Photography, one hundred years ago, was not nearly as available as it is today. Few people had their picture taken, and if they did it was considered a major event. But Carl Barks and his family seized the golden opportunity of getting themselves immortalized by posing for photos of themselves both indoors and outdoors. The following is a unique collection of images from Carl's early years until he started his lifetime work with Disney characters in 1935. The persons depicted are primarily father William, mother Arminta, and brother Clyde, but other persons may be present as well. They are not identified any further than the mention of their names. All images are placed in chronological order and a few comments are attached.

Disclaimer: Time has not been good to the photos; several of them have faded and turned brownish. Still, you are presented to a remarkable selection of photos of young Carl from an era, when he was not at all publicly known - which, in itself, makes the collection very interesting.

 

 

 


1902

Flip side reads: Clyde & Carl Barks taken in Merrill, Ore. - Carl 1½ yrs old, Clyde 3 yrs old - Carl has on flanel dress.

Circa 1906

Clyde, William, Arminta, Carl. See more HERE.

Circa 1910

Flip side reads: Clyde Barks on haystack. It is probably Carl sitting on his father's shoulders.

1911

Arminta, visitor Jenny Richt, Carl, Clyde.

1911

The Barks family at a photo session in San Francisco, California. At the time it was common to pose in props like this vehicle in front of a painted background. Carl is the car's 'driver' with Clyde next to him, and Arminta and William in the back seat.

1915

Carl (riding), Clyde, Arminta. The only means of transport on the ancestry farm were the workhorses. Young Carl used them with the large farm equipment, and throughout all of his school years he would ride a horse back and fro.

1915

Front side reads: Mullet Fish snag(g)ed at Lost River Dam, 1915.
Flip side reads: Sam Erman, Clyde Barks, Carl Barks, Cecil King with suckers caught in Lost River, Oregon, near Merrill.

1916

Barks was never interested in personal sports activities. He was never a boy scout, either, and he never even owned a bicycle. So this is a rare photo; young Carl is seen skating (X marks the sport!) with friends on a nearby lake.

1917

Flip side reads: 1917, William Barks, Clyde Bradley, Clyde H. Barks, Carl Barks.

1918

Flip side reads: Carl Barks at 17 - San Francisco, Ca.

1918

Flip side reads: Carl Barks - Age 17.

Circa 1919

Flip side reads: Carl Barks in San Francisco about 1919.

Excerpt from a letter to daughter Dorothy in 1995: ...You asked about the old photo of me at age 18 or 19 standing in front of a small hotel in San Francisco. Yes, I lived in that hotel for over a year. Mostly in a $2.50 per week room on the air shaft. The bath was down the hall. I ate in restaurants and attended movies in the great movie palaces of that day. All on weekly pay of $13.50 that gradually moved up to $15.00. My job was being errand boy and part time press feeder in a job printing plant. The value of a dollar has declined very much...

1921

Flip side reads: Carl Barks and Pearl, his first wife. She was a Turner girl. Taken soon after marriage in 1921. Neither of them were of age.

1923

Front side reads: Carl and Peggy. Photographed in the home in Roseville, California. Peggy was Carl's firstborn.

Late 1920s

Carl, presumably in Roseville, California.

Circa 1930

Flip side reads: Kyle Cook, Pat Mason, Carl Barks. - Merrill, Oregon about 1930.

Circa 1932

Carl in Minneapolis, Minnesota. See more HERE.

 

 
http://www.cbarks.dk/THEEARLYPHOTOS.htm   Date 2011-01-14