Cuba - USS Maine Photograph Album

Photograph album containing unattributed snapshot photographs taken in Havana Bay, the city of Havana, and the surrounding area around 1898.

The album consists of original snapshot photographs, the earliest batch taken from the prow of an unidentified ship, occasionally showing lone members of the crew at work, but chiefly focused on views from the vessel, of passing ships and the approaching skyline of Havana. Five images depict the approaching remains of the USS Maine peering out from the water at the approaching photographer, the final shot taken nearly atop of the wreckage. From there the photographs turn to views of Morro Castle, a 17th century fortress equipped with lighthouse, shown here flying the Stars and Stripes. At some point the photographer must have landed, as the following photographs depict the canons displayed at the fortress, as well as views from the city itself, including houses, state buildings, public squares, and a covered market. From the city the photographer ventured further into rural Cuba, with photographs of a farming family posing outside their wood-framed, grass-roofed home, a horse-drawn carriage and chickens spotted in the courtyard. Later photographs show palm-tree lines boulevards and stretches of rural fields before returning back to the harbor with one last shot of the Maine as the photographer recedes from the port.

[Adapted from the dealer's description]