Between the Covers

Hardcover. Oblong small quarto measuring 10" x 6.5". String-tied black cloth over stiff paper boards with "photographs" stamped in gilt on the front board. Contains 172 sepia-toned or black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 1" x 1" and 5" x 7" with captions. Album is good only with detached but present front board and tears on the album pages with fine photographs.

A photo album kept by Lyle T. Ginn while staying at the Lone Wolf Colony Health Ranch in California between 1939 and 1940. The album opens with a group photo of the men that Ginn was staying with followed by a “bird’s eye view of Lone Wolf Colony taken by Telco Club Pilot.” Ginn and his ranch friends are photographed swimming, horseback riding, visiting girls from a nearby ranch, and playing with desert snakes. During his time at the ranch at least two movies were filmed on locations near Lone Wolf including *Men of Destiny*, (later changed to *Rangers of Fortune*) and *Kit Carson*. The first film seen here was on location at Dead Man’s Point and starred Fred MacMurray, Patricia Morison, Gilbert Roland, and Albert Dekker. One photo is captioned “Fred MacMurray and young star” and shows him and a young woman posed on a cliff. Other photos show camera men and behind the scene candids of the film set. Following this they visited “Mrs. Kennison’s Ranch” which includes photos of men posed by cacti, swimming by the pump house, and later enjoying Big Bear Lake. One section of photos shows a group of Native American men posed in traditional dress, possibly on another set or at a festival. Shortly after a section of photos shows the filming of *Kit Carson* starring Jon Hall, Lynn Bari, and Dana Andrews. Lyle spends a few pages detailing his cabin at the ranch the kitchen, the porch, and the surrounding swimming pools. Some wonderful amateur photography depicts a trip to Lucerne Valley and Dead Man’s Point with captions such as “our nurse at Lone Wolf,” “three human skeletons,” and “two heads above water.” Towards the end of the album some photos are captioned “friend flew to Lone Wolf” with people posed around a plane. The ranch visitors are also seen practicing archery and shooting.

The Lone Wolf Colony opened its door in 1922 as, according to it’s website, “a health ranch for fully ambulatory adults recovering from an injury, surgery, or non-communicable illness and is still used today for that purpose.” The idea sprang from a California telephone company worker, Samuel Caldwell, after seeing the effects of World War I on his fellow Americans. By the time of this album “ Lone Wolf Colony had facilities for 10 guests, a permanent caretaker/cook, a mule, goats, chickens, an abundant water supply, and a telephone.”

An interesting collection of photographs detailing the stay at the health ranch as well as California sights and film sets.

Item #417908