Dec 10 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2689 -
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Sale 2689 - Lot 216

Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
(PHOTOGRAPHY.) Interesting album of approximately 300 photographs compiled by a United States Navy man, including a suite of unknown images documenting the first Trans-Atlantic solo boat crossing by German Captain Franz Romer in an outfitted Klepper Kayak. Mostly 3½x5½ inches, some larger, some smaller, mounted to black album leaves with captions in white ink. Oblong 4to, 11x15½ inches, worn and mostly disbound, album mounts friable and edge-chipped, photos mainly good with a number detached from mounts and scattered damages. Np, circa 1920s-1930s
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Additional Details

Unidentified American sailor's photography collection of battleships, submarines, and aircraft both at ease and in action. Some images record weapons training, disastrous wrecks, and relief aid administered to islands in the Caribbean. Other images depict landscapes, celebratory parades, sport, and leisure portraits. 5 images show or relate to Charles Lindbergh (several of these are damaged).

One of the more interesting aspects of the album is the appearance of a suite of about 15 images recording an important but largely unheralded early navigator taken in St. Thomas. As the photographer, or at least the compiler, notes: "The German Captain that crossed the ocean in a canoe".

The amazing story of Captain Franz Romer, an ambitious German officer who had designs on becoming the first solo man to cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane, went to plan B after Charles Lindbergh beat him to that achievement in 1927. In early 1928, the undaunted 29-year-old Captain Romer departed Lisbon to embark on what would be a harrowing 58-day crossing of the Atlantic in his 21-foot Klepper kayak. On August 1st, Captain Romer arrived in St. Thomas where he spent the month recovering from sores, encrusted salt wounds, and muscle atrophy. He was feted by the people of St. Thomas, celebrated with a parade, and presented with a gold medal of merit for his achievement. In early September Captain Romer successfully navigated his way to Puerto Rico and after a brief stopover, departed San Juan on September 11th with the intention of proceeding to a hero's welcome and a great prize purse waiting for him in New York City. Regrettably, our hero paddled straight into one of the largest Caribbean hurricanes ever known and he, and his kayak, disappeared. Very few original images of the somewhat obscure Captain Romer survive, the present group having never been previously published.

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