1932 Boston MA Post Office Construction Custom House Glass Negative OOAK 4x5 For Sale

1932 Boston MA Post Office Construction Custom House Glass Negative OOAK 4x5

Original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negative captured on July 21, 1932: a commanding high-angle architectural and urban engineering photograph overlooking downtown Boston: the massive Art Deco John W. McCormack Federal Building & New Post Office under active construction at Post Office Square, rising high above the Custom House Tower and downtown rooftops as seen from the Appraisers Stores building on Atlantic Avenue.

Accompanied by its original vintage tan kraft newspaper morgue filing sleeve with exact archival notation:

• The Sleeve Inscription:

  \"New Post Office / from Appraisers / Stores - Atlantic Ave / July 21, 1932\"

Historical & Architectural Content:

Constructed between 1931 and 1933 during the depths of the Great Depression, the John W. McCormack Federal Building & U.S. Post Office at Post Office Square was one of the largest public works and federal construction projects in Massachusetts history. Designed by architects Cram & Ferguson in a monumental Art Deco / Classical style, the building required thousands of tons of structural steel and Indiana limestone.

Captured from an elevated aerie atop the Appraisers Stores on the Atlantic Avenue waterfront by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photojournalist Leslie Jones:

• The Skyscraper Under Construction: The upper setback tiers of the 22-story federal tower are encased in heavy scaffolding and timber framing, with two massive steel guyed derrick cranes towering over the roofline hoisting limestone facing and steel beams.

• Boston Architectural Landmarks: Just in front of the new federal skyscraper stands the classic granite clock tower and pyramid peak of the Boston Custom House Tower, while the right foreground features a stately early 20th-century commercial high-rise with hundreds of striped fabric window awnings fully deployed against the summer sun.

• Urban Rooftop Texture: In the lower field, the camera captures fine industrial rooftop details—copper mansards, arched warehouse dormers, monitor skylights, brick party walls, a puff of coal smoke curling from a chimney flue, and a prominent painted rooftop wall advertisement reading:

  \"GURNEY HEATER MFG. CO. / STEAM & HOT WATER data-path-to-node=\"16\">

• Format: Heavy antique silver gelatin 4x5 glass plate negative, exposed directly in a press camera on July 21, 1932.

• Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing sleeve with period ink annotations.

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 finished photographs print like. No physical paper photograph, modern print, or paper product of any kind is included with this purchase.

Condition:Very Good to Excellent antique condition. Heavy glass plate is structurally sound with no cracks, fractures, or perimeter breaks. The silver gelatin emulsion is remarkably crisp, clean, and stable throughout, exhibiting rich tonal graduation from the bright summer cumulus clouds down to the deep shadows of the urban street canyons. Displays only minor, authentic edge silvering strictly along the extreme outer borders outside the primary image area. 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)