Oblong Quarto album ca. 18,6x28,8 cm (7 ¼ x 11 ¼ in). 31 card stock leaves. With ca. 136 (including two loose) original gelatin silver photographs from ca. 17,8x12,8 cm (7 x 5 in) to 7x4,7 cm (2 ¾ x 2 in). Two photos captioned in negative and signed by “Leo’s Studio,” several images with period ink inscriptions (in English) on the verso; with about five printed postcards captioned in negative. Period black leather album fastened with a string. Binding rubbed, one leaf detached, edges of several pages with tears, mild age-toning, but otherwise a very good album with strong, interesting photos.

Historically significant collection of original gelatin silver photographs, documenting the service of the 1230 Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at West Emerald Creek Camp (Fernwood, Idaho) and Bradley Camp (Tahoe City, California) in the 1930s.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (1933-1942) was a public work relief program designed to combat Great Depression-era unemployment. The program mobilized millions of young, unmarried men for natural resource conservation efforts across the United States. Managed by the U.S. Army, the program operated through a vast network of specialized camps that functioned as self-contained residential and operational hubs. Within these camps, enrollees lived under military-style discipline while performing environmental and infrastructure missions, from reforestation and soil erosion control to the construction of bridges and fire lookout towers. After America’s entry into World War II, the program's resources were diverted to the war effort, and Congress officially began liquidating the CCC in July 1942.

As follows from the photographs, the compiler, David Dangler, served with Company 1230 of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Primarily composed of Eastern U.S. recruits, the company trained at Fort Dix, New Jersey, before deploying to Bradley Camp (F-207) near Auburn, California, for infrastructure work on the American River. The unit was subsequently redeployed to Camp F-186 in Fernwood, Idaho, to combat Blister Rust infestations and eventually returned to New York at Camp S-133 in Margaretville.

The collection contains ca. 136 lively vernacular photographs, mostly documenting the compiler’s service at West Emerald Creek Camp in St. Joe National Forest, Idaho, in the summer of 1935. The album opens with an excellent photo of a retreat ceremony at the camp, showing a line of young men in CCC uniforms standing before a superior officer against a forested hillside. Important photos from the series feature general views of the camp infrastructure (tents, a dining room), landscapes from St. Joe National Forest (dead trees, forest slash), and work projects, including a wooden bridge, logged trees, and a fire trail under construction. Especially interesting are about fifteen candid scenes of the enrollees posing on a truck returning from the field, watching a rodeo at St. Maries, standing on a logging locomotive, posing by a killed bear, and playing guitar during leisure hours.

About thirty identified photos document the compiler’s service at Bradley Camp in Tahoe City, California, where the company was deployed for work on the American River. Five excellent general views show the camp infrastructure, including residential tents, a bedroom interior, and machinery. Other images feature nature views of the Feather River Canyon and the American River, alongside group portraits of the compiler with his camp friends. The series also contains several photos taken in Auburn (Courthouse, compiler’s portrait), likely during a short vacation trip to the city.

The rest of the photos from the album feature train locomotives, nature views, and several shots taken in Montana, St. Paul, Minnesota, and at Mt. Spokane, Washington.

Overall, historically significant collection of original gelatin silver photographs, documenting the service of the 1230 Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps.