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Winter Ice Covered Fishing Schooner Herbert Boston Fish Pier Glass Neg OOAK
Original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negative: an extraordinary documentary photograph illustrating the perilous reality of North Atlantic winter fishing: the wooden fishing schooner \"Herbert\" encased under tons of frozen sea spray and ice, tied up at the pier as a lone crewman chops through ice along the deck and rigging.
Accompanied by its original period tan kraft darkroom morgue filing sleeve:
Historical & Photographic Analysis:
During winter fishing runs to Georges Bank and the Grand Banks, sub-zero gale winds threw continuous ocean spray across low-riding wooden schooners. Ice accumulation posed a lethal danger to vessels, threatening to turn them top-heavy and capsize them in heavy seas. Upon reaching port, crews immediately went to work with heavy mallets and axes to chop away thick layers of sea ice encasing the deck machinery, halyards, and anchor windlasses.
Captured dockside with stark contrast and textural detail by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photojournalist Leslie Jones:
The Frozen Vessel: The bow, shrouds, furled head sails, and timber rails of the Herbert are completely engulfed in thick, sculpted sheets of frozen ocean spray and massive clusters of icicles hanging along the hull.
The Crewman at Work: A solitary fisherman bundled in a heavy woolen coat, trousers, thick boots, and flat cap balances on the slippery forward deck, swinging a heavy wooden maul/axe to free frozen halyards and deck gear.
Industrial Waterfront Backdrop: Beyond the iced-over bowsprit and frozen harbor water stand the brick multi-story cold storage warehouses and wholesale fish buildings along the Boston data-path-to-node=\"16\">
Format: Heavy antique silver gelatin 4x5 glass plate negative, exposed directly in a press camera, circa 1920s.
Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing envelope bearing period green and red ink notations.
Please Note: This listing is for the original antique glass plate negative and its period paper archive sleeve only. Any positive photographic images shown in this listing are modern inverted digital scans provided solely as a visual representation to show what finished photographs print like. No physical paper photograph, modern print, or paper product of any kind is included with this purchase.
Condition:
Very Good to Excellent antique condition. Heavy glass plate is structurally sound with no cracks, breaks, or fractures through the glass. The silver gelatin emulsion is remarkably clean, sharp, and stable throughout, capturing brilliant, nuanced highlights in the sculpted sea ice and deep shadow detail in the timber hull. Displays only minor authentic edge silvering and faint handling wear strictly along the extreme outer borders outside the primary image area. Accompanied by the original period kraft morgue filing sleeve.
The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
If you collect glass negatives, please check out our collection in our store. We are currently listing thousands of original glass photo negatives from this DJD collection through the remainder of the year. Follow our store, and feel free to reach out about any questions about the negatives in this collection.
Ships with extreme care in archival materials to ensure safe transit. Feel free to reach out with any requests or questions).
Combined shipping is available (with other glass negatives)
