Kubié Family Photographs, 1939-1973
Collection
Identifier: MSS-0032
Scope and Contents
The Snaps and Scraps album contains photos dating from around the time of Kurt and Edith's wedding in 1939 until the birth of Jim in 1947, including the years they lived in Chicago, Illinois, when Kurt worked for the Bass Camera Company and the cross-country trip Kurt made with Charlie Bass to scout a location for Kurt's new store, which included stops in San Francisco, Yellowstone National Park, San José, and Denver as well as Albuquerque. Other family members featured include Auguste Kubié (Gussie) and Henry (Heinrich) Spiegel, Kurt's sister and her husband, and Edith's uncle Sidney Frederick (Fred) Better and his wife, formerly Blanche Weiller Leeds, widow of the chairman of the board of the Manhattan Shirt Company. The Kubié family had a wide interest in sports, so there are pictures of a soccer team that Kurt participated in. There are quite a few pictures of the mid-century modern decor of the Kubié apartment in Chicago. The album ends with the births of Jim and Susie.
The orange-brown album begins with pictures of the birth of Susie in 1944. There are many pictures of the family - between owning a camera store and their background in photo developing (Kurt and Edith met in her father's camera store in Vienna, Austria, before emigrating. Kurt left Europe with a Leica and two lenses, and Edith was a photo printer at the store for a long time), they took an above average number of personal photographs for the era. There are photographs of Kurt playing soccer and the family skiing in Taos and other locations. Susie is pictured graduating from Highland High School and the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Jim from Albuquerque Academy in 1965. Included are the bat mitzvah of Susie and the bar mitzvah of Jim, as well as Hadassah fundraisers in which the family participated. There are photos of family pets, including an Airedale named Hypo and the family Schnauzer and photos of Kurt's cars over the years, inclduding Thunderbirds and Jaguars. Other relatives featured include Hermine Better and Leopold (Joachim) Mayer, Edith's parents; Kurt's cousins, Hugo Meisel (later Masom, pictured with his family, Martha, Evie, and Orith, in Israel) and Rudy Meisel, his wife Suzanne, and their children, Mark, Julie, and Pam; Lawrence Schlesinger Kubie, a relative who was a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst with celebrity patients; and Jim's first wife Carmen. There are appearances by local notables, including Dr. Ivo Poglayen, an Austrian zoologist who in 1954 became director of the municipal zoo (where Jim volunteered at age 5); Dave Cooper of Cooper's Western Wear; Jack J. Kleinfeld, managing partner of the Jackson Furniture Company;and potter Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo. Albuquerque locations begin to be pictured in this album, including the Acapulco Swim Club; an ice rink which might be the Ice Arena (129 N Truman) or Iceland (5112 Copper NE); the Kurt's Camera Corral location in Nob Hill when it was just 3417 Central and after they knocked into 3415 to make more space; the Kurt's Camera Corral Hoffmantown location; a ballet recital of Susie's when she attended Krasnoff's School of Dance; the Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge at the municipal airport (managed by Fred Harvey); the Sandia Peak Tramway (originally called La Madera Ski Area; the Kubiés were at the opening because Kurt was a stockholder in the tram and ski area); and the mid-century modern Kubié home at 1000 Washington NE, where Kurt is pictured relaxing in an Eames chair amongst other furnishings by George Nelson and the Herman Miller Furniture Company (the family later moved to Pinon Place at Sandia Heights South). There are also photographs taken at Navajo Lake, outside Farmington; visiting the California redwoods; in Switzerland for ski trips; from a 1959 European vacation which included Belgium, France, Austria, and the Netherlands; at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado; in Aspen, Colorado, which include snapshots of Alpine skiers Stein Eriksen and Toni Sailer, and Dr. Bruno Hans Geba. There is a photo on the next to last page of the album from the Shule-Temple 1973 Tournament.
The red album labeled Photographs begins in 1944 with the birth of Susie and ends when Jim was an infant, possibly two or three. Other family members included in this album include Edith, Edith's parents, and Gussie Spiegel. The album has many empty pages, in between which were a number of loose photographs, and appears not to have been used after the early 1950s.The loose photographs are mostly of Jim, Susie, the two of them together, or with their parents. There is also a family portrait of Edith, Kurt, Henry and Gussie Spiegel, and Kurt's older brother Walter Kubié and pictures of the Spiegels together in San Francisco.
One album has the name Susan Patricia Kubié on it and appears to be her personal album, with pictures of her and other family members dating from her birth in 1944 to about 1966.
A conversation with Jim Kubié in November 2022 provided the photo identifications.
The orange-brown album begins with pictures of the birth of Susie in 1944. There are many pictures of the family - between owning a camera store and their background in photo developing (Kurt and Edith met in her father's camera store in Vienna, Austria, before emigrating. Kurt left Europe with a Leica and two lenses, and Edith was a photo printer at the store for a long time), they took an above average number of personal photographs for the era. There are photographs of Kurt playing soccer and the family skiing in Taos and other locations. Susie is pictured graduating from Highland High School and the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Jim from Albuquerque Academy in 1965. Included are the bat mitzvah of Susie and the bar mitzvah of Jim, as well as Hadassah fundraisers in which the family participated. There are photos of family pets, including an Airedale named Hypo and the family Schnauzer and photos of Kurt's cars over the years, inclduding Thunderbirds and Jaguars. Other relatives featured include Hermine Better and Leopold (Joachim) Mayer, Edith's parents; Kurt's cousins, Hugo Meisel (later Masom, pictured with his family, Martha, Evie, and Orith, in Israel) and Rudy Meisel, his wife Suzanne, and their children, Mark, Julie, and Pam; Lawrence Schlesinger Kubie, a relative who was a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst with celebrity patients; and Jim's first wife Carmen. There are appearances by local notables, including Dr. Ivo Poglayen, an Austrian zoologist who in 1954 became director of the municipal zoo (where Jim volunteered at age 5); Dave Cooper of Cooper's Western Wear; Jack J. Kleinfeld, managing partner of the Jackson Furniture Company;and potter Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo. Albuquerque locations begin to be pictured in this album, including the Acapulco Swim Club; an ice rink which might be the Ice Arena (129 N Truman) or Iceland (5112 Copper NE); the Kurt's Camera Corral location in Nob Hill when it was just 3417 Central and after they knocked into 3415 to make more space; the Kurt's Camera Corral Hoffmantown location; a ballet recital of Susie's when she attended Krasnoff's School of Dance; the Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge at the municipal airport (managed by Fred Harvey); the Sandia Peak Tramway (originally called La Madera Ski Area; the Kubiés were at the opening because Kurt was a stockholder in the tram and ski area); and the mid-century modern Kubié home at 1000 Washington NE, where Kurt is pictured relaxing in an Eames chair amongst other furnishings by George Nelson and the Herman Miller Furniture Company (the family later moved to Pinon Place at Sandia Heights South). There are also photographs taken at Navajo Lake, outside Farmington; visiting the California redwoods; in Switzerland for ski trips; from a 1959 European vacation which included Belgium, France, Austria, and the Netherlands; at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado; in Aspen, Colorado, which include snapshots of Alpine skiers Stein Eriksen and Toni Sailer, and Dr. Bruno Hans Geba. There is a photo on the next to last page of the album from the Shule-Temple 1973 Tournament.
The red album labeled Photographs begins in 1944 with the birth of Susie and ends when Jim was an infant, possibly two or three. Other family members included in this album include Edith, Edith's parents, and Gussie Spiegel. The album has many empty pages, in between which were a number of loose photographs, and appears not to have been used after the early 1950s.The loose photographs are mostly of Jim, Susie, the two of them together, or with their parents. There is also a family portrait of Edith, Kurt, Henry and Gussie Spiegel, and Kurt's older brother Walter Kubié and pictures of the Spiegels together in San Francisco.
One album has the name Susan Patricia Kubié on it and appears to be her personal album, with pictures of her and other family members dating from her birth in 1944 to about 1966.
A conversation with Jim Kubié in November 2022 provided the photo identifications.
Dates
- 1939 - 1973
Extent
1 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains 4 Kubié family photograph albums and some loose photos. The Kubié family owned and operated Kurt's Camera Corral in Albuquerque from 1950-2016. Photos are uncredited and names of photo subjects are not noted, for the most part, but Kurt Kubié, Edith Mayer Kubié, and their children James Hugh (Jim) and Susan Patricia (Susie) are the main subjects.
- Title
- Inventory of the Kubié Family Photographs
- Author
- Shana A. Morris
- Date
- 2022
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Special Collections Library Repository
Contact:
Special Collections Library
The Public Library, Albuquerque and Bernalillo County
423 Central Ave NE
Albuquerque NM 87102 USA
505.848.1376
specialcollections@cabq.gov
Special Collections Library
The Public Library, Albuquerque and Bernalillo County
423 Central Ave NE
Albuquerque NM 87102 USA
505.848.1376
specialcollections@cabq.gov