Travel and Regional Life in the American Southwest and Cuba, Photograph Album, 1920s–1930s

Travel West Coast Southwest and Cuba

Archive

Photograph album, 1920s–1930s, documenting travel across the American Southwest and Cuba, with images capturing landscapes, infrastructure, and communities during a period of regional development and increased mobility. Early photographs depict desert environments with saguaro cacti and yucca, followed by rural farms, mission-style buildings, and roadside scenes, including a family traveling by wagon in Texarkana. One image records the recently constructed Coolidge Dam in Arizona, completed between 1924 and 1928, situating the album within contemporary efforts at water management and agricultural expansion in the Southwest. Additional photographs show individuals in domestic and rural settings, including an African American man seated outside his home, before transitioning to scenes of coastal and subtropical environments. The final portion of the album documents Cuba, including street life, harbor views with ships and fishing vessels, and architectural landmarks such as Morro Castle, reflecting the circulation of American travelers in the Caribbean during the interwar period.

Photograph album containing 69 black and white silver gelatin photographs, most measuring approximately 5.75 x 3 inches, with one larger earlier portrait at the beginning measuring approximately 9.5 x 6 inches. The images are mounted in a cloth-covered board album with gilt lettering reading “Photographs,” secured by a cord binding, and measuring approximately 10 x 8.25 inches. The photographs are uncaptioned and arranged sequentially, suggesting a travel-based compilation spanning multiple regions including Arizona, Texas, the Gulf South, and Havana, Cuba.

69 photographs mounted in original album; images clear and well-preserved. Light wear to album consistent with age; overall very good condition. A cohesive visual record of travel and regional life across the American Southwest and Cuba during the early twentieth century.

Item #18485

Price: $580.00