Author: [Photograph Album]. Harvey, Farrell E. - Compiler [inferred]
Title: U.S.S. ALGONQUIN C. G. 328 Black & White Images
Description: [Seattle, WA]: , 1930. Brown suede album with hand-painted suede covers with suede ties, with front cover having a hand-printed title “Photographs U.S.S. Algonquin C.G.” & Coast Guard emblem. 10 pp. autographs pages, unused except for five penciled names (all dated 1930) + 40 leaves of black mounting paper, unpaginated, with last two leaves unused. Images mostly snapshot size of 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”, or 3-/12” x 4-1/2”. Laid in: A menu from Thanksgiving dinner 1929, one 5” x 7” portrait of the crew, two 8” x 10” photographs, and a 1955 official’s Seattle Gold Cup committee ribbon [with Harvey's name-tag at top]. Oblong format: 8" x 11-1/2" An extensive, albeit unofficial, visual record of life aboard the USS Algonquin, commissioned as a Revenue Cutter in 1897 and retired late in 1930. The Algonquin operated along the East Coast of the United States with additional assignments in the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico. Later, in cooperation with the U.S. Navy at the onset of World War I, the Algonquin patrolled and defended Chesapeake Bay, with subsequent assignment to European waters, escorting over 750 ships safely in her rounds between Gibraltar, England and the Azores. In 1919, the Algonquin was transferred to the West Coast, assigned to the 13th Naval District, which meant patrolling the Pacific Northwest, as well as the islands and coast of Alaska, which included protection of endangered seals. Evidence suggests this album compiled by Farrell Harvey, a documented Algonquin crewman [F 1c] during the late 20s/early 30s, while the ship was stationed in the PNW. These primarily uncaptioned photographs illustrate the rough and ready life of sailors such as Harvey during their shipboard tour, with divers images of the crew, their drills and daily tasks, and significant occasions such as the Equatorial Line Crossing Ceremony. Many photographs show sister ships and other vessels, coastline scenery, whaling, and people encountered in the tropics and divers scenes while patrolling along the Pacific Northwest Coast. A wonderful primary source for seeing the life of a Coastie aboard a cutter during the late 1920s, and into the beginning of the 1930s. Album worn; leaves quite fragile at the gutter, causing many to be detached or nearly so, though all leaves appear to be present. Photographs generally Very Good or better. Overall, Good condition.

Keywords: Potpourri Photography


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