Between the Covers

Hardcover. Oblong quarto.Measuring 13½" x 11". String-tied brown leatherette over stiff paper boards with floral illustration on the front board. Contains 184 sepia-toned or black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 2" x 3" and 8" x 10", some with captions on the verso. Very good album with worn edges and rubbing with near fine photographs.

A photo album compiled by Michigan native, Private Jo Ann “Jo” Richardson, while serving with the Marine Corps in the 1950s. She was stationed at El Toro, Santa Ana, California. The opening pages show Jo and her colleagues doing clerical work, shining shoes, and mopping. They are pictured goofing off on the grounds, posed in uniforms, coveralls, and Marine shirts. Other images show them marching around the barracks or posed at attention in front of a male commander. Leisure time spent at bars and nightclubs are also featured here as well as a trip to the beach. Jo also played softball for the Marines and a large 8” x 10” photograph of the team is seen here, apparently coached by an African-American commander. A newspaper article included at the end of the album discusses how she eventually married a fellow marine, Private William Earl Yarbrough, Jr. in August of 1954. Jo considered her service in the Marine Corps one of her greatest accomplishments. According to her obituary, during her time with the corps “she was chosen as a model for the uniform worn by the women Marines and her picture appears in several editions of the *World Book Encyclopedia* from the 50s and early 60s.” A photo included here shows Jo pointing at a Marine publication that appears to show her in uniform.

A nice collection of photographs detailing a young woman's time with the Marines in the early 1950s.

Item #432667