Trench Warfare

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Again, I don't know a lot about commercial printing processes, but I think these are rotogravures. (Click on rotogravure in the labels section for other examples.) I picked up a group of these years ago before the photo lab went under, and I made a few copy negs and then went ahead and made conventional black & white photos from them. The trench shot is captioned, "Taking a look at Jerry. Officers and men of the 18th Inf., 1st Div., in the front line, Ansauville sector, Jan. 20, 1918." The snow picture, "Meanwhile, in the states, training was going forward at top speed. Cold! We'll say it was cold. The day in January 1918, when this picture was taken on the Kishwaukee range, Camp Grant, it was fifteen degrees below zero. These are hardy "Blackhawks" of the 343d Inf., Colonel Charles R. Howland commanding. In training the men of the 172d Brigade to which col. Howland's regiment belonged, Brig. Gen. Charles H. Martin rigorously insisted upon the shooting and discipline demanded by General Pershing. He had the earnest co-operation of his regimental commanders, Col. Howland and Col. Benjamin T. Simmons, and the friends of the brigade claimed that there were no finer soldiers in the National Army than those of the 172d Brigade. The training program never took cognizance of weather conditions. Some surprisingly good scores were made the day this picture was taken. We remember that Major Charles Collette made a perfect score at 700 yards. J.C.R." Unlike in World War 2 when military censorship only applied to facts that could jeopardize on going operations, in World War 1, president Wilson controlled the press and only allowed coverage that was supportive of the war effort. These images seem to be part of a press release. Note that on the trench picture, it's identified as an official photo of the Signal Corps.

French Tanks

I know a lot about black & white printing processes, color printing, and color transparencies. This sort of thing, not so much. I think, and I encourage anyone who can either verify or contradict that opinion to do so, that this is a rotogravure. I'm also going on guess work as to the source of this image. Marked "U.S. OFFICIAL" and "SIGNAL CORPS U.S.A." on the front, it is my opinion that these are press release photos used to publicize the first world war. President Woodrow Wilson was so committed to a total war effort, that even the press was conscripted into the fight. Captioned "French tanks ("Chars d"Assault") moving to the support of French troops operating on the left of the 32d Div., Aug.29, 1918."

American Troops in Siberia

These images stretch the term found photograph a bit. As I've noted in the other posts in this series, I think that they are rotogravures and are from a World War 1 press release, though if there is anyone out there who can correct me, please leave a comment. I purchased all of these images with the intention of having copy negs made and then black & white prints. Never got around to it with these pictures of American involvement in Siberia, in support of the anti-Bolshevik forces. The picture of troops marching down a dirt road is labeled, "Thirty-first Infantry on a practice march near Vladivostok, December 3, 1918. This regiment, commanded by Colonel F.H. Sargent, is a regular regiment organization from Manila when it was decided to send United States troops to Siberia to aid in guarding military stores belonging to Russia and to render such aid as might be acceptable to the Russians in the organization of their own self-defense. Prior to this movement the Russian people were assured by the United States that the troops would not interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian people and that there would be no interference with the political sovereignty of Russia." The picture of the man with his hand in his jacket, "Twenty-four hours after this picture was taken these Bolshevist leaders were executed by the Czechs at Ekaterinburg. The girl was an official "Red" stenographer." The uniformed man, "Admiral Kolchak, head of the Russian provisional government opposing the Bolshevki in Siberia during 1918 and 1919." The wagon train on the dirt road, "American troops on march near Vladivostok, Dec. 3, 1918." And, the military parade, "Allied peace parade in Vladivostok, Nov. 15, 1918, to celebrate the Armistice of Nov.14. The leading troops are Americans of the 31st Inf." Note, that World War 1 ended before many of these photos were taken.

World War 1, The Meuse-Argonne Front

Again, I think the originals are rotogravures, though I'm not sure. The first two images include a standard photographic print I made from a copy negative. They are captioned, "Two miles an hour was the rate at which traffic moved through Esnes near the Meuse-Argonne front. The scene is typical of the congestion of vehicles back of the line." The guys getting inspected, "Shirt reading." The other photo of vehicles is captioned, "A traffic jam at Esnes." The guys getting water, "A drinking reservoir for American troops moving toward the front." The sleeping soldier, "A catnap in a gun emplacement."

World War 1, The Argonne

Again, I think these images are rotogravures. I have a pretty good background in conventional photography and can id anything from a daguerreotype to a modern digital print, but obsolete commercial printing ...a bit beyond me. The caption for the image with the shot up helmet, "How the Argonne was won. Like their Indian fighting ancestors the Americans fought from behind trees and bushes, digging a "fox hole" for cover whenever they paused. This photograph was taken by a Signal Corps operator during the advance of the 18th Inf., 1st Div., up the slopes of Hill 240, near Exermont, Oct. 11, 19198. These soldiers fought their way to the top in the face of heavy machine gun fire and drove the enemy from the position. The bullet-torn helmet in the foreground tells the story of a "buddy" who lies "over yonder." The men in the brush, "Hill 240, scene of desperate fighting." The guys with the machine gun, "Machine gunners, 1st Div., in action near Exermont. Oct. 4, 1918." The one with the tank, "Tank and supply wagon blown up north of Fleville." And the one with the wagons on the town street, "Artillery of the 1st Div. entering Fleville. Oct. 12." Not the signal corps. logos.

Yale Aviation

Another of the old rotogravures (I think) from World War 1. The caption, "General view of the Yale unit's aviation station at Huntington Beach, L.I. ) I would guess that the L.I. stands for Long Island, New York.

U.S.S. Wyoming, World War 1

As I noted in my post of 9/26/09, I have a number of these images from World War 1 that I think are rotogravures. Normally I wouldn't buy pictures cut out from a magazine or newspaper, but these intrigued me. Whatever printing process was used, the images are not screened. Take a close look at photos in newspapers and magazines, and you'll see tiny dots. Because of that, I knew that I could get some nice copy negs, and eventually make conventional black & white prints. I'm also interested, because in World War 1, Woodrow Wilson practically took over the media and turned America's newspaper and magazine into propaganda organs. Something that wasn't done in World War 2, or Vietnam. The first image shows both images as they appeared on the paper. The other two are separated, and a little bigger. The caption for the image on the left is, "Full steam ahead. View of the U. S. S. Wyoming." The right image is, "Coaling ship."

Getting 75's Ready, World War 1

I know quite a lot about photographic printing, but not a lot about commercial printing. Anyway, I bought a stack of these at one of those antique malls, and after some research, I think, but won't promise, that they are rotogravures. When I was working at the photo lab, I had copy negs made, and then printed black & white photos of some of them. The real question I have is, what was their purpose, and what were they from? With the official U.S. logo in the bottom right corner of the image, two things come to mind. 1.) Photos passed by a military censor. 2.) Images released by the government, and if you know anything about the way Woodrow Wilson practically took over the American press for the war effort, that's the more likely of the two explanations. Too, did they come from a magazine or from some sort of government, propaganda campaign? Over the next couple of months, I'll be publishing a lot more of these images. The caption, "Getting 75's ready to move into position. 313th F. A. supporting 80th Div. Near Nixville."