WOMEN SWIMMERS 1919-1980s POOL POLITICS OLYMPIC WOMEN PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS

Item #1220

There are 390 photographs across six three-ring binders. Most of the photos are Press Photographs, and all are to do with women (with occasionally men) and water. The images compiled here were mostly made in the United States and Great Britain. Photographs feature Olympic swimmers, divers, synchronized swimmers, American Red Cross Safety Service Demonstrations, YWCA swimming pools, teen girls training to swim across the English Channel, as well as photos documenting protest movements toward desegregating swimming pools,

The earliest photograph in this broad collection is from 1919. The image is of two women at the YWCA giving a demonstration of arm movement and breathing coordination while swimming.

There are photographs of Olympic women’s swimming and diving champions, the AAU Junior Olympics, girls and women training to swim the English Channel, Red Cross providing rescue trainings, and representations of racial tensions at public pools in the south of the United States. Other photographs included reference to young children’s swimming lessons; while a handful showcase water sports, boating, and recreation. Only a few photographs are of fashion swimwear ads.

Notable female swimmers photographed here, include: Jackie La Vine, Zoe Ann Olsen, Sylvia Ruuska, Christine Caron, Tracy Caulkins, Eleanor Garatti, Helen Madison, Helen Meaney, Jean Cocks, Shirley Mae, Linda Ludgrove, Ann Curtis, Karen Muir, Eleanor Holm Jarrett, et al. Lillian Garrick, 18, is seen here greased and ready to swim the 44 miles around Manhattan Island, 1929.

The photographs were made between 1919- mid1980s, with most from around the 1940s/50s. All are commercial photographs with well-documented notes on verso. Stamps indicate the entities responsible, such as: Central Press Association, The Associated Press, NEA, ACME News Pictures, Keystone Press, and Cleveland Press, etc. The majority of photos are marked with NEA Ref. Dept. stamp. On verso of certain images are handwritten notes, typeset blurbs, ink stamps, and newspaper clippings. On the recto of few images are crop marks. Each image is contained in a plastic sheet within a three ring binder. Most of the photos are in very good condition, with a occasional crease, tear or cut.

Price: $2,000.00