Between the Covers

Softcover. Oblong quarto measuring 11" x 8". String-tied suede photo album with "Photographs Happy Days in C.C.C." and an illustration painted on the front board. Contains 91 black and white or sepia toned gelatin silver photographs measuring between 2.5" x 3.5" and 3.5" x 5.5" with some captions. Very good album with rubbing and worn edges with near fine photographs.

A photo album kept by Ballard Bowling while working with the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934 in Naples, Idaho. He was with Company 561 and the album is dated October 18, 1934. The album begins with photos of the group and the headquarters of the camp. Throughout the album he takes photos of his fellow workers and captions there name under their portrait. These include cooks, Army personnel, and men posing by their tents. One photo shows a group of young men posed outside and tent with the caption, “rookies.” Another shows a bunch of men piled into the back of a truck which reads, “off to work.” Bowling photographed a nearby forest fire with images of billowing smoke. One photo is captioned, “July pay day 1934” and shows the men all gathered in a group waiting for their pay. He also photographed the landscape of the area including Jay Peak and the Black Mountains. Two photos show Native Americans dressed in traditional clothing at Priest River. The men are seen goofing off, having snowball fights, and riding horses. Considered the most popular of the New Deal programs, the corps was available to unmarried men ages 18-25 who were members of relief families. As members of the C.C.C. they earned a 30 dollar a month wage, $25 of which was to be sent home, and were provided with housing, food, and clothing. The final pages of the album contain pictorial postcards from Redding, California, photos from home, and some later Army photographs.

An interesting collection of C.C.C. camp photos housed in a special C.C.C. album detailing the daily lives of the men involved.,

Item #409609