Massive British Photo Album

About this Item

Black leather boards 10 x 12 inches with moderate rubbing to edges. All edges gilt. Marbled endpapers with dentelle borders inside front and back boards. Verso of first free endpaper has red and black manuscript dedication in a fine calligraphic hand, "George With Love Xmas 1900" with artful drawing of a woman in large bonnet with red ribbon and olive branch flourishes. 36 card stock leaves follow filled with 752 pasted down photos. Leaves are generally clean with light toning to edges. Tissue dividers present between most leaves. Tissues in various states from fine to detached and ragged. Most of the photos have good contrast and clear focus. Overall very good. Most of the leaves are dated and initialed in lower right hand corner, ranging from December 26, 1900 thru November 9, 1903. Initials include M & G and C & G. No captions. The dating system is a little confusing as it might indicate unique dates, yet duplicate photos are identified several times on differing dates. No doubt it all made sense to whomever created this album. This British album itself is a tour-de-force. Virtually all of the photos have been trimmed into a large variety of geometric shapes and artistically arranged on the page. Based on the quality of the album and the views in the photos, it seems apparent to this cataloguer that the people represented are well-off. Views range from country scenes to playful portraits to city views. Identified images include the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire, Hayward Reffell & Co. In Lincolnshire, the Hood & Co. Fish Curers also in Lincolnshire, the London Clothing Company, plus signs for Allsopps Burton Ales and White Hart. Also included are several views of E. H. Williams Famous Merrie Men, a well-known Minstrel Troupe which performed at the Welsh Resort at Rhyl. Well produced photo albums invite you into the lives of the subjects and this example does it wonderfully. While many of the photos may appear staged, we get an immediate idea of the personalities and humor of the subjects during their travels. The clothing feels high-brow and many views exhibit a life of leisure and travel. Anyone with a working knowledge of the areas where these photos were snapped will have a wonderful time with this album. Even without knowing exact locations I found it to be one of the best exemplars I ve seen. Included are many bicycle shots such as a tandem bike plus several bikes with trailers. Quite a number of dogs are photographed plus one or two cats. A number of parade scenes are present along with the aforementioned Minstrel Troupe and circus views. Several cemetery scenes are depicted including a large tombstone for JJ and MA Slater who died on the same day in 1897. Vernacular photo albums from this period are not rare however this album dedicated to "George" is a treasure.

Seller Inventory # 021263

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Massive British Photo Album
• Condition: Very Good