Identity elements
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
Photo album of a 1913 vacation cruise through the Caribbean, compiled by Mr. and Mrs. John Joseph Donovan, and presented to their daughter Geraldine Goodheart Donovan
Date(s)
- 1913 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Biographical history
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
"A delightful and well-produced souvenir photograph album of a 1913 vacation cruise through the Caribbean, compiled by Mr. and Mrs. John Joseph Donovan, and presented to their daughter Geraldine Goodheart Donovan on the title leaf. In an interesting form of quasi-publication, the introduction and an explanatory text are printed and mounted opposite original photographs. In a printed note titled 'Our Trip' mounted to the verso of the title page, the Donovans explain that 'these notes and pictures of our trip to Panama, the West Indies and Caracas are prepared as a souvenir for a few personal friends and relatives.' The photographs are arranged according to each location they visited, with each section beginning with a short printed commentary by them. The Donovans sailed upon the VICTORIA LUISE, a 'floating hotel' from which they observed the South Atlantic and Caribbean. Captions mounted with the photos chart the journey from the moment they leave New York on March 11, 1913 to just before they head home on the train. In between, the album is filled with wonderful images of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Panama, Venezuela, Trinidad, Barbados, Martinique, and St. Thomas. Highlights of the photographs include Morro Castle and several street scenes in Havana; Caguas Church in San Juan; Nelson Monument in Kingston; a handful of shots showing completion work on the Panama Canal, namely Gatun Lake and the Culebra Cut; a view of Caracas from Columbus Monument; a shot of ten children in Trinidad labeled 'Pickaninnies;' a sugar cane field in Barbados; a market scene in Fort-de-France, Martinique; and Bluebeard's Tower in St. Thomas. In addition to the photographs of the various locales, there are also several photographs showing on-deck activities including tug-of-war, a pillow fight, 'Girls' Nail-Driving,' and more. An attractive photographic record of a wonderful trip from New York, through the Caribbean, and back again, produced at no small expense to the travelers, evidenced by the arrangement of the photographs and the printed personalized commentary that opens each section." --- From William Reese Company