bunting

Another view down Martin Place:

Decorations down George St: (The GPO clock is seen left):

The Guardia Rural (Rurales) Based on the Spanish Guardia Civil model of a mobile rural police force organized along military lines they have been described variously as "bandits," "Mexican version of the Mounties" or "the world's most picturesque policemen." They were disbanded in 1914.

LOC's Country Studies article has them being founded in 1915, but without attribution for that fact. lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+mx0110)

The modern Guardia Rural dates officially from 1926, but was an amalgamation of the local militias that sprang up in the wake of the Agrarian Land Decree of 1915. These fellows, mounted, with sabers and carbines and lots and lots of silver braid, definitely look more like the earlier Federal era Rurales. My only concern as to identification would be the uniform color. The Rurales uniforms had dove grey sombreros and bolo jackets, with tan leather chaps over gray trousers, red ties, red rank insignia, and lots of silver braid (if anybody wants to hand color this pic.) Do the jackets and sombreros seem of different color? Or just different weight? Of course, just because they were disbanded in 1914 doesn't mean they ceased to exist. I can definitely imagine this company of Rurales reforming under the auspices of Tamaulipas as a state guard force. In Los Rurales de México (www.scribd.com/doc/122062594/Los-rurales-de-Mexico-por-Jo...) Elias states that after disbandment, many Rurales were simply incorporated in the new army while others joined up with Pancho Villa or Zapata. (page 23) Francisco Medina, however, supports the State Guard possibility Soon, in various parts of the Mexican Republic, new groups were formed called "Civil Defense Corps" which battled all kinds of local banditry - these Corps were active as part of the "National Guard" under the state governments until 1947. (www.almomento.mx/la-negra-historia-de-la-policia-rural/, translation my own)

Or - never mind. The University of Texas Robert Runyon Collection has the same picture. " This troop organized in Matamoros and fought for the Victoriano Huerto regime against the Constitutionalists and was scattered in the battle for the city in 1913. " So . . . photographer = Robert Runyon, date = circa May/June 1913

Thanks for the link to the Runyon photos. Oddly, it seems like you can only search that collection from the LOC site, though the images reside on the utexas site. Here's a companion photo, shot at about the same time: runyon.lib.utexas.edu/r/RUN00000/RUN00000/RUN00011.JPG This photo looks like it was taken a little further up the street, with a Mexican cavalry group in the foreground and these rurales past them further down the street. runyon.lib.utexas.edu/r/RUN00000/RUN00000/RUN00013.JPG

"Rudolph Blankenburg (February 16, 1843 – April 12, 1918) was a businessman and manufacturer, who became a politician and elected mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, leading a reform administration from 1912 to 1916." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_Blankenburg

B-59: Thanks for the additional information on Blankenburg; we'll include his full name (and the full names of the other persons in the photo) next time we update the description.

Who is the Mr. Blankenburgh on the photo? I am Chris Blankenburgh, born and living in the Netherlands together with lots of other Blankenburghs. In the city of Utrecht you find three buildings "Blankenburgh", "Klein (Small) Blankenburgh", and "Groot (Great) Blankenburgh" Could anybody tell me more about the Mr. Blankenburgh behind President Wilson? Please mail to blanblot@zonnet.nl. Thank You!