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The Camera’s Coast
W. H. Bunting
with an Introduction by John R. Stilgoe
Published by Historic New England
Distributed by Tilbury House
Available: October 2006
$29.95, deluxe paperback with flaps
ISBN-13 978-0-88448-287-1
ISBN-10 0-88448-287-1
144 pages, 8.25 x 11 inches
New England
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Antiqueman's Diary
The Camera’s Coast: Historic Images of Ship and Shore in New England
Catboat Era, The
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Confluence: Merrymeeting Bay
Continental Liar from the State of Maine: James G. Blaine
Day's Work, A (Vol. I)
Day's Work, A (Vol. II)
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- "This volume is a wonderful compilation of unique images that describe the complexities of the New England coast, how it has been perceived and documented, and the events and people that have shaped its history, regardless of their connections with photography or the coast. The strong photographs and appealing layout would leave anyone wanting to learn more."—Martina M. Duncan, International Journal of Maritime History
- "Bunting's book should satisfy anyone with a desire for well-reproduced glimpses of other times, when codfish cured outside houses in Provincetown and boys launched handsome replicas of sailboats in an estuary in Manchester, Mass. This is one trip down memory lane not to be missed."—Carl Little, Working Waterfront
- "It is a fascinating potpourri of just about everything that could have been seen along New England's coast. Imagine seeing countless hundreds of split codfish curing outdoors—and ships, from working tugs to Cunard liners that serviced Boston, battleships of the Great White Fleet era, and magnificent sailing vessels to ferry boats.... There is much to say about this unique book, one that will keep you turning pages."—Leonard Panaggio, Newport Daily
- "What an enchantment of tangible treasures this volume is, with photos, artifacts, landscape renditions, all kinds of minutiae telling of times and lives gone by.... It is such pure fun."—Hannah Merker, Maine Sunday Telegram
- "the beautifully preserved imagery, paired with Bunting's insightful vignettes, creates a mosaic of maritime life, encouraging both historians and casual readers to compare the New England coastline of today with that of yesterday." —Soundings
- "Bunting's book should satisfy anyone with a desire for well-reproduced glimpses of other times, when codfish cured outside houses in Provincetown and boys launched handsome replicas of sailboats in an estuary in Manchester, Mass. This is one trip down memory lane not to be missed." —Cart Little, Working Waterfront
"Cameras float coastward. Almost every old family photograph album contains snapshots of children and sand pails, teenagers frolicking in surf or rowing a rental skiff, young couples half blinded by love and half blinded by beach-reflected sun, mothers with infants shaded by makeshift tents, and old-timers ensconced in folding beach chairs, often shielded by umbrellas.... Now and then the rummager of attics and antique shops finds other photographs, usually made from ferries or other commercial craft passing parallel to industrial waterfronts, beneath drawbridges, beside shipyards, sweeping professional and holiday-making image-makers just a wee bit offshore. Sometimes the photographs lie mixed with memorabilia: the steamship ticket or schedule, vacation map, restaurant menu, advertising label or other ephemera that people picked up, brought home, and preserved as they did shells, rounded stones, and sea glass gleaned from beaches. Taken together, arranged and rearranged, juxtaposed and analyzed, they form a kaleidoscopic vision...." —From the Introduction by John R. Stilgoe
The Camera’s Coast: Historic Images of Ship and Shore in New England is a wonderful collection of historic photographs, paired with a rich assortment of ephemera—the subtle colors of an old postcard, the seductive details of an advertisement, a gay poster—engagingly captioned by W. H. Bunting. This page-by-page panorama of New England coastal activity from the late-nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries ranges from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from leisure and recreation to hard work. The imagery is mostly bygone but still strongly connected to our present-day landscape.The Camera’s Coast began several years ago as a traveling Historic New England exhibition of photographs with informative captions by guest curator Bunting, a maritime historian who brings old photographs to life with small stories—sometimes humorous, sometimes heroic, sometimes tragic, but always captivating. In this beautifully designed book, additional images from Historic New England's diverse collection of ephemera have been carefully selected by the editors to augment the photographs and to flesh out Bunting’s stories.
This book is the first in a Historic New England series that will feature its collections in new ways that will appeal to both the specialist and the casual reader. Historic New England is presented by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. For more information, visit www.HistoricNewEngland.org.W. H. Bunting is the author of Portrait of a Port: Boston 1852–1914 (Harvard University Press); Steamers, Schooners, Cutters, and Sloops (Houghton Mifflin); A Day’s Work: A Sampler of Historic Maine Photographs, 1860–1920 in two volumes (Tilbury House); Sea Struck (Tilbury House); and with Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., An Eye for the Coast: The Maritime and Monhegan Island Photographs of Eric Hudson (Tilbury House). He lives in Whitefield, Maine.
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