Early Women's Swimming Photo Archive, 1910s-30s

Women in Sports

Photograph

[Women in Sports] Archive of six photographs documenting women’s competitive and recreational swimming, 1910s-30s. Includes six silver gelatin press and studio photographs depicting female swimmers and divers, dating ca. 1910–1933. Press photos with press annotations and stamps from ACME Newspictures, NEA, and Culver Service. Locations include Palm Beach, Florida, and Jones Beach State Park, New York. This archive offers a vivid portrayal of women’s athleticism in a period when female sports participation was often marginalized, with several images highlighting Olympic and championship-level divers and swimmers in action.

Among the most striking is a 1933 photograph of Clarabel “Clare” Degener, University of Michigan senior and 1932 Olympic diving medalist, shown in “perfect form” mid-dive during an exhibition at Westchester Country Club, Rye, New York. The original caption and NEA reference stamp appear on verso. Another photograph, dated July 23, 1933, shows the start of the second heat in the 880-yard freestyle event during the Women's National Swimming Championships at Jones Beach, featuring swimmers launching into the water before a packed audience. A third image captures Helen Meany, famed Olympic diving champion, in mid-somersault at a Palm Beach facility—also with original press label and NEA date stamp (1930). One early photo dating around 1910 depicts a female swimmer proudly holding a trophy at the shoreline, signaling the emergence of women in competitive aquatic sports. Two additional studio portraits show swimmers at leisure: a duo seated lakeside in matching suits and caps, and a group of four people standing in the water at a pool, identified on verso as the family of international diplomats and military officers, including Inga Bryn of Norway and Barine Drake, daughter of Col. G.D. Drake.

Verso stamps and typed captions mostly intact and legible. Overall very good condition. A visually compelling testament to early women’s sports history, documenting the emergence of female champions in swimming and diving at both recreational and elite levels during a transformative period in gender and athletic culture.

Item #21889

Price: $225.00