Photo album and scrapbook: National Geographic aerial survey of the coast of South America

Item

Photo album and scrapbook: National Geographic aerial survey of the coast of South America

• 1930 (Produção)

"A photo album and scrapbook compiled by Kenneth Price in 1974, documenting a National Geographic aerial survey of the coast of South American taken in 1930. The album, entitled Flight of the Argentina, contains long narrative captions by Price along with his original photographs and clippings. According to Price's introduction, '[this is] a photo and memo album of a National Geographic aerial survey of the East Coast of South America (Nat Geo Dec. 1930, Jan. 1931). This was inspired after reading 'A Dream of Eagles' by Col. Ralph A. O'Neill...and a collection of my own pictures (many have been lost). It is made up of clippings and pictures from two magazine articles; and my own pictures (taken with a Brownie 2-A) plus memos, letters, and clippings.' He continues 'After two months building aircraft radio equipment for NYRBA (New York Rio & Bueno Aires), I was selected as radio operator for the 26 passenger seaplane Argentine and took off from North Beach, Long Island, New York, May 21st 1930.' Price then lists the other crew for the expedition which included, among others, Frederick Simpich, an American writer, newspaperman, and Assistant Editor of the National Geographic Society from 1931 to 1949. During his time in the society, he wrote more articles for the magazine than anyone else before or after this time.

The survey began in New York and went to Miami, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Trinidad, British Guiana, Dutch Guiana, French Guiana, Brazil, and Uruguay. Each stop features Price's memories of the time, clippings from contemporary newspapers and the National Geographic articles, and photographs. Price underlines parts of the articles he feels caption the images and explain each leg of the journey. On a page from a stop in St. Thomas an article read, 'viewed from the sky, these islands are strangely beautiful. Only God's own hands could form these gracefully molded emerald hills and set them in turquoise seas with foamy waves as a white fringe about dark-green shores.' Another later article reads, 'from the air, you see how close primeval forests crowd Para. Its streets end in the jungle. We stopped here five days to overhaul our plane, and when we got ashore, we saw more clearly how utterly the vast forests of Brazil dominate the life of the greatest city on the Amazon.'

Price ends this portion of the album writing, 'our 4 month geographic survey is over. I will return with plane 'Argentina' to Rio. This will be my base for air and passengers runs to Bahia 1100 miles to the north of Rio. Stops at Campos, Vitoria, Ilheus, and Salvador.' Once the National Geographic crew had gone back to the United States, Price 'remained with the Argentina,' now assigned to mail and passenger runs in Brazil until P.A.A. (Pan American Airlines) and a revolution upset everything and I returned to N.Y.C. by boat from Rio.' The final few pages document Price's work during this time and include a memo from Pan American retaining his services. A page featuring photographs of Brazilian crowds reads, 'our last trip from Bahia arriving in Rio we got the news that Bahia was being sacked the day after we left. A Brazilian revolution had begun. Crowds gathered in the streets of Rio and bedlam soon took over.' He continues, 'not being able to speak Portuguese I could not get the details. We could roam the streets but at times it was dangerous when the shooting started.' The album ends with two typed letters signed by author Ralph A. O'Neill, whose book inspired the making of the scrapbook.

A n extensive album documenting a first-hand account of a National Geographic aerial survey of the Caribbean and east coast of South America." --description form Between the Covers Rare Books, Inc.