brian cassidy bookselle

31.
[Catastrophes]: [Photography
[Album of Hurricane Damage Along the
Connecticut River Near Springfield, MA]
Various (Springfield, MA etc.), [ca. 1938]
Small oblong 8vo. commercial album, 5.75” x 8.5” approx. Black with
gold title (“Photos”). Stiff cloth-covered string-tied boards, 23 paper
leaves and 55 B&W snapshot photos, adhesive-mounted recto and
verso, most 3.5” x 4.5” approx. Occasional faint wear. Near fine.
Small but focused album of the aftermath of The Great New England
Hurricane of 1938, anonymously but skillfully shot along the Connecticut
River corridor in and around Springfield (MA), Windsor Locks
(CT), and Longmeadow (MA). Images show downed trees, overturned
cars, flooded streets (right), damaged buildings, and like. The storm
was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869 and
is believed to have caused over 650 deaths. A poignant collection.
-450-
32.
[Catastrophes]: [Photography]
[Photo Album of the Golden
Eagle Steamboat Sinking]
[Grand Tower IS., IL]: 1947
Oblong 16mo. Black leather spiral
bound album with 15 B&W snapshot
photographs, recto-mounted
to black paper leaves. Mimeograph typed caption sheets to versos
provide an approximately 700 word narrative. Several caption slips
loose from original tape mountings, otherwise very good or better.
Album of the sinking of the Golden Eagle steamboat, taken by a passenger,
May 17-19, 1947. The Golden Eagle, the last wooden-hulled
passenger boat to travel the Mississippi, departed St. Louis for a
seven-day trip to Nashville. At approximately 2 a.m. the following
morning, the craft struck rocks off Grand Tower Island, causing an
evacuation onto the small, wooded isle. As the passengers looked on,
the ship slowly sank into the river. Herein is a thorough record of
the island scene and the progression of the boat's demise. Several
of the passengers are identified, including Capt. William “Buck” Lehye,
a prominent St. Louisan and the boat's former owner; Miss Helen
Peters, a “sound sleeper” and the final person to flee the boat
(rescued after a reading of the passenger list found her unaccounted
for); and two images of The Duke of Paducah, a prominent comedy
entertainer of the era and frequent performer aboard the ship. A
detailed and narrative vernacular photobook of a Mississippi River
disaster at the end the era of steamboat travel.
-400-
44