Between the Covers

Hardcover. Large oblong octavo. Brad bound black cloth photo album. Contain 95 black and white gelatin silver photographs mounted on stiff gray cardboard sheets. Most of the images are approximately 3¾" x 5", with a handful 5" x 8". Several have ink captions below the photos. Boards a bit worn and mottled on the spine, the first photo has some chipping at the right margin and has been reattached with cello tape; last two photos show foxing, a few others are slightly overexposed, but most are clear images and overall very good.

Included in this collection are three stock photos taken by the firm of Swenson Photo: the seal rocks at Catalina Island; Avalon, Catalina Island; and a sailboat in the moonlight off the island. The amateur compiler also took two photos of "61 yellowtail caught by A.F. Bishop and A.E. Gorham, Weight 1210 lbs." displayed on racks under a sign for the headquarters of the Emerson Bros. Launch, Santa Ana (Catalina Island). Other recreational scenes on the island (approximately seven) show a young boy on a burro, ladies playing a game of billiards, etc. Nine photos of a different excursion, this time to Mt. Lowe, in the San Gabriel Mountains, show the cable car line, the Echo Mt. House, and Ye Alpine Tavern.

There are scenes in other parts of Southern California as well. A beach scene at Santa Monica shows the "Camera Obscura" building, which was built in 1899; excavation of stone for a government breakwater at San Pedro; and two views of East Lake Park. This park, originally called East Los Angeles Park, was renamed East Lake Park in 1901. There is a photo of streetcars on Temple Street (presumably Los Angeles), and four of an ostrich farm. In the early 1900's the Los Angeles Ostrich Farm welcomed visitors on the trolley line, opposite the entrance to Lincoln (formerly East Lake) Park. Several of the photos show groups of well-dressed people (a family perhaps) picnicking in parks and strolling under palm trees, workers picking oranges at Riverside, and a young Chinese boy standing in the middle of the street, holding a basket. A handful of images show private residences.

The photographer appears to have taken a train trip to other states in the Southwest. There is one photo of a streetscape in Reno, Nevada, showing a handful of buildings with a small gazebo in the forefront, against a hillside topped by a rock formation; another shows "Hot Springs from moving train"; another a street view of Truckee, California, and another of Ogden, Utah. Most curious are 12 photos of a city burning, interspersed in the middle of the album. We have been unable to determine what city this is, though a few clues related to building signs linger. Shown are fire trucks, with hoses stretched out down the streets, what appear to be sandbags, people gathered on the streets, charred remains of buildings and the like.

Item #407467