Beschreibung:

Six oblong binders, each grey cloth-covered, 9.5 x 12 in. (approx. 2 in. thick at spine). Black and white images are affixed to the pages on the inner edge so they can be flipped to read the label on verso (captions, photo ID numbers, photo credits, etc.). Some are tipped onto the images, others are typed or printed on the reverse. All taken along the Western Front. Album 1: most images 6 x 8 in. Battle of Flanders; Portuguese Infantry; a Highland Battalion watching Highland dancers; a dog used as a messenger; Serbian officers; observation balloon; Balleul stove from a bombed out house used to cook a “real” meal; cutting grass for horses; camo netting; guns, ammo stocks; barbed wire barriers; and more. Album 2: 84 images, some 6 x 8, seven are 8 x 10 in., and most (last 2/3 or so) are 6.5 x 8.5 in. These seem to be miscellaneous images: portable water tanks; horses pulling a car out of the mud; toward the end; an ambulance stuck in the mud requiring 10 horses to pull it out (Ah, the mud on the Western Front!); a mine crater; one man standing on another’s shoulders to string telephone lines across what was ‘no man’s land;’ pushing a bombed out car out of the way and the guys have written ’10 Downing St.” on the roof;’ cemetery and grave of Col. Fuchs, Russian Imperial Guard with mound of flowers; Australian Heavy Battery; statue of the Virgin of Montauban – the only thing untouched by shelling; Sgt. Simpkin’s grave with wreath made by his brother (also a sgt.), and more. Album 3: 90 images, most 6 x 8 in. Most images are of people, many company and regiment groups, almost always multiple views of each. New Zealand Division Horse Show; Field Ambulance Staff; Newfoundland Battalion; Ordnance Service; Belgian Army; French refugees; RAF Squadron (with their mascot – dog); Middlesex Regiment; machine gun battalion and their band; and a group of Canadian journals (getting the grand tour). Album 4: 100 images, most 6.5 x 8.5, one 8 x 10 in. The theme of this album seems to be destruction – buildings, railroads, vehicles, even barbed wire fences. There are a few others, such as three soldiers cooking dinner in one of their steel helmets; a unit of turbaned Indian cavalry with traditional saddles; big guns and big guns on the move; tearing down walls left unsafe after shelling; and a group of Chinese students heading for the front. Album 5: 108 images, most 6.5 x 8.5 in., with three 8 x 10 in. If there is an overall theme here it is work parties and big guns. South African natives working in France; men in trenches with shells exploding in the distance; the Royal Fusilier Battalion; German prisoners serving as stretcher bearers for both British and German wounded; several views of POWs; howitzers and other big guns (one on a rail car); men in improvised dugouts; more guns, some of them in improvised dugouts; British soldiers clowning around with German helmets. Many images are of advance work crews clearing land for roads, bridges, railroads, etc. Album 6: 83 images, most 6.5 x 8.5 in., first 34 under title “How Tommy is Fed,” then each illustrates a step in the process. The first two are “Loading stores from a shed into the train,” and “Sacking onions in a storehouse for entrainment.” The next group seems to be miscellaneous scenes from officers curling with ice blocks on a frozen canal, big guns and bombed out buildings, to a celebration at which the ‘Balmoral,” a Scottish entertainment troupe, entertained (6 images) and the Black Watch held their own field games (6 images) plus one in which both the ‘Balmorals’ and Black Watch games appear (must have been a big celebration). Provenance: The Alan Culpin Collection of World War I Art Condition: Some images have been removed from the albums (the image count gives an indication of this - there are 54 leaves in each). Handling wear and a bit of scuffing to covers. Photos very good.