1887 Original Yellowstone Album

1887. 1/4 leather. Very Good +. A meticulously-crafted album of 29 original, mounted photographs of Yellowstone, all or most of them likely taken in 1887 and purchased directly from the 14-year old National Park. Though the photos are uncredited, we can surmise that photographers such as Thomas Hine, Charles D. Loughrey, Frank Jay Haynes (the official photographer of Yellowstone National Park) or even the renowned William Henry Jackson may have been responsible for some of these photos. All but one of the photos is nicely hand-captioned by a former owner (possibly Joseph D. Potts, whose name adorns the first blank endpaper), the captions serving as crucial identifiers to specific geysers, craters, falls, buildings, etc. The photographs, while all varying slightly in size, are each roughly 8 1/2" wide x 6 1/2" tall. The fragile album itself, a thick, oblong folio, has been professionally restored at its exterior, with recent, wine-red cloth boards laid over the original leather spine and tips, which have been skillfully re-touched to make for an appealing, very presentable piece of Americana. (We note that no part of the interior of the album --from its front to rear endsheets and pastedowns-- has been altered). A wonderful, very uncommon piece of Yellowstone history -- as well as a significant example of late 19th century American landscape photography.