Between the Covers

Hardcover. Oblong octavo measuring 7" x 6.5". String-tied red cloth over stiff paper boards with "photographs" stamped in gilt on the front board. Contains 78 sepia-toned albumen photographs measuring between 2" x 2" and 4.5" x 6.5" with captions. Good only album with waviness, cracked spine, and rubbing with very good photographs with some fading.

A photo album kept by a Victorian-era amateur photographer in 1888. The first page has a handwritten title “First Attempts” which alludes to the idea that this is an album kept by someone experimenting with photography. The first few pages show different angles of a family home with images captioned “entrance,” “S.E. Corner,” and “Carriage House.” Other photos from this section show the landscape of the house and the surrounding area captioned, “N. West from Red Rock,” “Tennis Lawn,” and “North Views.” Following this are portraits of family and friends, sometimes in candids and other times posed around the house and lawn. One of these photos shows a well-dressed man looking away from the camera, posed on the front porch, another shows a “group on lawn.” Although the location of the photos is not stated one of the photos is captioned “Road near Sulphur Spring.” A later photo shows the house after an October snow; another photo is a portrait of a woman in the house posed with her painting supplies. Some of the portraits are captioned with historic female figures such as “Pocahontas” and “Ophelia.” Towards the end of the album the prints are larger and include a “mother and child,” one entitled “meditation” which shows an older woman pensively sitting in a chair, and a group of men standing in a garden.

A wonderful collection of Victorian-era amateur photography.

Item #419986