Series II: Photograph Album

This collection consists of two large framed panoramic photographs and an album of 148 snapshots, all depicting the encampment of Pennsylvania’s infantry and cavalry regiments at Camp Stewart, El Paso, Texas, in 1916. The panoramic views show primarily the expanse of tents with wagons, pieces of heavy equipment, and a few soldiers in the foreground and the Franklin Mountains in the background. The snapshots appear to be a soldier’s record of experience during the 1916-1917 Mexican Border Campaign led by General John J. Pershing. The album begins with scenes that suggest the sending off of the troops, including a picture of perhaps the maker of the album with his family. There are scenes of formal inspection, drills, soldiers marching in the desert landscape, and others making their way through the chow line. A few pictures give an idea of camp life in “off hours”: for instance, in one, soldiers are encircling a boxing match, and in another, two individuals are having Mohawk haircuts admired. Shots taken for their travel interest include rugged mountain landscapes, streets with local inhabitants in an unidentified Mexican town, and the international bridge connecting El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. The photographs also show supplies arriving by both truck and train and soldiers watering their horses at river’s edge. Two photographs apparently taken for the dress of the subjects depict a chaps-wearing cowboy and a well-dressed vaquero. Also included are pictures of the capitol in Washington, D.C., and well-dressed women in a distinctive-looking automobile.