Between the Covers

Hardcover. Oblong folio. Measuring 15" x 10". String-tied green paper over boards with decorative gilt outlines and crest in the center. Contains 120 black and white or color photographs measuring between 2.5" x 2.5" and 8" x 10", some with captions. Very good or better with the front gutter split and chipping at one corner with near fine photographs.

A collection of miscellaneous family photographs compiled, in no particular order, of a family from Michigan from roughly 1910 until 1970. Many of the photos are portraits and posed shots of family and friends around the house and in the yard as well as school and work photos. A few photos show uniformed men from the 1940s and 1950s, one of these shows a man posed by a car with a rifle. A number of photos of young women are seen throughout the album, including one particular young woman hugging and goofing off. One photo shows her posed in a bathing suit on top of a car, another large photo shows her in her graduation cap and gown. A large photo shows an all- girl band called the Melodettes which features girls playing piano, drums, saxophone, and an upright bass. Laid in with this are newspaper clippings advertising the band’s concerts. “More than 200 young folks, most of the Niles high school students, attended a Red Cross benefit dance Friday night in the Elks temple. The affair was sponsored by the Melodettes, an all-girl school orchestra of nine members.”

The album follows her, now married, with photos of her husband and family into the 1970s. She became an operator at the Michigan Bell Telephone Company in the 1960s. Photos from this time show her working at the switch board and posed with other women at the company. Three photos show the women on strike in 1968 with signs which read, “on strike for fair deal,” “on strike against Bell System,” and “on strike for a living wage.” A newspaper clipping pictures two women, including Norma, holding signs with a caption that reads, “picket lines go up at the Michigan Bell Telephone Company office on Third Street.” Following these photos are four large 8” x 10” photos of a group of men and women who were participating in a church ceremony. The final page shows a group of candid color photos from a 1970s dinner party.

An interesting collection of photos showing a Michigan woman and her family over 60 years.

Item #410787