Floral arrangements for caskets, a sample catalog of 18 macabre silver gelatin photographs
Oakland: Clyde Sunderland Studios, [ca. 1930].
"What is that?" That's the question the viewer is most likely to have upon encountering these early 20th century photos of odd shapes made of flowers.Their macabre quality is unmistakable, even if one doesn't know their context. An unusual oblong (11" x18") sample catalog of floral arrangements for caskets, which likely haunted the office of a funeral parlor director, who would take orders from the bereaved to place with a local florist. Consists of 18 original silver gelatin photographs taken some time around 1930 or so, all of which are mounted to stubs and backed with canvas, three post binding, black leather spine. One photo is hand colored. It appears no covers were ever present. Last photograph with some peeling at one corner, else a Very Good. Some curling and light wear. The first photograph stamped "George F. Ingram"; eight are stamped with Sunderland's imprint and the remainder are blank (although surely done by Sunderland as well). Clyde Sunderland (1900-1989) was a pioneering aerial photographer, operating out of Oakland, California beginning in the 1920s. He was commissioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt to write a textbook on aerial photography and to train naval photographers. He taught at Pensacola until the end of WWII. At this time he changed the name of his firm to "Sunderland Aerial Photographs" so this is an early example of his work-- more than a little up close and personal than his later body of work, too. Needless to say, trade catalogs for casket flowers are few and far between.
Price: $1,200