[Vernacular Family Photograph Album Featuring Numerous Images of Troops and Military Life During the Early-20th Century Border War in Texas and New Mexico]
by [Texas]. [Military]
- Used
- Condition
- Very good.
- Seller
-
Dobbs Ferry, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
[Various locations including Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico, 1920. Very good.. [40] leaves, illustrated with 256 black-and-white, sepia-toned images, cyanotypes, real photo postcards, cabinet cards, and other photographic formats, both studio-produced and vernacular, ranging from 1.75 x 2.75 inches to 8.5 x 6.5 inches, pasted in or mounted in corners, many with manuscript captions. Oblong quarto. Contemporary black cloth photograph album, string-tied. Modest edge wear and dust-soiling to the album. A few leaves detached, two leaves cut in half, one leaf partially torn costing part of a caption, minor wear to some photos, but overall a very nice group. A fascinating collection of photographs likely compiled by a soldier identified only as "Jack," possibly a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1905 and 1920. Many of the images emanate from military camps in Texas and New Mexico during the time of the Mexican Revolution and the border war activities such as the Punitive Expedition, with some of the captions identifying the soldiers as members of various engineering companies. The military images are interspersed throughout the first two-thirds of the album and include the compiler and his tent at Mescalero, army tents at a camp in the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico, the Rio Grande and Mt. Franklin at El Paso, numerous images at Camp Stewart, at least one at Camp Baker, various members of the Army cavalry, a tank-like vehicle in El Paso, an Army aeroplane on the New Mexico border, and more. One of the more interesting but culturally-insensitive images is a shot of the compiler and four of his Army buddies posed for the camera, with the caption reading, "An Englishman, Scotchman, Wap, Jew and Irishman."
There is also a wealth of non-military imagery, comprised of photographic portraits of family members and friends, trips to California and Colorado (including Insmont, Platte Canyon, the Platte River, and Cripple Creek), with scenes of fishing and playing sports. Some of the most interesting images document a train wreck at Platte Canyon. Others show western missions, Native American teepees, and other rural western settings. The rear of the album contains several large studio cabinet card images and a handful of later photographs of the soldier-compiler. Most of the studio portraits, some featuring the compiler, carry Pennsylvania studio marks, from where the compiler likely hailed.
A unique photographic record of Army service along the Texas border, with numerous additional images of the Far West.
There is also a wealth of non-military imagery, comprised of photographic portraits of family members and friends, trips to California and Colorado (including Insmont, Platte Canyon, the Platte River, and Cripple Creek), with scenes of fishing and playing sports. Some of the most interesting images document a train wreck at Platte Canyon. Others show western missions, Native American teepees, and other rural western settings. The rear of the album contains several large studio cabinet card images and a handful of later photographs of the soldier-compiler. Most of the studio portraits, some featuring the compiler, carry Pennsylvania studio marks, from where the compiler likely hailed.
A unique photographic record of Army service along the Texas border, with numerous additional images of the Far West.
Details
- Bookseller
- McBride Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 2600
- Title
- [Vernacular Family Photograph Album Featuring Numerous Images of Troops and Military Life During the Early-20th Century Border War in Texas and New Mexico]
- Author
- [Texas]. [Military]
- Book Condition
- Used - Very good.
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Place of Publication
- [Various locations including Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico
- Date Published
- 1920
Terms of Sale
McBride Rare Books
All items are guaranteed as described. Any purchase may be returned for a full refund within 10 working days as long as it is returned in the same condition and is packed and shipped correctly. All items subject to prior sale.
About the Seller
McBride Rare Books
Biblio member since 2018
Dobbs Ferry, New York
About McBride Rare Books
We specialize in American history, focusing on unique and eclectic materials such as archives, broadsides, vernacular photography, and interesting or unusual imprints. Particular fields of interest include Western Americana and Latin America.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Quarto
- The term quarto is used to describe a page or book size. A printed sheet is made with four pages of text on each side, and the...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...