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1930 Boston Navy Yard US Navy Torpedo Test Barge Newport RI Glass Negs (2) OOAK
Pair of original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negatives captured on February 2, 1930: a rare United States Navy experimental ordnance documentary sequence: U.S. Navy Torpedo Test Barge No. 2 tied up in the basin of the Boston Navy Yard (Charlestown), built for the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island, framed by a docked naval warship and shipyard rail cranes.
Accompanied by its original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing sleeve with exact contemporary newsroom notation:
Historical & Naval Technology Content:
Established on Goat Island in Narragansett Bay in 1869, the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport was the United States Navy's primary center for the development, manufacture, and underwater testing of automotive torpedoes. To calibrate gyroscopes, propulsion turbines, and depth mechanisms in open water without risking expensive combat ships, the Navy deployed specialized floating test barges equipped with underwater tubes, winches, tracking towers, and telemetry laboratories.
Captured with exceptional industrial detail and crisp harbor focus by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photojournalist Leslie Jones:
The Torpedo Test Barge: A comprehensive broadside study of the double-decked testing vessel floating in the Charlestown basin. Highlights include the tall vertical tracking masts, boiler smokestack venting light coal exhaust, cabin port lights, deck winches, and the heavy displacement hull designed for torpedo firing trials.
The Warship & Charlestown Yard: Moored along the stone pier directly behind the barge sits a multi-funneled U.S. Navy warship with high military fighting masts and searchlight platforms. The foreground pier shows standard gauge shipyard railroad tracks, push carts, mooring bollards, chain-link safety stanchions, and visiting civilians strolling the wharf apron.
Photographic Tone: Brilliant natural silver gradation distinguishing the gray hull steel, wooden barge siding, clear winter sky, and subtle water surface reflections.
Specifications:
Format: Pair of two (2) heavy antique silver gelatin 4x5 glass plate negatives, exposed directly in a press camera on February 2, 1930.
Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing envelope.
Please Note: This listing is for the two (2) original antique glass plate negatives and their 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 photographs, modern prints, or paper products of any kind are included with this purchase.
Condition:
Very Good to Excellent antique condition. Both heavy glass plates are structurally intact with no cracks, breaks, or fractures through the glass. The silver gelatin emulsions are remarkably clean, sharp, and stable throughout, capturing pinpoint clarity across ship rigging, rivet lines, and shipyard architecture. 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)
