1929 Boston Public Garden Swan Boats Lagoon Black Swans Glass Negative OOAK 4x5 For Sale

1929 Boston Public Garden Swan Boats Lagoon Black Swans Glass Negative OOAK 4x5

Original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negative captured on April 27, 1929: an iconic, museum-grade documentary photograph celebrating one of Boston's most beloved traditions: a classic pedal-powered Swan Boat filled with passengers cruising across the Boston Public Garden lagoon, surrounded by swimming white swans, the famous black swan, and park rowboats.

Accompanied by its original vintage tan kraft newspaper darkroom filing sleeve and matching period handwritten archive slip:

• The Outer Envelope Inscription:

  "Swan Boats / Public Garden / 1929 / Black Swans"

• The Inner Paper Sleeve Inscription:

  "Boston Public Gardens / April 27, 1929 / Black Swans"

Historical & Visual Content:

First operated in 1877 by Robert Paget, the Boston Public Garden Swan Boats are a registered historical landmark and an enduring cultural symbol of the city. Operating continuously on the shallow lagoon designed by landscape architect George F. Meacham, the boats have introduced generations of Bostonians to the tranquil beauty of America's first public botanical garden.

Captured on opening weekend with razor-sharp detail and atmospheric charm by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photojournalist Leslie Jones:

• The Historic Swan Boat: A full complement of passengers—women in stylish 1920s cloche hats and trench coats, men in flat caps, and children—sit in tiered wooden bench rows across the catamaran pontoon. At the stern sits the iconic carved wooden white swan enclosing the operator pedaling the paddlewheel.

• The Waterfowl & "Black Swans": Gliding across the rippling water around the boat are the lagoon's famous waterfowl, including white mute swans and the Garden's celebrated black swan swimming near the center wake.

• Lagoon Watercraft: In the immediate foreground, two young men in suits and flat caps maneuver wooden rowboat No. 1, with another boat visible further along the tree-lined shore.

• The Boston Public Garden Setting: In the background, the curving stone shoreline of the lagoon is framed by the sprawling, bare early-spring canopies of century-old weeping willows and American elms, with park strollers along the gravel pathways and historic brownstones visible in the data-path-to-node="16">

• Format: Heavy antique silver gelatin 4x5 glass plate negative, exposed directly in a press camera on April 27, 1929.

• Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing sleeve and matching period handwritten paper sleeve.

Please Note: This listing is for the original antique glass plate negative, its period paper archive sleeve, and the inner protective paper insert 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, breaks, or fractures. The silver gelatin emulsion is exceptionally clean, sharp, and stable, capturing crisp reflections in the lagoon, delicate ripples, clothing textures, and tree branches. Displays only minor, authentic edge silvering and faint handling wear strictly along the extreme outer borders outside the primary image area. Accompanied by the original period kraft morgue filing sleeve and paper insert.

The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
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