Small quarto album, containing 114 black and white photographs, mainly silver prints, the album is bound in original half leather, marbled paper boards, the photographs are mounted onto sheets of paper in album; the paper stock of these leaves is of poor quality, all sheets are browned, and brittle, chipped at margins, and loose in album; several photos loose, not pasted to sheets; photos vary in size from 5” x 3 ¾” to 6” x 4” to 7 ½” x 4 ½”; images not dated, circa 1890s to 1910s. The images themselves are in good condition, clean and clear, however the album and the leaves the images are mounted on have condition issues.
The album is not signed, nor labeled, but
several clues within the album and images of the photos, appear to place the
album as being a collection of images of buildings in the town of Albion, New
York, in Orleans County. Several images are of buildings under construction –
perhaps the album was compiled by a builder.
The
album contains a newspaper clipping of an Albion, New York newspaper dated
1911, however none of streetscapes show any automobiles, rather horse and
buggy, or people on horses, thus the mages likely date from the late 19th
Century, or first decade of the 20th Century.
Some
of the photographs of the churches in the album, when compared to the
architecture of the historic churches of present day Albion, shows that they
are indeed photos of Albion churches, in particular the First Presbyterian Church and the Christ
Episcopal Church, thus confirming the images are buildings in Albion, Orleans
County, New York.
Albion
is a village in Orleans County, New York. The village is centrally located in
the county. The village is partly within the towns of both Albion and Gaines.
Albion is the county seat of Orleans County and is about 30 miles (48 km)
west/northwest of the City of Rochester.
There
are no written inscriptions identifying the photos, however some have images provide
some information. One is the A.V. Clark tombstone, which may be a clue to the
origins of the album. Another is a Cole tombstone, again possibly a clue to the
ownership of the album.
A
couple of the photos have “Aristotype” or
“Drop Shutter” written on the bottom
margins, indications of the photographer detailing the method he took taking
the photograph. An “Aristotype” is a high-symmetry structure type that can be
viewed as an idealized version of a lower-symmetry structure. “Drop Shutter” is an early form of camera
shutter consisting of a plate which when released falls vertically and carries
an aperture in its center past the opening of the lens.
One
photo shows the “Andre Monument,
Tarrytown, NY.” Another image shows “Our Unknown Dead –May 30, 1890” – and
has a photo of a monument. One image is a portrait of an older man with the
inscription: “Dr. Marsh, Albany Medical
School,” written in pencil next to it.
A
couple of newspaper clippings, laid into the album, mention President Grant’s
death, which would place them in 1885, perhaps dating the album as early as
1885.
The
First Presbyterian Church of Albion at 29 East State St. was built in 1874 -
with its 175-foot high spire was the tallest structure in Orleans County, New York.
Photographs of it in the album show it to be complete, thus dating the photo
album post 1875, and with the Grant obituary mentions in the newspaper clippings,
puts it at about 1885, but the album also shows a church built in the 1890s,
and a newspaper clipping of 1911, thus a good date for the album is likely
1890s-1910s and before the automobile, as only horses and horse and buggies are
shown in the photos when streetscapes or properties are shown.
The
images consist mainly of architectural views such as houses, churches, cemetery
monuments, small local bridges,
buildings under construction, several interior views of homes, several
landscape views showing gardens, fountains, and the grounds of properties, some
animals, a couple of water scenes showing small boats and houses on the shore
of a lake, or pond, and several photos of people (men and women, children),
some on horses.