HenryM.BeachwasaprolificandaccomplishedupstateNewYorkphotographerwhodocumentedtheNorthCountryduringthefirstquarterofthetwentiethcentury.Althoughmuchlessknownandcelebrated,Beach’sworkisasimportanttothetwentieth-centuryAdirondacksasSenecaRayStoddard’sistothenineteenthcentury.Illustratedwithover250examplesofhisworkincludingtenpanoramicfoldouts,thisbookcoverstherangeofBeach’ssubjectmatter.RobertBogdan’slivelyandaccessibleapproachtothephotographer’sworkencouragesthereadertoexploretheNorthCountry’speopleandplacesthroughBeach’sphotographyandlife.AlthoughBeach’spostcardpicturesandotherphotographsweretakentosellinbulktohotelmanagers,touristshopowners,andotherretailmerchants,theyarenotjustmass-produced,stylized,prettypictures.Besidethebubblingbrooksandshadywoodlandpathsarefactoryboomtownsandpapermillsbelchingpollution.Astherailsbroughtincreasingnumbersofmiddle-classtouriststotheAdirondacks,thewealthycreatedtheirownexclusivewildernessplayground.Beachphotographeddandyvisitorsatplayaswellasmanuallaborerssweatingintheforest,loggingcamps,factories,mines,andconstructionsites.Imagesof“greatcamps“sitnexttomodestabodes,smallstores,andfamily-ownedresorts.Picturesoftrainsinscenicsurroundingsgivewaytomangledwrecksaftertragicrailroadaccidents.Inadditiontostandardviewcards,heproducedmontagesandadvertisementpostcardsseriousvisualcommentaryaswellaslightheartedpictureplay.Beach’sbestworksstirtheheartandprovoketheimagination,andhiswhimsical,down-to-earthapproachtophotographyproducedimagesthatareatreattotheeye.
