Between the Covers

Hardcover. Oblong small quarto. Measuring 11" X 7.5". String-tied maroon cloth over stiff paper boards with "Photographs" stamped on the front board. Contains 127 sepia-toned or black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 2" x 3" and 3.5" x 5.5", with captions. Very good album with worn edges and rubbing with near fine photographs.

A photo album kept by a group of boys, Dick Smith, Frank Nelson, Joe Lovitz, and Tom Hoopes, who referred to themselves as the “Cabin-eers” in 1936 and 1937. The boys who were in their late teens (16-19) spent time together camping, visiting the beach, and later at airfields. It seems they were interested in photography and often note who took the photographs and occasionally the quality of the photo. They frequently caption the photos with tongue-in-cheek comments such as “youth of Russia” and “high-grade morons.” They vacationed at a cabin on the New Jersey coast with images of their vacation spot including photos of the boys posed on the roof of the cabin. They visited Tom’s River, Ventnor, and Margate and photographed the landscape of the shore area including a photo of a “blimp over Atlantic Ocean.” They had an interest in airplanes and frequently visited airfields and took trips in airplanes. A section titled “A Summer Day” shows images of a plane taking off that Tom and Dick were passengers on. The captions read “cavalier takes off – motor idling over, comes in – over high tension wires on Albany Ave., for a short 3-point landing.” This is followed by a section from the Atlantic City airport showing parked planes including a Stinson and a Douglas. They spent time at Catawba on the Egg Harbor River in New Jersey during one winter with photos of a camp built by the boys and a lean-to they slept in during a snowstorm. A later photo shows a trip in a Fairchild KR-21 flying over Atlantic City and one of views of Ventnor from a Waco plane. They traveled by plane from Newark, New Jersey to Maine where they camped at Moosehead Lake. One of the Maine photos is captioned “Stinson gull-wing on Moosehead Lake” and shows a view of the pontoon plane waiting by a dock.

Tom Hoopes, one of the boys in the album, went on to join the Air Force and was stationed in Hawaii during World War II. He stayed there and attended the University of Hawaii eventually becoming a meteorologist for Pan American's Aviation/Aerospace Division. According to his obituary he was “an aviation enthusiast, adventurer, and world traveler who visited 50 countries” The early days of his enthusiasm are exhibited here.

A nice collection of photography detailing a group of teenage boys’ adventures in the 1930s with an emphasis on aviation.

Item #416346