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BRYAN, WILLIAM S., ed. OUR ISLANDS AND THEIR PEOPLE; As Seen With Camera and Pencil. St. Louis, New York, Chicago and Atlanta: N. D. Thompson Publishing Co., (c. 1899).
Two volumes. Original dark green cloth, lettered in gilt within blind-stamped rules. All edges marbled. [1]-384 pages; [2]-784 pages. Twenty-eight full page color plates and maps, most with guards, hundreds of other photographic plates and illustrations in the text some wear to extremities, gilt on spines little faded and both volumes have weak hinges, other than that there're small and insignificant scuffs on the hardcovers, both Volumes in fair condition. FIRST EDITION. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris that formally ended the Spanish-American War on December 10, 1898, "Spain renounced all claim to Cuba, ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States for $20,000,000" (Encyclopedia Britannica). Following the cessation of hostilities, interest in these new island possessions remained high in the United States. Contemporaneously, but independent of the Spanish-American War, the then Republic of Hawaii agreed to be annexed as a territory to the United States. Our Islands and Their People was a lavish production which appealed to the popular interest in these exotic islands by comprehensively documenting life in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippines at the end of the 19th century - particularly by its profusion of vivid color plates and other photographic illustrations. "To this end noted artists, especially qualified and skilled in outdoor photography, were employed to traverse these Islands, under contract to photograph everything therein, with a view to literally transferring our Islands and their People to the printed page" (Publisher's Preface). The text is by the noted author and war correspondent José de Olivares, with an Introduction by Major General Joseph Wheeler of the United States Army. |
