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UNKNOWN : 1920s ORIGINAL VERNACULAR PHOTO ALBUM OF THE LIFE AND TIMES IN POST WORLD WAR I CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is a marvellous collection of black and white photographs dating from the early 20th century. They are mounted in a black, hardboard cover album measuring 9.5 inches by 6.5 inches. There are 30 pages with a total of 167 photographs. Most of the photographs are either 2 inches by 2.75 inches or 5 inches by 3 inches. While locale is not specified there are sufficient context clues in the pictures themselves to make a reasonable estimation as to location. There are several groupings of photographs. There are 36 photographs of automobiles decorated as floats for a parade. The pictures offer a fair amount of detail. There is an American Legion float, as well as a Knights of Columbus float in the parade. There are cars decorated with an acronym BPOE (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks). Some of the floats in the parade also have banners which appear to show various counties in Mississippi, such as East Carroll, Madison, Sharkey, and Yazoo. These are all counties located in the West Central area of Mississippi. Jackson is the largest city and capital of the state of Mississippi. Several photos have an advertisement in the background for the Royal Hotel. There is a Royal Hotel listed in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1923 Automobile Blue Book. Hinds County, where the city of Jackson is located, is adjacent to Madison and Yazoo Counties. Some businesses that are seen in photographs are: Wagoener Auto Parts Co.; Standard Oil Company; Lowenthal Dry Goods, and the Royal Hotel. There are also several photos of the street scape in the downtown area. This would suggest that photographs were taken in the Jackson, Mississippi area. In addition, there is a clearly recognizable statue of General Ulysses Grant located in Vicksburg, Mississippi, approximately 43 miles east of Jackson. There are about a half a dozen photographs of soldiers, circa World War One. The photo of a banana tree hints that these may have been taken in the Pacific where the United States now had various possessions following the Spanish American War. The album also contains approximately 20 photographs of a Standard Oil Company gas station [perhaps some family connection or personal relationship?], which appears to have been recently opened. The photos show day shots and evening photos with lights on; it also shows African-American mechanics, workers at the gas station. Near the end of the album there are a number of photographs of children, with some adults. These photographs are a wonderful visual record of a simpler time in rural southern America. They are excellent visual cross-reference tools for a historian studying life in the South in the early decades of the 20th century. A researcher looking at the changes in clothing and dress would find a wide range of examples.. Illustr.: /. Photo Album. Book Condition: Good

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