Accession Number: 2019.26.42-52
Description: Eleven (11) black and white prints, a series with an Orientation and Mobility trainer, Charles Gilson, working with a girl from San Leandro High School in Alameda County, California, primarily inside retail stores; Gilson wears a dark suit, white shirt and tie, his dark hair is in a crew cut; the trainee is seen in two different outfits; in the first eight shots, she wears a dark knee-length skirt, a spotted print blouse, and an insulated windbreaker with hood; she carries a large purse and uses a rigid long cane with golf grip and glide tip; in the last three shots, she wears a plaid knee-length skirt, a white blouse, knee socks, and a striped knit sweater, and uses the same cane; photos stamped, "Office of the Superintendent of Schools of Alameda County Curriculum Materials Center"; the first eight are dated February 8, 1965, the last three are dated Nov 25 1964. .42 The Trainee walks down a sidewalk in front of a glass display window filled with women's apparel; the trainer is just behind her. .43 The trainee reaches out to touch a white paper bag of candy from a sales clerk; the bag is printed, "See's Home Made Candies"; glass shelves filled with open boxes of candy separate the girl from the clerk, and the trainer is largely obscured behind the candy display. .44 The girl stands at the top of an escalator, her cane held vertically in front of her, its tip on the step below; the trainer is three steps above her; on a sign above, "Bf Terrace Stores Shops Market Restaurant Escalator". .45 The girl reaches out to touch a rack filled with coats, each has a paper tag dangling from a sleeve; the trainer is a few steps behind her, watching. .46 The girl walks between a glass case filled with folded shirts and a display of stacked books; the trainer stands immediately behind her, watching; a man and a woman and a very small child head the opposite way, the child looking back at the girl. .47 The girl stands in front of a display table filled with jumbled clothing; a sign on the table reads "Clearance/Macy's Budget Sportswear/Wool Skirts"; other women also browse the tables; the trainer stand off to the right; large glass windows fill the background. .48 This shot is a few moments after .46; the girl is behind a table loaded with books displayed spine up; her left fingertips brushes a corner of the display case to her left; a man with a hat and clutching a pipe stares at her as he passes on the left side of the image; the trainer watches from behind. .49 Shot from overhead, the girl walks diagonally across a concrete plaza; in the background is a short stairwell and a row of shops including "See's Candies"; the trainer is several steps behind her; their shadows are very distinct. .50 Inside a super market; there is a shopping cart in the left foreground with a few items in it and a table loaded with a boxed product in the right foreground; between them, the trainer is pointing to something behind the pair, he bends to reach his right hand down to the left hand of the girl, showing her the corner of the table; both have their backs to the camera. .51 The girl stands at left beside a super market checkout, she stands in profile, her left fingertips brushing the white metal scale; the checkout clerk, a woman in a light uniform smock, stands with her back to the camera, using a cash register, the clerk unloads the contents of the grocery cart onto the checkout stand; the background is filled with aisles of food and signage. .52 The girl stands beside a long shelf of candy, her left hand resting an open box of candy bars; the trainer stands on the left.
Print Size: 5 x 7"
Date: 1964-65
History/Provenance: From the collection of O&M pioneer Berdell "Pete" Wurzburger. Charles Gilson was the assistant mobility trainer, working under Berdell "Pete" Wurzburger for the Alameda County School System.
Credit Line: Gift of Mike Meteyer, 2019.26.
Subjects: Orientation and mobility
