A Day's Work, Part 2: A Sampler of Historic Maine Photographs, 1860-1920

by W H. Bunting

Overview

These extraordinary collections of photographs and narrative captions have wide appeal for anyone interested in Maine's past.

Bunting has a knack for spotting the unusual in a photograph, or some minor detail that, in fact, tells a major story about the how and why. From granite quarry operations to an itinerant cobbler in a sailing scow to hootchie-kootchie dancers at the state fair to deepwater ships, his page-long captions place these images in social and economic context—but this is not dry history. His research has uncovered a wealth of fascinating, often quirky detail (did you know that mummy wrappings were imported from Egypt for Maine papermaking?), and he makes frequent forays into the Maine storytelling tradition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884482062
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	07/01/2000
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.60(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

W. H. “BILL” Bunting is the author of a number of critically acclaimed works of history including Portrait of a Port: Boston 1852-1914; Steamers, Schooners, Cutters, and Sloops: The Marine Photographs of N. L. Stebbins; A Day's Work: A Sampler of Historic Maine Photographs, 1860-1920 (in two volumes); The Camera's Coast: Historic Images of Sea and Shore in New England; Live Yankees; and Maine on Glass: The Early Twentieth Century in Glass Plate Photography.  With Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., he wrote An Eye for the Coast: The Monhegan and Maritime Photographs of Eric Hudson and Maine on Glass: The Early Twentieth Century in Glass Plate Photography.

Bill Bunting shipped as galley boy aboard the brigantine Yankee at age 13 and later completed a 25,000-mile world voyage as first mate of a 132-foot barkentine.

Editorial Reviews

"Dozens of compelling photographs of Maine men and women at work, with Bunting’s cogent explanatory essays."

Yankee Magazine

"One has only to open it up to see its quality and scope."

Maine Sunday Telegram

It makes for fascinating reading and is a wonderful way to visualize and understand history....

Maine Antiques Digest

...an elegant collection of images and essays that engage and challenge the reader as no other work I'm aware of.

William David Barry

...starting at any place in the book, you find a refuge in his storytelling and in his obvious love of history.

Alex West

First he makes his readers curious; then he provides them with the tools to satisfy their curiosity.... He makes learning not only pleasurable but surprisingly durable.

Bill Mayher

First he makes his readers curious; then he provides them with the tools to satisfy their curiosity.... He makes learning not only pleasurable but surprisingly durable.
—WoodenBoat

Bill Bayher