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1920s Boston Fish Pier Hand Carts Schooners Blizzard Glass Plate Negative OOAK
Original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negative captured circa the 1920s by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photographer Leslie Jones, documenting active dockworkers and heavy hand barrows on the bustling Boston Fish Pier in South Boston, Massachusetts.
Photographed from an elevated dockside vantage point looking down along the wharf apron, this gritty maritime work scene captures dozens of wooden, two-wheeled hand carts and fish barrows tipped and positioned across the snow-dusted pier deck. Longshoremen and lumpers in heavy wool coats, boots, and flat caps work alongside tied-up commercial fishing schooners and trawlers, unloading the day's catch from the vessel holds. Opened in 1914, the Boston Fish Pier was the largest facility in the world dedicated exclusively to the commercial fish industry, serving as the central economic engine of New England's historic maritime fleet.
The high-angle documentary composition reveals extraordinary working-waterfront detail:
Numerous heavy spoked-wheel wooden push barrows, hand trucks, and empty crates scattered across the working deck.
Rigging, masts, booms, and deckhouses of commercial fishing schooners berthed alongside the wharf.
Dockworkers actively hauling cargo and gathering along the pier apron, with a vintage 1920s motor truck visible on the left margin.
Format: Heavy antique silver gelatin glass plate negative, exposed directly in Leslie Jones's press camera circa the 1920s.
Archive Sleeve Included: Accompanied by its original vintage tan kraft darkroom filing sleeve, bearing period newsroom notations: "Fish Carts / Fish Pier".
Please Note: This listing is for the original antique glass plate negative and its period paper archive sleeve only. Any positive photographic images shown in this listing are modern inverted digital scans provided solely as a visual representation to show what a finished photograph prints like. No physical paper photograph, modern print, or paper product of any kind is included with this purchase.
Condition: Very Good antique condition. Heavy glass plate is intact with no cracks, breaks, or hairline fractures. Emulsion exhibits excellent mid-tone clarity, deep shadow separation, and fine documentary detail throughout the carts, figures, and harbor vessels. Features typical authentic edge wear and mild silver mirroring along the extreme outer borders outside the primary composition, consistent with a working 1920s press camera plate. Accompanied by the original annotated kraft archive sleeve.
The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
If you collect glass negatives, please check out our collection in our store. We are currently listing thousands of original glass photo negatives from this DJD collection through the remainder of the year. Follow our store, and feel free to reach out about any questions about the negatives in this collection.
Ships with extreme care in archival materials to ensure safe transit. Feel free to reach out with any requests or questions).
Combined shipping is available (with other glass negatives)
