Oblong Octavo album (ca. 14,6x20,8 cm). 42 album paper leaves. With 149 original gelatin silver photographs (including five loose), from ca. 9,9x12,6 cm (4 x 5 in) to ca. 4,6x7,1 cm (1 ¾ x 2 ¾ in). Over 80 photos with period ink/pencil inscriptions in English on the mounts or on the back. Several photos dated. With two period newspaper clippings ca. 45,5x6 cm (17 ¾ x 2 ¼ in) and 22,5x10,2 cm (9 x 4 in). Period maroon patterned cloth binding fastened with a string; blind tooled generic title “Photographs” on the front cover. Several photos missing, a few photos with mild silvering, but otherwise a very good album with strong, interesting photos.

Historically interesting collection of lively vernacular photographs from a California middle-class family, featuring extremely rare images of Hellen Wills (1905-1988) during her early tennis matches. Wills was an American tennis champion and one of the most dominant players of the early 20th century. She won 31 Grand Slam titles, including eight Wimbledon singles championships, and was ranked world No. 1 for nearly a decade.

According to the captions, the compiler was Woodbury George Lawrence Hughes, the elder son of Alva Louise Engquist (1887–1972) and George Aaron Hughes (1884–1945). A native of California, Woodbury graduated from the University of California in 1931, where he met his future wife, Signe Louise Akesson of Alameda (captured in the photos). He spent most of his career as a publisher’s representative with Blanchard and Nichols in San Francisco and later worked as a stockbroker in San Francisco and Oakland.

The album features 149 private vernacular photographs taken by the Hughes family in California between the 1910s and 1930s. The images trace the life of the compiler from childhood through his twenties, capturing notable events and popular spots of California during that era.

Especially interesting are five extremely rare photos of early US tennis players at local tournaments. The images show Helen Wills partnering with Delf Muehleisen against Gerald Stratford and Anna Harper, likely in a 1929 University of California exhibition match; Wills entering the court with her coach Ray Grismer; Wills playing mixed doubles with Muehleisen, probably during one of the local tournaments that same year; and Muehleisen of the University of California defeating Jack De Lara of the University of Southern California for the 1930 Pacific Coast Intercollegiate title. Despite extensive research, no other photographs from these tournaments have been located online.

The other important lively scenes include the filming of what appears to be Buster Keaton’s Day Dreams in 1922; one of the earliest costumed celebrations of Kid’s Day in Oakland Technical High School in 1926; American businessman Owen D. Young delivering the Charter Day Address in Berkeley on March 24, 1930; and the Big C Circus parade by University of California students in 1932.

The album also features photographs of the “first Cadillac” (likely a 1923 Type 61) with a clearly visible license plate, the “regular engine between Truckee and Tahoe,” the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Casino, candid shots from the 1924 and 1925 Older Scouts Conferences in Oakland and Pasadena, as well as private leisure moments at Redwood Lodge and other locations with friends and family.

The collection is supplemented by two period newspaper clippings regarding Claire Windsor’s 75000$ fine for “stealing the love of Alfred C. Read Jr.” from his wife.

Overall, historically interesting collection of photographs documenting the everyday life of California’s middle class in the early decades of the 20th century and featuring rare images of prominent U.S. tennis players.