Winston Pote Photography and Ephemera collection by POTE, Winston H. (1899-1989) - 1983

1983. No binding. The collection is comprised of 24 items dating from 1929 to 1983, specifically, 11 photos, 7 letters, and 5 postcards.

Winston H. Pote was one of America's earliest ski photographers. His career in the 1920s paralleled the rise of alpine skiing in America. For example, he took photos of Charley Proctor, the only native-born American, on the 1928 US Olympic team. He began working as a druggist in Swampscott, Mass., was as an amateur guide and photographer, and then became a winter mountaineer and lecturer specializing in aerial photography of the New Hampshire mountains during winter. After his first expedition to the White Mountains in the winter of 1923, Pote returned often to Mt. Washington in all seasons. He took the earliest movies and aerial photographs of the mountain. During World War II, he volunteered for the "ski troops" and was the official still photographer of the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division in the Colorado Rockies. After the war he returned to civilian life and moved with his wife, Marion, to a farm in Lancaster, Coos County, New Hampshire. He became one of America's most celebrated photographers of scenic views (mountains and high valleys) for Christmas cards and calendars. He was the author of Mountain Troops, 10th Mountain Division, Camp Hale, Colorado (1982) and Mount Washington in Winter: Photographs and Recollections, 1923-1940 (1985).

11 photographs with Winston Pote's stamp on the back (5 × 4 to 10 × 7-3/4 inches).

Photos, largest to smallest.

• Beverly Farms - ?, n.d.

• Manchester, Mass - ?, n.d.

• U.S. Capitol building, east front, 1929.

• Washington, D.C., 1929. Arlington, Virginia, bridge across Potomac River under construction (foreground). Capitol building and National Mall.

• Kendall Hall Girls' School, Prides Crossing, Mass., n.d.

• U.S. Navy Blimp, Oct. 1930

• Boston, Oct. 1930

• Boston, 1930

• Boston, parade, Oct. 1930

• Boston, State House with reviewing stand, American Legion Parade, Oct. 1930

• State House and Tremont Street, Oct. 1930, American Legion Parade, Tremont and Beacon Streets

6 TLS, 1 photocopy of a TLS, 1 Typed letter (TL) and a Pote signed typed postcard (STP)

Very interesting content, discussing photography and Winston's history...

• 6 TLS, from Pote on his letterhead to Harland Wood each one full page and signed "Winston". Dates of letters; April 7, 1975, October 20, 1978, January 4, 1979, November 22, 1982, December 12, 1982 and January 20, 1983.

• 1 Photocopy of a 2pp. TLS from Pope to Wood dated March 27, 1975.

• 1 Typed letter from Harland Wood to Pote, dated 1 November 1978. Wood (1915-1983) discusses his photographic training ("I spent a year (1947-48) studying portrait photography from a master of the craft, Gilbert J. Vincent, in New Haven, Conn., under the G.I. Bill,..."

• Six photocopied sheets of Pote's work and mailing envelopes

• 1 STP from Pote to Harland Clarence Wood of Danvers, Mass., 1975-1983.

4 cards / postcards using Pote's photos:

• Postcard, Mt. Washington from Mt. Wildcat Ski Trail, post-marked 20 February 1948;

• Postcard, skiers arriving at halfway station Cranmore Mt. skimobile North Conway, N.H., n.d.;

• Color postcard, famous Cog railway ascending Mt. Washington White, Mountains, N.H., the Courier Printing Co., Littleton, N.H., n.d.;

• Christmas New Year card, "A Sunshine Card", snow on a river and a covered bridge, n.d.

Collection on consignment with LDRB.