Toddler Richard Burt was burnt after sticking a cartridge in the family car's socket, Los Angeles, 1935

Item Overview

Title

Toddler Richard Burt was burnt after sticking a cartridge in the family car's socket, Los Angeles, 1935

Date Created

July 22, 1935

Date

1935-07-22

Publisher

Los Angeles Times

Language

No linguistic content

Collection

Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection

Notes

Description

When baby Richard Burt was left alone in the car to play he found one of his father's .22 caliber cartridges in the side-pocket of the car and pushed the cartridge against the electrical contact points in the empty dash-light socket, which caused it to explode, but only injuring Richard's finger with some powder burns. The bullet from the shell had been melted.
Richard, wearing nothing but a diaper, puts his fist against the dashboard. A woman's legs are seen sitting in the driver's seat, possibly his mother.
Photograph appears with the article, "Tiny Blast Perils Baby," Los Angeles Times, 20 July 1935: A1.

Caption

Text from negative sleeve: 11259 - Dick Burt-16 mo - Near Accident 7/19/35 [stamped:] Jul 22 1935
Text from newspaper caption: Little Richard Burt, 16 months of age, found a cartridge in his father's automobile yesterday and pushed into the dashlight connection. It exploded. He laughs as he shows how it was done.
Handwritten on negative: 107 107 Dick Burt-16 mo 7/19/35

Physical Description

Extent

1 photograph

Medium

b&w nitrate negative

Keywords

Genre

cellulose nitrate film
news photographs

Names

Burt, Richard Orville b. 1934

Location

Los Angeles (Calif.)

Resource type

still image

Subjects

Accidents--California--Los Angeles
Automobiles--American--California--Los Angeles
Infants--California--Los Angeles