Of all the anonymous photos I have in my collection, Catalina Swimsuits for Nudists in Sweden is my favorite. Usually when I purchase an anonymous photograph I just get the print and nothing more. With this this particular image I actually got the original 4x5 inch negative. The negative also came with the photographer's note card giving me some straightforward extra information about the scene.
3-9 1946. AA DC-3 Catalina Swimsuits For Nudists in Sweden
Simple enough—The scene happened on March 9th, 1946 in front of an American Airlines DC-3.
Shipment was going to Axel Gillblad & CO.A.B in Göteborg Sweden.
But then what? Who is this man in the suit? Is Axel Gilblad a fake company name and the whole scene a facade to pull a prank on the man in the suit? Look at their faces. The woman is having a blast, but the man in the suit has the look of someone who doesn't know how to laugh yet knows that he is in a situation where he should be laughing. Since he isn't good at laughing, a strange smirk and a stiff pose is all he can muster.
The man in the hatch is definitely in on the whole thing.
The whole thing remains enigmatic to me. That is cool though. Half the fun of anonymous photographs is making up stories to go along with them.