in the Army, the fact that he was born in 1919 doesn’t seem to be as much of an issue.

True. Yet, while Clarence could not have been the father of Frank C., it is possible that Frank C. was actually the son of the real Clare Slim Zalewski and had possession of his father’s album during the war.   I don’t recall for certain, but I believe I have seen the family tree for Frank C. Zalewski, and I don’t believe his father’s name...

Peter, I have been reading your emails with great interest! You have the makings of a fine sleuth!  Maybe we should start a side business as photo detectives? In any case, I wish I had more time to respond. I find the dating of the photo as being before 1910 very odd. I hope you can find out more info. 1910 would be MUCH earlier than I would ever have expected for...

Could be that he got all his China photos from that particular trip developed at the same time and placed them in there in somewhat random order. I don’t think the entire album is in exact order of photos taken. But probably in order of when they were developed.  It just seems unlikely that he would wait until after all the hundreds of photos were taken to place...