A Day's Work: A Sampler of Historic Maine Photographs 1860-1920, Part I [Paperback]

W. H. Bunting (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

These extraordinary collections of photographs and narrative captions have wide appeal to anyone interested in Maine's past. Spend an afternoon with either volume of A Day's Work, and you'll make discoveries that will change how you look at Maine's passing scene. 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 cootchie 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a true labor of love, carefully selected, intensively researched, and beautifully written. One has only to open it up to see its quality and scope." --William David Barry, Maine Sunday Telegram

"...dozens of compelling photographs of Maine men and women at work, with Bunting's cogent explanatory essays." --Yankee Magazine

"The author treats each photograph as a time capsule, a window, and an opportunity to see what was happening.... He enjoys discovering secrets that lurk before our eyes in the corners of photographs, and interpreting them with traditional archival and oral historical research." --Rob Napier, Nautical Research Journal

About the Author

W. H. Bunting is also the author of Portrait of a Port: Boston 1852-1914 and Steamers, Schooners, Cutters, and Sloops, and coauthor (with Earle, G. Shettleworth, Jr.) of An Eye for the Coast: The Maritime and Monhegan Island Photographs of Eric Hudson.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers; Paperback edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0884481891
• ISBN-13: 978-0884481898
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,303,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finest Comprehensive Book About Maine's Past, December 15, 2003

By 

Charles Brand (San Francisco & Patten) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Day's Work : A Sampler of Historic Maine Photographs, 1860-1920, Part II (Hardcover)

My only objection to this book is that it's a tease waiting for the third book. Sometimes I wish it were more integrated topically, or at least that the index were more expansive. But few would want to miss any page. Each reads by itself, with valuable insight (and entertainment). The printing, layout, author's style, comprehensive research, and especially the photographs are all wonderful. In a way, the non-topical approach is exciting too: the penultimate in "coffee table" books. One never grows tired of it, rarely if ever skips a section, looks forward to the next session, and cherishes it as much as the spectacular first volume.

NO author of Maine historical and cultural subjects writes better, or has done more comprehensive research. I would certainly include it in the parcel I would assemble for exile to Boon Island.

I pray for the author's health, happiness, and continued productivity. He is the best of Maine writers and scholars, and sets the best example and model for the generally motley group of Maine "writers", especially the very narrowly-scoped academicians who slavishly follow fixed models of interpretation and presentation. I'm sure Fanny Hardy Ecstorm, Elizabeth Ring and James Baxter (god bless their beautiful souls) are smiling at this wonderful, wonderful writer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Each of the 225 black-and-white photos is accompanied by a narrative caption that are as entertaining as they are informative., June 8, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Day's Work: A Sampler of Historic Maine Photographs 1860-1920, Part I (Paperback)

"A Day's Work: A Sampler Of Historic Maine Photographs, 1860-1920: Part 1" is compiled with annotations by Maine historian, author, cattleman, and businessman W. H. Bunting who labored for almost 30 years assembling his collection of historic photographic images of the people, buildings, activities and landscapes that comprise Maine's history, commerce, and communities. Each of the 225 black-and-white photos is accompanied by a narrative caption that are as entertaining as they are informative. From a lumber batteau working on a log jam, to an eccentric cobbler traveling from island to island by sailing scow, to trains wrecks, hootchie-cootchie dancers, coastwise cargo schooners, and so much more, readers are treated to unique perspectives captured by a camera's lens and documented life and work in the state of Maine during a sixty year span that begins in 1860 and ends in 1920. Also available in a hardcover edition, "A Day's Work" is especially recommended for academic library Regional History reference collections in general, and Maine's community library State History collections in particular.