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1929 Boston Faneuil Hall Cradle of Liberty Custom House Tower Negatives (3) OOAK
Trio of original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negatives captured in 1929: a premier architectural and historic city documentary series: spectacular high-vantage aerial views looking directly down onto Faneuil Hall ("The Cradle of Liberty") and the bustling Quincy Market wholesale district, shot from high atop the Boston Custom House Tower.
Accompanied by its original period tan kraft darkroom morgue filing sleeve:
Historical & Visual Content:
Built in 1742 and expanded in 1806 by architect Charles Bulfinch, Faneuil Hall served as the meeting place where Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty rallied support for American independence, earning its immortal title as the "Cradle of Liberty." In 1826, Mayor Josiah Quincy spearheaded the construction of Quincy Market directly adjacent to accommodate the city's booming commercial food trade.
Captured from the open-air observation gallery of the 496-foot Custom House Tower by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photojournalist Leslie Jones:[cite: 104, 109]
The Aerial Topography: A commanding bird's-eye view looking northwest across historic Dock Square and the market district. The hip roof, pediments, and gold grasshopper cupola of Faneuil Hall stand prominently in the upper quadrant, bordered by the long gable roof and skylights of Quincy Market.
Market Life & Traffic: The cobblestone corridors of North Market, South Market, and Merchants Row are packed with active morning commerce: market sheds, street awnings, parked delivery trucks, horse-drawn carts, merchant stalls, and hundreds of shoppers and purveyors moving between buildings.
Surrounding Architecture: Detailed perspectives capture the historic brick facades, granite piers, dormer windows, and flat-roofed commercial blocks of early 20th-century downtown Boston stretching toward Government Center and the North End.
Specifications:
Format: Trio of three (3) heavy antique silver gelatin 4x5 glass plate negatives, exposed directly in a press camera in 1929.
Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage tan kraft newspaper darkroom morgue filing envelope bearing period pen notation.
Please Note: This listing is for the three (3) original antique glass plate negatives and their 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 finished photographs print like. No physical paper photographs, modern prints, or paper products of any kind are included with this purchase.
Condition:
Good to Very Good antique condition. All three heavy glass plates are structurally intact with no cracks, fractures, or perimeter glass breaks. The silver gelatin emulsions are remarkably crisp and sharp throughout the architectural subjects, capturing individual window panes, vehicles, and masonry texture. Displays authentic vintage newsroom age, including characteristic perimeter solarization, silver mirroring, and edge emulsion flaking/toning strictly along the extreme margins and outer corners outside the primary image composition. Accompanied by the original period kraft morgue filing 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)
