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- MESSINA AFTER THE GREAT DISASTER [Prepublication Mock-up]
MESSINA AFTER THE GREAT DISASTER [Prepublication Mock-up]
MESSINA AFTER THE GREAT DISASTER [Prepublication Mock-up]
An intriguing pre-publication mock-up of this heralded self-published account of the aftermath of the December 1908 earthquake at Messina, Italy. Illustrated by real photographs, the work appears to have been photographed and written by the same individual, known only to us only as W.P.B., an eyewitness to the tragedy and skilled documentarian (likely of the United States or perhaps Great Britain, given English-language text and mention of an interpreter). Images from an expired online commercial offering of a separate copy suggests a name of William P. Burke, though we are unable to associate any known person with that name to this publication or the event via typical reference.
The present photographs appear to correspond to the edition which eventually made it to print in about 1909, though the present prints each with extensive additional (albeit challenging to read given their mountings) manuscript text to versos. A copy of the finished edition was featured in the influential 2003 catalog 100 BOOKS WITH ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS: 1846-1919 by Paul Hertzmann and Margolis and Moss as Item No. 95. This appears to be a unique production. OCLC notes just four holdings, presumably of the finished version, in American libraries: University of Arizona, Mills College, California State (Hayward), and Harvard (along with two in The U.K. at Essex and Oxford).
W.P.B. : [Books with Original Photographs]. MESSINA AFTER THE GREAT DISASTER: Photographs From My Own Camera with Explanatory Description of Each Photograph by W.P.B [Interior Title - Pre-Publication Mock-Up]. [Messina, Italy]: [ca. 1908]. [75pp]. Approximately 11 1/4" x 9." Beige cloth over boards. With rectangular section cut from board cloth and mounted to interior. Leaves, alternating between white and grey paper, with mounted, cut portions of paper with printed text and 66 original black and white photographs, each approximately 4" x 3 1/4" black and white silver print snapshots (photos mounted to grey leaves only). Mild handling wear. Contents appear complete. About good-plus overall.
An intriguing pre-publication mock-up of this heralded self-published account of the aftermath of the December 1908 earthquake at Messina, Italy. Illustrated by real photographs, the work appears to have been photographed and written by the same individual, known only to us only as W.P.B., an eyewitness to the tragedy and skilled documentarian (likely of the United States or perhaps Great Britain, given English-language text and mention of an interpreter). Images from an expired online commercial offering of a separate copy suggests a name of William P. Burke, though we are unable to associate any known person with that name to this publication or the event via typical reference.
The present photographs appear to correspond to the edition which eventually made it to print in about 1909, though the present prints each with extensive additional (albeit challenging to read given their mountings) manuscript text to versos. A copy of the finished edition was featured in the influential 2003 catalog 100 BOOKS WITH ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS: 1846-1919 by Paul Hertzmann and Margolis and Moss as Item No. 95. This appears to be a unique production. OCLC notes just four holdings, presumably of the finished version, in American libraries: University of Arizona, Mills College, California State (Hayward), and Harvard (along with two in The U.K. at Essex and Oxford).
W.P.B. : [Books with Original Photographs]. MESSINA AFTER THE GREAT DISASTER: Photographs From My Own Camera with Explanatory Description of Each Photograph by W.P.B [Interior Title - Pre-Publication Mock-Up]. [Messina, Italy]: [ca. 1908]. [75pp]. Approximately 11 1/4" x 9." Beige cloth over boards. With rectangular section cut from board cloth and mounted to interior. Leaves, alternating between white and grey paper, with mounted, cut portions of paper with printed text and 66 original black and white photographs, each approximately 4" x 3 1/4" black and white silver print snapshots (photos mounted to grey leaves only). Mild handling wear. Contents appear complete. About good-plus overall.