An Idle Record of an Idle Summer

Ah, the joy to be savored in a relaxed, idle summer evening—ice-cold lemonade in hand, the condensation dripping off your glass, fireflies blinking in the humid dusk. In all the scheduling and running around we do, it seems there could be no greater plan for a summer day than to have no plan at all. We tend think of our hectic pace as a modern-world ill, but within the museum’s Photographic History Collection is an incredible album from 1909 that shows we actually have much more in common with the ailments and summer-time antidotes from a century-old Americana than we might otherwise assume.

Title page of An Idle Record of an Idle Summer.

Indeed, this leather-bound album, An Idle Record of an Idle Summer, documents a summer spent relaxing. Creating it, however, was no idle feat. Those who have put together a journal or album know the time and effort it takes to do so. An Idle Record is a lengthy, handwritten personal account of a vacation spent in and around Atlantic City, New Jersey, illustrated with 232 platinum photographs of various sizes that are pasted in the pages. The photographs often depict the exact scene the author describes in writing. A husband-and-wife team who coyly hid their identity and called themselves “The Culprits” created the album. The wife was the (often humorous and always intelligent) author while the husband functioned as the dedicated and talented amateur photographer. I use the word amateur here in the true meaning of the word. His prints show that he loved the medium and chose to develop and craft his own negatives and prints instead of sending them off to Kodak, which by then had whipped the world into a photographic frenzy with manufactured printing and developing. He uses platinum as a light-sensitive agent in his prints instead of the more commonly used silver.

“Twilight on the Meadows”

"A Study of Pipewort and Pussy-toes"

As I read through the album, transcribing it in hopes of publishing the story for easy access, I was delighted to find myself relating to many of the author’s century-old musings. A few of her grievances stood out as especially relevant to modern social issues. For example, in one passage “The Culprits” visit a country farmer. Their complaint is that his farm fresh eggs and butter are twice the city store prices, precisely the major issue people have today with eating local, organic food. Who knew this concern is more than a century old! The author nicknames the farmer “Three Days Gathering”. Apparently the farmer justified his prices by repeating, “Three days’ gathering, three days’ gathering”, meaning his bounty took three days to produce.

“A Crowded Beach in Atlantic City”

“Ice Cream on the Boardwalk”

“In the Surf”

The author also laments the loss of her favorite “flower-hunting” bogs and forests to the proliferation of the automobile and what she sees as the overdevelopment of “building lots” and “Land Improvement Associations”. Imagine what she would think of Atlantic City, its environs, and traffic today if she thought it was overdeveloped in 1909!

There are other light-hearted observations and pastimes “The Culprits” participate in that are still a part of our idle summers. They take in a Phillies vs St. Louis baseball game, stroll the boardwalk, eat a quickly melting ice cream cone, critique passersby, and constantly complain that the weatherman is always wrong. Even in our fast-paced world, some things never change.

Andrea Hackman is a project assistant in the Photographic History Collection at the National Museum of American History.

Comments

[Hugh Talman]

Andrea what a fine article, glad I could work with you. I still owe you a DVD, call me. Hope you are enjoying Court life.

[iddaa]

Awesome post, thanks for sharing those classic pictures with us

[Women Food & God]

I'm going to look for this Idle Summer to read by my fire this Winter. Just reading your first description of it, makes me wish it was summer all over. (It's December 7th in New England). Thanks for sharing.

[robert]

Quote:"Lovely photographs which takes us back to a different world almost. So much has changed just in my lifetime. It great that there are old photos like this to preserve ordinary life as it was then."

I totally agree with Mary. Being older can be scary sometimes...

[Charles]

I was amazed when I first saw the picture of a little boy who is standing on the Boardwalk eating a small size of ice cream. I remember when I was a little child, my mom & dad take me to a small bridge while we were eating ice creams on an ice cream cones.

[RIchard]

I love looking at old photos like this. I live in the UK, Blackpool, and we have so many old photographs of the town through the ages. Its great seeing how much things have changed, its a great relection on how society has changed in so many ways.

[Sally]

What struck me was the body language of the guy in the surf. The body language looks a century old, if that makes sense. Makes you wonder how he would look in modern clothes with the same body language.

[james]

These are some of the best photos I've seen of the boardwalk and the beach in atlantic city. It's a fantastic look back at a this part of the country. Thanks

PS funny stories too :)

[Wade Cockfield]

I grew up in the age of digital photography and considering the technology at that time, I can never imagine the intricacy a photographer goes through in order to capture these shots.

[Kirk Mastin]

I love the Twilight on the Meadows" photo. It's so cool that the duo who created this book were anonymous. I am a wedding photographer and my wife is a food writer. We too have worked this way on occasion but have never made a book like this. Yet :)

[Bulgaristanda Egitim]

During my short life, I am 51, I have seen vacation spots turn from 'real' places to visit, to places to 'buy' things.
To see things in 1909 now would be a real treat. I saw the Mt. Vernon gift store go from a nice homey house, to another building, then to a temporary building, then to a place to eat combined with a HUGE, very UN-homey gift store. It's all about money. Some changes are good, some are not.

[kreeratiyarot]

This is especially a cool look at history because of the new series that's out on HBO now based on the time of prohibition in Atlantic City. Thanks for this post:)

[tribulus]

Amateur or not, the husband photographer was good! My father was born in 1909. According to this post, Kodak "by then had whipped the world into a photographic frenzy with manufactured printing and developing." I had no idea Kodak was even around then. Somehow, I had imagined that that business probably burgeoned in the '20's. Another good reason to stay tuned into this blog--you learn something new every day!

[Mark Walters]

it's not only the "lazy summer afternoon" effect, it's also being under the darkcloth of a large-format camera that makes this the "ultimate" lazy project.

with platinum, you need to contact-print, and for that you need a large-format camera, which is the exact opposite of today's snap-'n-shoot (and then forget on harddisk) culture.

for me, there is nothing more relaxing than spending a few hours just setting up the camera and exploring a scene -- and I can see how they did that too

Mark

[Jared]

I'm always interested to learn about first edition books and manuscripts. Can you post more information about any other first edition's you have?

[Thom Noble]

@ Mrs. Mobunny that is crazy i have not had the privilege to see any thing change in that magnitude yet, im going on my 6 year after high school and i can tell that things are changing like friends i thought i would be closes with are no where to be found and friend i never hung out with back then i talk to all the time.

[Kent]

Photography is a passion for me and I especially like looking at old photos, great blog and thanks allot for sharing

[Los Angeles]

Thanks for scanning those old pics out of the book. Any chance of getting a few more of them?

[Kursus]

Hi
I like this picture "Twilight on the Meadows", there's a story behind the picture, and I think this picture was taken with patience. :)

[Tina O'Brien]

You write very descriptive and well thought out articles. I really like your style of writing. I also enjoyed reading this book. The photos were amazing to look at as well.

[Ken]

I love to see the old photographs & as I started to read your post I got carried away as if in a great book. I would love to read this journal. 1909 is way before my time so I enjoy the history & the differences as well as similarities to today.

Ken.

[Casey]

Atlantic City...once such a fun and beautiful place to visit as a child from NY. Brings back many memories of family vacations.

Sadly time has drastically changed that area.

Thanks for the review/post.

[Mary Post]

Lovely photographs which takes us back to a different world almost. So much has changed just in my lifetime. It great that there are old photos like this to preserve ordinary life as it was then.

[Lisa Angelettie]

I love that "crowded beach at Atlantic City photo", especially the woman with the parasol. I vacationed at Atlantic City with my parents in the '70s and it holds fond memories for me.

This is especially a cool look at history because of the new series that's out on HBO now based on the time of prohibition in Atlantic City. Thanks for this post:)

Lovely post...and so appropriate for the waning days of summer. I'm going to try to pack my few days of respite full of idle time, which is ultimate modern paradox, isn't it?