Mrs. Dawson's Wartime Memories

[WWGeezer]

I received a copy of Collier's "Photographic History of the European War" as a gift. The book was over 100 years old but in a very bad shape, the cover was falling off and the pages were rotting out on the inside.

It also was signed by the original owner, a Mrs. Otto Dawson from San Francisco, California. It was dated by her as June 1917, shortly after the US declared war on Germany. Over the years she had dutifully attempted to salvage the rotting pages by holding them together with tape.

Every historical artifact has a story to tell and this one, with Mrs. Dawson's help, had themes about history, preservation, memory and loss. I decided to try and preserve the book digitally by creating this single image, using the cover, actual scans of the holes in the book, and selected images I found most impactful.

Salute
Geezer