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1930 Boston North End Italian Saints Day Feast (2) Original Glass Negatives OOAKItem Specifics
Type: Glass Plate Negative (Original Camera-Exposed Negatives)
Quantity: Pair of Two (2) Matching Original Glass Plate Negatives + Original Envelope
Subject: Italian-American Religious Street Festival / Feast of the Madonna or Saint / Street Crowds & Arches
Date: August 1930
Location: North End (Fleet Street / North Street area), Boston, Massachusetts
Photographer: Attributed to Leslie Jones (Boston Herald-Traveler)
Format / Size: Approx. 4" x 5" each
Original Envelope Included: Yes (Original newspaper archive production sleeve)
Description
Overview & ProvenanceOffered for sale is a rare, vibrant pair of original camera-exposed 4" x 5" glass plate negatives documenting the bustling Italian-American August Feast Day celebrations in Boston's historic North End, captured on the streets in August 1930.
Note on Status: This offering is for the original camera-exposed glass negatives—primary-generation photographic artifacts shot directly on location in the North End by a veteran Boston press photojournalist. They exhibit true camera-holder rebate edges, authentic optical depth of field, and continuous silver gelatin tonality, free of secondary copy-stand reproduction lines or halftone patterns.
Original Envelope Transcriptions
Both glass plates are preserved together in their original newspaper archive production sleeve:
Image & Historical Context
During the hot summer months of the 1920s and 1930s, Boston’s North End transformed into an open-air celebration for the traditional Italian patronal feast days (including the Feast of Saint Anthony, Saint Agrippina, and the Madonna del Soccorso / Fishermen's Feast):
Negative 1 (Crowd Gathering Beneath Grand Illuminations): Looking up a festively decorated North End street (with a visible period street sign reading "FLEET ST"). A crowd of neighborhood residents, young boys in flat caps, marching band members or festival marshals in white trousers, and onlookers gather under towering decorative wooden framework arches strung with electric lightbulbs, radiating tinsel garlands, multi-pointed illuminated star finials, and massive patriotic bunting.
Negative 2 (Wide Street Festival & Vendors): A wide-angle perspective capturing the lively street fair in full swing. Crowds in period fedoras, suits, and summer dresses stroll past street vendor carts and draped storefronts, framed beneath overlapping canopies of hanging flags, banners, and decorative archways spanning the brick tenement facades.
(The digital positive inversion preview images shown are provided solely for visual reference to display contrast, exposure, and fine detail; the physical items offered for sale are the two antique glass plate negatives and the original archive envelope).
Physical Condition Assessment
Glass: Both plates are structurally solid, complete, and intact. There are no breaks, cracks, or structural hairline fractures running through either pane. The perimeter glass edges show authentic shallow factory bevels and standard darkroom plate-holder handling chips, strictly confined to the outermost blank borders.
Emulsion Layer: High silver density with rich, continuous-tone clarity resolving individual faces, clothing textures, electric bulbs, and street signage. Note that both plates exhibit authentic age-related emulsion oxidation/discoloration and localized peripheral flaking along the upper and right edge margins (visible as amber/darkened toning in the raw plate photos and corresponding lighter margin wear on the positive inversions), with the core street scenes and crowd compositions remaining clear and intact.
Envelope: The original printed kraft paper production envelope is complete and well-preserved with minor age-toning and handling wear, featuring clear, legible period blue and graphite script.
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)
