1916 WWI Harvard Students ROTC Preparedness Color Guard Glass Negative OOAK For Sale

1916 WWI Harvard Students ROTC Preparedness Color Guard Glass Negative OOAK

Original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negative captured in May 1916: a remarkable World War I home-front military and collegiate documentary photograph: the Harvard Regiment / ROTC Color Guard standing at attention with the American flag and regimental standard during the 1916 Preparedness Movement rallies prior to U.S. entry into WWI.

Accompanied by its original period pale blue archival filing sleeve with contemporary period label and historical watermark:

• The Sleeve Label Inscription:

  Harvard Students believe in Preparedness — May - 1916

• The Paper Sleeve Watermark:

  CRANE'S DISTAFF LINEN 1913 (visible under transmitted light)

Historical & Photographic Analysis:

In the spring of 1916, with the battlefields of Europe engulfed in trench warfare and tensions escalating across the Atlantic, former President Theodore Roosevelt and military leaders championed the "Preparedness Movement" to drill citizen soldiers. At Harvard University, students and faculty organized the legendary Harvard Regiment under the guidance of French military advisors and U.S. Army officers, drilling over a thousand undergraduate volunteers on the fields of Cambridge and Soldiers Field.

Captured on location with pinpoint focus and natural lighting by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photojournalist Leslie Jones:

• The Color Guard & Uniforms: Six student soldiers stand shoulder-to-shoulder in complete pre-WWI regulation field uniform: olive drab wool four-pocket service tunics, felt campaign hats with distinct Montana peak creases, woven canvas web cartridge belts, trousers tucked into laced canvas gaiters and leather boots, and military rifles held at the order.

• The Flags & Regimental Standards: Flanked by color bearers holding the 48-star United States national colors and the official silk regimental banner mounted on spear-tipped timber flagstaffs.

• The Field Drill in Background: In the deep background, framed by mature elm trees and Cambridge architecture, extensive ranks of the student battalion are visible drilling in formation across the athletic grounds.

Specifications:

• Format: Heavy antique silver gelatin 4x5 glass plate negative, exposed directly in a press camera in May 1916.

• Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage pale blue paper darkroom morgue filing sleeve with period label and 1913 Crane's Distaff Linen watermark.

Please Note: This listing is for the original antique glass plate negative and its period paper archive sleeve only. Any positive photographic images shown in this listing are modern inverted digital scans provided solely as a visual representation to show what finished photographs print like. No physical paper photograph, modern print, or paper product of any kind is included with this purchase.

Condition:

Very Good to Excellent antique condition. Heavy glass plate is structurally sound with no cracks, fractures, or perimeter glass breaks. The silver gelatin emulsion is clean, crisp, and stable throughout, capturing outstanding detail in the canvas uniform weaves, flag folds, bayonets, and facial likenesses of the young soldiers. Displays only minor authentic edge silvering strictly along the extreme outer borders outside the primary image area. Accompanied by the original period watermarked filing sleeve.

The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
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