Edward Weston

mounted, inscribed with a copyright symbol by the photographer in pencil on the mount, titled, numbered 'W41 P265,' and inscribed with the Limited Editions Club copyright by him and numbered in unidentified hands in pencil and with a typed label, quoting Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, on the reverse, matted, 1941 

The photographer to his sister, Mary Weston Seaman

By descent to her daughter, Jeannette Seaman

By descent to her nephew, John W. Longstreth

The Dayton Art Institute, Edward Weston's Gifts to His Sister, January - March 1978, and traveling to:

New York, International Center of Photography, July - September 1978; and

The Oakland Museum, February - March 1979

This print:

Kathy Kelsey Foley, Edward Weston's Gifts to His Sister (The Dayton Art Institute, 1978, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 55

Another print of this image:

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, with illustrations by Edward Weston, the Paddington Press reprint of the 1942 Limited Editions Club edition (New York, 1970), facing p. 147

This photograph, on slightly cool, semi-matte paper, is in generally excellent condition. In raking light, faint silvering in the darkest areas of the print is visible. There are a few miniscule chips along the bottom edge of the print, and a slightly larger chip at the top edge. This is visible in the catalogue illustration. The photograph is on a heavy-weight, cream-colored mount that has darkened with age. On the reverse, along one vertical edge, there are the remains of paper and adhesive, likely from a sheet of paper overlay that was at one time attached. There is also a paper remnant along the bottom edge, on the reverse, where a caption may have been attached. Portions of two old linen hinges on the reverse cover part of the typed label.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The label reads:

'DRUM-TAPS:

'Give me the Splendid Silent Sun:

'#2) "...the crowded excursion for me!"...............W 41'

In September 1941, Weston and Charis Wilson arrived in Nashville, Tennessee.  A postcard from Weston to his sister described their new location: 'Have worked quite a lot here! People, and the lovely valleys, and a river-boat...' (quoted in Edward Weston's Gifts to his Sister, p. 55).  The riverboat he mentions, the Idlewild, can be seen in the photograph offered here.  Looking over the Cumberland River, Weston has captured the Idlewild, smoke billowing, on one of its many passenger excursions from Louisville, Kentucky.  A few years later, the steamer would be put to use in the war effort, first by pushing oil barges along the river, then later as a traveling USO for the many soldiers stationed along the Mississippi.

This image was included in the Leaves of Grass volume.  At the time of this writing, no other print of this image has been located.