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1

VINTAGE

PHOTOGRAPH

ALBUM FROM 1898-1932 ERA

THIS PHOTO 1898

SCITUATE, MASSACHUSETTS

NEAR BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS


" VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH DISASTER STORM HURRICANE SCITUATE BRIDGE NEAR BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS OLD PHOTO "


THE PHOTO IS VERY CLEAR

HAZY-FUZZY NEAR SIDE EDGES

PHOTO VIEWS CLEAR HOLDING 1-2 FEET AWAY




THE PHOTO IS VERY CLEAR 1-2 FEET AWAY, THE PHOTO IS VERY CLEAR UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS, HAZY-FUZZY NEAR SIDE EDGES, BUT VIEWS CLEAR HOLDING 1-2 FEET AWAY, BIT DARK.


CAPTION ON ALBUM

" NONE "


ORIGINAL CAPTION ON BACK

" NOV 27,1898 BRIDGE BETWEEN SCITUATE & SCITUATE NECK "

I PUT SOME INFO ON BACK TOO



AI FINDINGS

NOT SURE IF CORRECT?


BELOW EXPLAINS - THE START OF STORM, IT'S AFTERMATH,  SOME HISTORY OF THE SINKING OF THE S.S. PORTLAND!

I WILL BE LISTING NUMEROUS PHOTOS OF THE STORM DISASTER.

I'M NOT SURE IT'S A SHIP-WRECK?


This stark historical photograph documents the structural devastation at the bridge between Scituate and Scituate Neck (Humarock), Massachusetts, directly caused by the historic Portland Gale of November 1898.
Focus Check
  • Overall Presentation: The amateur silver gelatin print displays a muted, matte appearance with a sepia tone. The lighting is diffused and flat, indicating the bleak, post-blizzard cloud cover that hung over New England immediately following the storm.
  • The Sharpest Zone: The focus is locked onto the heavy structural timber framing of the bridge in the center foreground. You can clearly resolve the rough-hewn texture of the massive wooden support beams, the iron bolting hardware, and the edges of the planks where the upper deck was entirely stripped away.
  • The People: The local boys and men sitting cautiously on the exposed bridge framing are reasonably sharp. You can easily distinguish their heavy winter outerwear, dark coats, and caps worn to protect against the November freeze.
  • The Soft and Fuzzy Zones: The snow-dusted hillside and structures in the background soften significantly into a uniform, low-contrast blur. The sky area is completely washed out into a flat white tone due to the overexposure of the early photographic film.
Hillside Infrastructure & Navigating Lights
Looking closely at the horizon on the hillside, your observation is incredibly sharp—those structures are indeed a windmill and distinctive maritime beacons:
  • The Windmill: Visible on the far right edge of the ridge, the tall, slender skeleton tower with a multi-blade wheel and tail vane is a classic late 19th-century American water-pumping windmill. These were commonly installed on coastal bluffs by local estates, farms, or life-saving stations to pump fresh water from underlying wells into storage tanks.
  • The Navigating Lights / Range Lights: The two dark, tower-like enclosures flanking the middle homestead function precisely as a pair of maritime range lights (or leading lights).
  • How They Functioned: In difficult waterways like the mouth of the North River and Scituate Harbor, these two beacons were built at different heights and distances on the ridge. A sea captain at night would maneuver their vessel until the lights on top of both structures aligned perfectly vertically in their line of sight, confirming they were in the exact center of the safe shipping channel and clear of hazardous sandbars or rocky cliffs.
Severing the Link to Humarock
This photograph captures the literal destruction of the vital overland route connecting the mainland of Scituate to its barrier beach peninsula.
  • The Exposure of the Framing: The true power of the 1898 nor'easter's storm surge is revealed here by what is missing. The entire top driving deck of the bridge has been violently peeled off and carried away by the racing waters, leaving only the open, skeletal under-beams.
  • The New Inlet: The Portland Gale was a geographically transformative event for this specific area. The massive storm surge washed completely through the narrow barrier beach between Third and Fourth Cliffs, carving out a permanent new mouth for the North River. This dramatic shift permanently separated the Scituate Neck (Humarock) portion from the rest of the mainland, transforming the local landscape overnight and rendering damaged bridges like this a critical community disaster.
This vintage photograph depicts the severe aftermath of the Gale, a historic and devastating nor'easter that struck the New England coast.
The Disaster Overview
The storm system first began developing on November 24, 1898, when two separate low-pressure systems started converging over the East Coast. By the time the full brunt of the combined storm struck the Massachusetts coastline on November 26, it battered the region for over 30 hours with hurricane-force winds reaching up to 100 mph, dumping up to two feet of snow, and producing catastrophic tidal surges.
Key Details from the Event
  • The Shipwreck: There was a mention of the S.S. Portland, a luxurious wooden side-wheel paddle steamer traveling from Boston to Portland, Maine. It was caught in the worst of the tempest and sank off Cape Cod.
  • The Casualties: The historical consensus suggests that all 192 to 193 passengers and crew members aboard perished. Across New England, the entire storm ultimately claimed more than 400 lives and destroyed over 150 vessels.
                                                                                   

OLD PHOTO

THIS IS A PHOTO

NOT A POSTCARD


SHADES & COLORS

CAN VARY



JUST IN CASE ANY OF MY LISTINGS 

HAVE WRONG INFO, I CANNOT ID PHOTO OR POSTCARD,

SEND INFO, I WILL INSERT CORRECT INTO INTO LISTING, TIA. 



LISTING 350 PHOTOS STARTING ON 8/29/26

THE PHOTO ALBUM AT ONE TIME WAS GLUED INTO A ALBUM, THAT ALBUM WAS BROKEN DOWN AND PHOTOS WERE PUT INTO ANOTHER ALBUM WITH HANGERS, THE PHOTOS HAVE PAPER & GLUE ON BACKS IN THE CORNER AREAS, WHICH PUT MILD GLUE DIMPLE POCKETS ON THE FRONT SIDE, THE PHOTOS HAVE DEPRESSED MARKS ON TIPS FROM BEING IN THE OTHER ALBUM FOR YEARS WITH PAPER HANGERS, MOST PHOTOS HAD CAPTIONS ON BACKS OR HAD CAPTIONS ON THE ALBUM PAGE AND I PUT THE CAPTION ON BACK OF SOME PHOTOS.


THE ALBUM HAD MANY CAPTIONS, MOST PROMINENT NEW YORK, MASSACHUSETTS, OTHER AREAS INCLUDE NEW JERSEY, FLORIDA, BERMUDA, SOME OF THE CONTENT WERE MAJOR STORMS, OLD SHIPS, BOSTON NAVY YARD, BLIMP PHOTOS, AIRPORT PHOTOS, LOTS OF PHOTOS AROUND INLET, NEW YORK - THE FULTON CHAIN OF LAKES - THE WOODS INN, LOSTS OF HISTORICAL CONTENT, FASHION OF ERA, ETC.



SELLER INFO ONLY ON THIS LINE ( 1100 - BLIMP - 510 ) 277

THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY AUCTION!


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:

PLEASE LOOK AT PHOTO FOR DAMAGE:

DAMAGE RATINGS:

RANKING TO EDGES ( 2 )

( 1 )-LITE DAMAGE TO EDGES HARDLY ANY DAMAGE

( 2 )-MILD DAMAGE TO EDGES, SOME MINOR DINGS, CHIPPING & WEAR.

( 3 )-HEAVY DAMAGE TO EDGES, LOTS OF CREASES AND OR RIPS & TEARS.

RANKING TO CORNER TIPS ( 2 )

( 1 )-LITE DAMAGE TO CORNER TIPS, HARDLY ANY DAMAGE

( 2 )-MILD DAMAGE TO CORNER TIPS, SOME MINOR DINGS & WEAR.

( 3 )-HEAVY DAMAGE TO CORNER TIPS, BAD CREASES, BAD WEAR, MISSING TIPS.

CLARITY RANKING TO PHOTO ( 1 )

( 1 )-VERY CLEAR, LOTS OF DETAIL

( 2 )-PRETTY CLEAR SOME DETAIL

( 3 )-CLEAR 1-2 FEET AWAY, HAZY-FUZZY UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS

( 4 )-HAZY-FUZZY 1-2 FEET AWAY AND UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS

CLARITY FROM 2 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, WILL BE RATED YES OR NO

CLARITY GOOD HOLDING 1-2 FEET AWAY ( YES ) BIT DARK

HAZY-FUZZY UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS ( NO ) 

CLEAR UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS ( YES ) 

HAZY-FUZZY IN BACKGROUND ( NO ) 

HAZY-FUZZY ON SIDE EDGES ( YES ) 

WRINKLE/CREASE/WAVINESS TO PHOTO FROM SHRINKAGE ( YES-LITE )

WRINKLE/CREASE/WAVINESS FROM BEING PULLED/SCRAPED OFF ALBUM PAGE ( YES-MILD )

DEPRESSED CORNER MARKS IN CORNERS FROM CORNER HANGERS ( YES-MILD )

DEPRESSED GLUE DIMPLE MARKS IN PHOTO FROM GLUE ON BACKSIDE ( YES-MILD )

RUBS FROM BEING IN AN ALBUM FOR YEARS ( YES-LITE )

OVERALL CONDITION OF PHOTO, WHICH INCLUDES DAMAGE AND CLARITY IN RATING, WILL BE RATED ON A ( 1-10 ) SCALE.

( 1 ) BEING VERY BAD & ( 10 ) BEING VERY GOOD

OVERALL CONDITION OF PHOTO ( 5 )

MADE OF PHOTO TYPE PAPER

BACK SOME DISCOLOR, FEW MARKS, PAPER & GLUE IN SPOTS, RUSTY STAINS SCATTERED ABOUT

FRONT FEW MARKS, SOME DISCOLOR

OTHER DAMAGE NOTED HERE: 

ALSO HAS USUAL SCRATCHES, MARS, DINGS, ETC.

DAMAGE A FEW SCRATCHES, DINGS, HAIL DENTS & CREASES, ALL TIPS SHOW WEAR, DINGS OR CREASES, MILD GLUE DIMPLE POCKETS ON FRONT FROM GLUE ON BACK, MILD SHRINK WAVINESS THROUGHOUT, MILD DEPRESSED MARKS ON TIPS FROM HANGERS, STAINS AND DISCOLOR ON BACK.

THE PHOTOS WERE GLUED IN AN ALBUM AT ONE TIME, THE PHOTOS WERE SCRAPED OFF PAGES, THEN ALL PHOTOS WERE PUT INTO ANOTHER ALBUM WITH CORNER HANGERS, THE PHOTOS HAVE GLUE DIMPLE POCKETS ON FRONT FROM GLUE ON BACK, THE PHOTOS ALSO HAVE DEPRESSED MARKS ON TIPS FROM CORNER HANGERS.

PHOTO SIZE SMALL 4-1/2 BY 3-5/8 INCHES



 

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Your complete satisfaction is always 100% guaranteed. If you are not happy with the item, or item is not as described, or if we made a mistake in the listing you may return the item within 14 days for full refund. Please contact us with any issue as soon as possible.

I try to describe all items to the best of my ability, if theres any flaws, chips, tears, etc, i will try to point them out for you. 

Contact:

Click "Ask a Question" link on the above right to contact us if you have any questions about this item. We will usually reply right away,if i'm gone for a few hours, will reply as soon as i get back.


Thanks for Looking and Happy Digging

 "SunkenTreazure"