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1931 Chelsea MA Ship Graveyard Boys on Wooden Schooner Glass Negatives (2) OOAK
Pair of original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negatives captured in July 1931: an extraordinary documentary and social-realism photojournalism pair: the legendary Chelsea Ship's Graveyard on the Boston Harbor mudflats, paired with an iconic human-interest study of neighborhood boys using the jagged, towering prow of an abandoned wooden ship wreck as a massive playground.
Accompanied by its original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing sleeve:
Historical & Photographic Analysis:
Throughout the early 20th century, the tidal flats and salt marshes of Chelsea Creek and the Island End River served as Boston Harbor's primary resting ground for decommissioned maritime vessels. Obsolete wooden cargo schooners, steam scows, and coal carriers were towed into the backwaters, stripped of useful metal fittings, and abandoned to the relentless ebb and flow of the tide. During the Great Depression, these skeletal wrecks became irresistible adventures for local children swimming and playing along the industrial waterfront.
Captured on the spot with superb contrast and tactile detail by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photojournalist Leslie Jones:
Plate 1 — The Ship Wreck Playground (Vertical Composition): A masterclass in 1930s human-interest documentary photography. More than fifteen barefoot and lightly clothed local boys swarm over the towering, splintered wooden prow of a decaying sailing vessel at low tide. Several boys balance at the apex of the jagged stempost, others hang from frayed mooring ropes and ladder rungs along the rotted oak frames, while others peer out from an open cargo port cut through the hull.
Plate 2 — The Graveyard at Low Tide (Horizontal Panorama): An expansive, melancholic panoramic landscape looking across the tidal mudflats. In the foreground lie the submerged ribs and collapsing frames of derelict barges and scows mired in the silt, while further out in the channel sit several retired multi-masted schooners, their tall naked masts piercing the summer sky above the industrial data-path-to-node="16">
Format: Pair of two (2) heavy antique silver gelatin 4x5 glass plate negatives (one vertical portrait orientation, one horizontal landscape orientation), exposed directly in a press camera in July 1931.
Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing envelope bearing period pen and pencil notations.
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:
Both plates are in Very Good to Excellent antique condition. Heavy glass plates are structurally sound with no cracks, breaks, or fractures. The silver gelatin emulsions are remarkably clean, sharp, and stable throughout, capturing crisp texture in the weathered wood grain, mud ripples, and expressions of the climbing children. Displays only minor, authentic edge silvering 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)
