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Estimate: $ 1,200 - $ 1,800
(FLORIDA.) Album of cyanotype views of Apalachicola's Ruge family and beyond. Approximately 224 photographs, 174 of them cyanotypes, various sizes up to 4½ x 6 inches, mounted or tipped to 50 album leaves, with negative numbers 118 to 352 penciled in margins, a few with pencil captions on mount or verso. 4to album, 11½ x 8½ inches, lacking wrappers; moderate wear, numerous photos removed (often with a note on who they were sent to, or marked "NG" for "no good"). Apalachicola, FL and elsewhere, circa 1895-1896
Many or most of these images show Apalachicola, a small city on the Florida Panhandle's Gulf Coast. The section through photo 224 has a concluding note: "End of Southern Trip, April 1895." That is followed by "Beginning of Southern Trip, Commenced Feb 26 1896, Returned Apr 3 1896."
They may have been taken by a vacationing family member or friend of John G. Ruge (1854-1931), who made a fortune in oyster canning and was one of the city's wealthiest citizens. Several of them depict the Ruge house in Apalachicola (for example, number 197). Several apparently show Ruge: with workers amid a yard filled with dried sponges (209), and with family (151, 340-341). The Whiteside house in Apalachicola is also shown (236, 237). The city's Cypress Lumber Company mill is shown as image 123. 203 appears to show a very casual baseball game in progress.
Several of the photographs are semi-formal portraits of household servants (such as 148, 149, and 193-195). Many of the street scenes and factory views also show African-Americans (for example, 126, 127, 154, 225-227, 239-240, 301, and 325-328). An African-American busker at a railroad station is shown playing guitar and harmonica (270).
Many of the images in the 1896 second portion of the album extend beyond Apalachicola, although one is captioned "Yard, Apalach." (248A). Images 249E to 252D show a Henry Flagler mansion and a large beachside hotel, likely taken elsewhere in Florida. Some show a trip to Charleston, SC, with photos of Mount Pleasant and a ferry to Sullivan's Island (301-308).
