Oblong Octavo album (16,6x21 cm). 25 cardstock leaves. With 50 mounted original gelatin silver photographs ca. 8,8x11,3 cm (3 ½ x 4 ½ in). Most photos with period pencil captions in English. Period full cloth album with gilt lettered generic title “Photographs” and blind-tooled ornaments on the front board. Binding slightly rubbed at the edges, photos with mild silvering, but overall a very good album, with strong, interesting photos.  

Historically interesting collection of original, well-preserved photographs taken during a voyage of the British cargo ship Cairnryan (1888-1932) through the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and Russian Arctic. As follows from the photographs, the compiler was an English crew member or employee aboard the ship, documenting his work-related voyage in the early 1900s.

The collection features 50 excellent vernacular photographs, including two early views of the former lumber hub of Arkhangelsk (today’s Russia). The images capture local workers at a construction site surrounded by stacks of fine lumber, and the "Dalarne" ship docked at the Arkhangelsk port, likely transporting timber from Russian Arctic.

Mediterranean highlights include about ten well-executed photos of Italian port cities, showing Pompei (House of the Fauna, Forum, Amphitheatre, House of the Vetti), Venice (Saint Mark’s Basilica mistakenly captioned “St. Paul”), and scenic coastal views of Bagnara and Livorno. Five interesting photos of Algiers, feature bustling harbor scenes in Bona and Henaine, including workers with head coverings transporting cargo to moored sailboats. There’s also a striking image from Greece, documenting the original stone lighthouse in Petras, razed during modernization in the 1970s. Another important photo captures the now-demolished Grünentaler Hochbrücke bridge over the Baltic Canal. The rest of the Mediterranean photos mostly show harbors and waterfronts of Nice and Santander.

“The Black Sea” series feature about five early views of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul) and Odessa. The “Ottoman” photos capture the Bosphorus coastline with Rumeli Fortress, Palace Hatice Sultan, and the Great Mecidiye Mosque on the foreground. Especially interesting is a candid, urban scene from Odessa, showing dozens of workers busily loading Imperial Russian trains.

The other interesting photographs include excellent, lively portraits of the crew (watchkeeping, anchoring, steering, etc.), images of the Cairnryan in calm and stormy weather, and views of the harbors of Dartmouth and Hull.

Overall, historically interesting collection documenting a British Merchant ship’s cruise through the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and the Russian Arctic.