Collections

The John D. Bagley photograph albums consist of three photograph albums created by John DuCharme Bagley IV of the Bagley family of Detroit, Michigan.

The John D. Bagley photograph albums consist of three photograph albums belonging to John DuCharme Bagley IV of the Bagley family of Detroit, Michigan.

The photograph albums document the life of John DuCharme Bagley IV over a period of twenty years or so. Bagley IV was clearly an enthusiastic amateur photographer who enjoyed documenting his family and friends. The photos in all three albums are snapshot-sized and mostly taken outdoors. While the earliest album (Volume I) is extensively captioned, the other two are not.

Volume 1:

The first volume (14 x 30 cm) includes images taken between 1903 and 1905, including numerous photographs taken during a Bagley family trip to Europe. Bagley IV was a teenager at the time. Identified family members documented in this album include his older sister Frances, younger brother Phil, parents John N. and Esther, and an “Aunt Frankie” who was likely Esther’s sister. This trip appears to have lasted several months, perhaps the better part of an entire year. Locations visited included the German Alps, Naples, Rome, Pompeii, Lake Lucerne, Amsterdam, and London. The family’s return to New York by steamship is also represented. The remainder of this album documents experiences on Woodcote Farm in Ionia, Michigan, as well as family life in Detroit and outdoor summer activities at Long Lake in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.

Volume 2:

The second volume (20.5 x 30.5 cm) contains material compiled during World War I and afterwards. Views of the U.S. Naval Academy and of Washington D.C. are included, and Bagley IV is shown in many images wearing a naval uniform. Several warships (including what appears to be the USS Pennsylvania, commissioned in 1916) are pictured from afar throughout the album. One series of snapshots shows an Armistice celebration taking place at an unidentified location. Several pages showcase scenic views taken during a train journey through an unidentified mountainous region. The bulk of the remaining pictures in this album consist of portraits of family and friends posing informally in urban, domestic, and rural settings. Bagley IV appears regularly, usually in a business suit, and in a couple of cases he can be seen standing next to a Bagley & Co. company vehicle. Also present is a large loose photo that shows John J. Bagley’s birthplace in Medina, New York, which was photographed in 1895.

Volume 3:

The third volume (20.5 x 30.5 cm) contains numerous photographs taken during visits to New Mexico and Colorado in 1908 as well as Oregon in 1909. Images in the New Mexico section highlight operations and personnel of the Maxwell Irrigated Land Company. Bagley IV’s younger brother Phil may have been involved with this company. While it is not entirely clear which photos were taken in Colorado, numerous images of logging operations and logging camps were most likely taken in Oregon. Also present are personal photos showing Bagley IV and his wife Mary visiting forests and beaches. The final section of the album includes photos of Bagley IV in a navy uniform and views of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.

The Paul A. Meunier photograph albums consist of three large volumes documenting the experiences of the U.S. Army 941st Engineering Aviation Topographical Battalion during World War II including basic training in the United States in 1942, assignments in Tunisia and Italy, and the journey home via the Pacific following the conclusion of the war.

The Paul A. Meunier photograph albums consist of three large volumes documenting the experiences of the U.S. Army 941st Engineering Aviation Topographical Battalion during World War II including basic training in the United States in 1942, assignments in Tunisia and Italy, and the journey home via the Pacific following the conclusion of the war.

All three albums in the collection are 46 x 57 cm in size and have black covers and black paper pages. Each album contains approximately 1,000 photographs. Being a professional artist, Meunier’s attention to detail and exactness is evidenced by the presence of faint framing lines an inch from page margins, with photos carefully arranged within the frames. Numerous captions are present in white ink and neatly printed in appropriate size. Since the three albums present in this collection are titled “Volume 3,” “Volume 4,” and “Volume 5,” it is presumed that Meunier likely produced at least five albums total. Both official photographs as well as personal snapshots taken by Meunier himself are included.

Album A ("Volume 3"): This album documents Meunier’s military service starting from June 1942 when he departed Cleveland for basic training, initial U.S. deployments, his assignment to Tunisia, and his unit’s journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy in December 1943. Many snapshot views of street scenes in Tunis and other places in North African Meunier explored while on leave as well as copies of official U.S. Army photographs recording visits to Tunis in 1943 by high-ranking U.S. officials (including Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Generals Eisenhower and Spaatz) are present.

Album B ("Volume 4"): This album documents the transfer of Meunier’s unit to San Severo, Italy. Images of particular interest show the unit working on the production of large-scale lithographically produced bird’s-eye view maps with designated bombing targets charted out. Visits while on leave to Naples, Capri, and Amalfi are also thoroughly represented. Also present is a hand-drawn map of the streets of San Severo and an annotated aerial view of Capri.

Album C ("Volume 5"): This album includes official photos of airborne fighter planes and bombers, aerial views of target sites, and artwork by a fellow soldier. Meunier’s snapshots show soldiers at work as well as on tourist visits to famous Italian sites such as Rome, Florence, Pisa, and Pompeii. Although materials are not arranged in strict chronological order, this volume covers a period of time from when Meunier’s company was headquartered in Bari in mid-1944 to his journey home by ship through the Panama Canal in mid-1945. Also present are a handful of views of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 1944.

The Vera and Gene Foreman photograph albums consist of four volumes containing approximately 917 photographs and miscellaneous ephemera that document the experiences of Vera Irene Masuch and her husband-to-be Charles Eugene “Gene” Foreman in post-World War II Europe both before and after they first met as well as earlier trips taken by Vera and friends to various places in the United States.

Volume 1 (1942-1943)

This album (25.5 x 33 cm) has brown faux-leather covers and contains approximately 159 photographs as well as some postcards. Images include numerous snapshots of young men and women (including Vera) on a ranch in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado; coverage of visits to Pike's Peak, Denver as well as an unidentified tropical location; and photographs showing young men in military uniforms.

Volume 2 (1949)

This album (32 x 38 cm) has decorative dark blue faux-leather covers and white plastic ring binding and contains 50 photographs as well as some ephemera. Only five pages near the front of the album and two pages towards the back contain any photographs, most of which show American GIs (including Gene) in training camp settings primarily near the town of Friedburg, Germany, and engaging in social activities. Some but not all images have captions. Also present towards the back of the album are several loose images including real photo postcards showing travel scenes to European locations such as Paris, Naples, Rome, and Venice as well as a group portrait of a football team, a program dated December 2 1950 for a USAREUR football game between the 2nd RCT "Dragoons" and 16th Infantry Regiment "Rangers," and a souvenir from the Casa Blanca cocktail bar in Newark, New Jersey bearing Gene Foreman's signature.

Volume 3 (1949-1950)

This album (32 x 38 cm) has decorative black faux-leather covers and white plastic ring binding and contains approximately 580 photographs as well as some ephemera. Images include photographs (including football games) from the U.S. military base near Augsburg from 1949 to 1950; recreational visits to Augsburg, Berchtesgaden (including the Eagle's Nest), Garmisch, Bonn, Heidelberg, and Frankfurt am Main in Germany, Salzburg and Vienna in Austria, and locations in the Netherlands, France, and Italy; wounded American soldiers encountered during a visit to a hospital in Munich; and 24 views of the former concentration camp in Dachau. Other images of note include photographs of a wedding between Vera's friends Mary and John and sporadic images unrelated to post-war Europe that were taken during past vacations including trips to Colorado, Utah, and El Paso, Texas.

Volume 4 (1950-1951)

This album (34.5 x 28 cm) has red leather covers and red satin lining and contains approximately 125 photographs as well as some ephemera. The first page bears the inscription "Merry Christmas! Gene, 1951, Augsburg, Germany" as well as a photograph of Vera and Gene seated together at a table. Images include numerous snapshots of friends and soldiers engaged in social activities taken on the Augsburg military base as well as photographs (including real photo postcards) taken in other European locations such as Venice, Pisa, Florence, Cannes, Amiens, and Paris. Numerous individuals are identified through captions. Also present is a tissue with lipstick kisses and a tuft of blonde hair, while several photographs and ephemeral items are stored loose towards the back of the album.

The individual captioned as "me" in a number of photographs in Volume 3 appears to be Vera. She also appears regularly in the pictures of Volume 1 (also identified as "me" in captions) as well as Volume 4, but does not appear at all in Volume 2. Gene appears for the first time outside of Volume 2 in the final few pages of Volume 3, where he is initially introduced in a portrait with the caption "Gene Forman - Eibsee Hotel, June 1950"; this portrait is followed by a full page of photos of Gene. Given that Volume 2 seems to portray Gene's time in Friedburg and most of Volume 3 seems to represent Vera's personal experiences in Augsburg and traveling elsewhere in Europe, it appears that they may have been unacquainted prior to June 1950. By October 1950 the two appear to be acting as a couple, as documented in a travel bureau itinerary present at the end of Volume 3 that details a four-day program in Naples for "Miss Masuch and Mr. Forman." The couple also appears together in Volume 4, though in this instance the "me" captions refer to Gene and not Vera, suggesting that he was the primary creator of that album.