1939 New York World's Fair / Washington, D.C. Photo Album

[New York and Washington DC]: n.p., 1940. Very good +.. Two-part souvenir photo album of a trip to the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, followed by photographs of Washington D.C., Mount Vernon, and Annapolis, MD in 1940. World's Fair photographs include: the edge of animal collector Frank Buck's 80-foot "monkey mountain" (a tower built for, not of, rhesus monkeys), part of his Jungleland exhibit; a two-photo panorama of the Lagoon of Nations; the enormous National Cash Register, a building-sized sculpture of and monument to the wonders of the cash register; and several views of the grounds taken from inside the Perisphere.

The second part (truncated) of the album records a May, 1940 trip to DC and environs: in addition to the standard monuments and memorials, the travelers visit and photograph Mt. Vernon's stables and boxwood hedges; Annapolis approached by water, and the "Latest in [Naval] Destroyers."

The caption writer identifies human figures as, variously, "Mr. Carrington and Daughter," M.H.J., and E.W.T.; whether the album's owner is one of these is unknown. A charming record of two East Coast tourist trips, with several visual reminders of the country's incipient entry into the second world war.

. Oblong string-tied photo album, 7 x 10 inches approx. Brown textured gilt-stamped boards with minor edgewear. Contains 23 black paper leaves with black and white photos mounted recto only for the first 13 leaves; recto and verso for the last ten. Captions in white ink leave occasional traces on preceding pages. Very good plus overall. (Inventory #: 44229)