Rare books from Erin Waters Fine Photographs

These ten post cards appear to be taken by the same photographer. Each is in fine condition. Unfortunately, there is no indication as to where they were taken.

The photos each measure 8.5 x 12.5 inches. They are in good to very good condition with some light marks and fade spots. One has a photographer's mark on the back. All have a blind stamp for Rudolf Tamme. Each has a short caption under the print in German.
The folder is in fair condition. It has areas of sunning, especially at the bottom, and wear at the folds. It looks like it once hat a string tied around it, given the lines present. Having seen the wear on other folders like this though, and given the heft of the photos, I'd say it's held together quite well.

If the codes at the top left are dates, these images were taken in September 1937 and August 1938. I'm selling them as artistic images. Although I recognize there is a confidential stamp on the back of each one, I think it's safe to say that after all this time, I think we're good. I really love the grey tones, the shadows, and the tracks the mountain ridges and rivers make. One river is traced in yellow pencil.
The photos range in condition, but they were used and not made for art, so that is to be expected. Some have little areas of image loss at the edges. A few have spots and all have a bit of a curl, as they were probably stacked together for quite some time. There are some little corner bends as well.

According to his obituary in The Hartford Courant, Butler (1909-1998) was a lifelong proponent of progressive causes. He joined the ministry as a method to help more people after being a social worker and working at a Ford plant in Detroit. He graduated Haverford and had a Yale Masters of Divinity. After graduation, he traveled in Europe as part of a youth orchestra playing the trombone and then studied social conditions in Scandinavia and the Soviet Union.
The album covers his early life and family, his time at Haverford and Yale, and has some photos of early peace rallies at home. In London, he attended a socialism rally in Hyde Park.
His travels in the USSR are quite well documented and start in Leningrad, traveling down the Volga to Stalingrad, through the Caucasus, around the Black Sea, into Georgia and to Tiflis (Tbilisi). There are many photos of Chufut-Kale in the Crimean Mountains in Ukraine. The name, which translates to 'Jewish Fortress', was a home to the Kararite Jews and has a… Read More

The quality of these 66 posters definitely varies. You can tell, as with any school project, that some students put more thought and effort into the endeavor than others. That said, you really get a feel for the kids in this small Maine town and for end of the 1980s culture. Some students clearly were thinking ahead to college, careers, and having families while others were still in a place where they were finding themselves. A lot of the guys really liked skateboarding, which doesn't surprise me, remembering that year. One the posters is disturbing; it mentions guns in schools. All in all, this is quite a charming and sometimes earnest time capsule of seniors' lives as they're about to head out into the world.
The posters come in what appears to be an archival clamshell box made for the set complete with cover and spine labels. The box has a little wear; the posters are in fine condition. The box measures 12 x 18.5 x 1.25. Included are two sheets with the original typed assignment listing the goals… Read More

While most people probably probably aren't aware that chocolate boxes c1920 would often come with a hand tinted photo of a beautiful woman on it, my dad had a large collection of the actual boxes. Thus, I've been seeking the boxes out for years. So, when I saw this album for sale at a market earlier this year, I had to have it.
As a sample book, it is large (17 x 13 inches) and quite heavy thanks to the reinforced binding. The box tops are heavy too and most have elaborate designs and bows as well as the photos. Many of the pages have glassine between them, although the first page is missing and thus the photos have rubbed a bit against the endpaper. One photo has been partially ripped off. It's difficult to find these boxes in any sort of condition, let alone the very-good to fine condition most of these tops are in. Many of the pages have notations as to how many pounds of chocolate would fit in each box. As you'll see, the five pound boxes must have been quite large.
Fidelity Chocolate had a store… Read More

The woman at the top left in the scan of all of the images is identified as Alex Lo in pencil on the back. It is dated 1959. Each image measures about 2 x 2.25 and is in fine condition with light marks. I love the photos' sepia tone, expert lighting, and the painted backdrop. While I don't doubt these women knew each other, it seems they weren't taken the same day as some women are clearly in evening wear and others are dressed as if they were out shopping or strolling. Clearly though, they knew the best place to stop for a photo in their town.

I'm not a ship specialist, but I think the vessels in these images show quite the variety of Great Lakes conveyances - from sailing yachts to steam ships to row boats. Readable names of vessels include: F. & P. M. No. 5, Cruiser, Cygnet, City of Collingwood, Garland, China, and the City of Toledo. At least one card shows a view looking up at Fort Mackinac from the dock. This card is not marked Koella, although the printing and card are similar to the others. Another appears to be Mackinac Island taken from Lake Huron. There are two unmounted photos as well, making 40 images total. The cards are c1875.
The cards range from good to fine condition. The good ones have some photo scuffing and other marks. A few of the photos have a bit of fade.

Each card measures 3 x 5 and is in very fine condition. The media appear to be pen, ink, colored pencil, and watercolor. Each appears to have been done in the same hand. Also included is another card, slightly larger, in poor condition, in a different hand, and dated the day before.

The people in these photos knew how to have a good time and you can tell they enjoyed acting as much as they did posing for the camera. Whoever took the photos did a great job with early flash photography as most of them seem to have been taking indoors at night.
The men, women, and sometimes children in the images wear a variety of costumes, masks, face paint, and wigs. One recurring theme seems to be the "King of Hobes" [Hoboes?]. There are photos of people singing, with instruments, crossdressing, a mock wedding, of 'maids', and, as was common in this era, people wearing blackface.
The back of the album has some photos of local towns, including of a flood. All in all, there are some really incredible photos.
Since I purchased this in Pennsylvania and there is a sign in one of the photos for the Philadelphia and Ready Telegraph Co, I'm assuming the location is central PA.
The album binding is worn and some pages have split from it. That said, most of the photos are in fine condition. A few have come… Read More

Lakeside Amusement Park opened in 1908. Given the relative freshness of the games and the workers, I wonder if these cards were made the year it opened? While there are no dates on the back other than "July," the three different postcard backs used were all available in 1908. The clothing styles are also correct for that period.
The games vary in skill and strangeness. The horse show, manned by a boy and Asian man, has you bet on mechanical horses to win boxes of chocolates. In July. A man and woman are behind the counter at the knife booth, offering us rings to toss at a variety of hilts. Can you imagine people just carrying carving knives around the park? A group of somewhat grumpy guys man the shooting gallery, where you could win a teddy bear if you hit enough dots on a tiny target. 'The Old Mill,' "A fascinating game played by women and children," looks like the one where you'd get a fishing rod and have to catch fish in order to exchange for a knickknack. Stein Land is another ring toss and… Read More