1929 President Herbert Hoover Thomas Edison Glass Plate Press Negative OOAK For Sale

1929 President Herbert Hoover Thomas Edison Glass Plate Press Negative OOAK

Original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negative captured in the autumn of 1929, documenting a historic full-length portrait of two defining 20th-century leaders: 31st President of the United States Herbert Hoover standing side-by-side with legendary inventor Thomas Alva Edison on a residential veranda during the national celebrations for Light’s Golden Jubilee.

Accompanied by both its outer kraft darkroom morgue envelope and its inner period paper sleeve:

• The Outer Envelope Notation:

  "Pres. Hoover + Thomas Edison 1929" (with lower corner note: "VERY GOOD")

• The Inner Paper Sleeve Notation:

  "Thomas Edison and President Hoover"

Historical Context:

October 1929 marked the 50th anniversary of Edison's invention of the practical incandescent electric lamp—celebrated nationwide as Light's Golden Jubilee. President Herbert Hoover traveled personally to join Edison and Henry Ford to pay national homage to the great inventor, addressing the nation alongside him on international radio broadcasts just days before the Wall Street crash.

This striking, intimate press portrait captures the two figures standing together on the covered porch of Edison’s home:

• President Herbert Hoover: Standing at left in a dark heavy overcoat and tailored three-piece suit, holding his fedora hat at his side, looking directly into the camera lens with a composed, formal expression.

• Thomas Alva Edison: Standing at right in a wool three-piece suit and signature bowtie, offering a warm, genial smile beside a wicker porch armchair.

• Porch Details & Observers: Excellent shadow and midtone resolution showing the brick estate columns, porch balustrade covered in climbing ivy, and a young child peeking over the railing in the background to watch the press data-path-to-node="13">

• Format: Heavy antique silver gelatin glass plate negative, exposed directly in a press camera in October 1929.

• Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by its original vintage tan kraft darkroom filing sleeve and its matching period handwritten paper sleeve.

Please Note: This listing is for the original antique glass plate negative, its period paper archive sleeve, and the period paper insert 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 structurally sound with no cracks, fractures, or perimeter chips. Emulsion across the primary subjects—including the facial details of both President Hoover and Thomas Edison, their suits, and the surrounding porch architecture—is clean, crisp, and exceptionally well-preserved. Shows only minor, authentic edge silvering and faint handling wear strictly along the extreme outer borders outside the image area, consistent with a working 1920s newspaper press plate. Accompanied by its original period kraft filing envelope and matching period handwritten sleeve.

The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
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