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Lot Essay
The photographs in this lot form part of an essay originally intended for LIFE magazine but never published. The photographer, Peter Stackpole and the writer assigned to the story, William Saroyan (1908-1981), were both noted figures on the West Coast between the World Wars. Stackpole, a photojournalist, was a member of the acclaimed West Coast photographic association, Group f/64. Saroyan was renowned in the 1930s for his irreverent style and brash use of vernacular language in such works as The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934) and Inhale and Exhale (1936).
While recording the construction of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, Stackpole met and photographed Saroyan, beginning their long friendship. In the late 1940s they collaborated on an the project documenting life in Las Vegas casinos. The resulting, very powerful images were given to Saroyan by Stackpole at the time and have since remained in the family's possession. Whether or not Saroyan ever created a manuscript for the assignment is unclear.
Stackpole's obituary in the New York Times on May 14, 1997 suggests that these prints may now be unique. The article states that '...In 1991, a fire at his home in Oakland, Calif., destroyed most of his negatives. Friends said Mr. Stackpole had less than 20 minutes to save what he could and managed to salvage only the work...showing the building of San Francisco's great bridges.'
While recording the construction of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, Stackpole met and photographed Saroyan, beginning their long friendship. In the late 1940s they collaborated on an the project documenting life in Las Vegas casinos. The resulting, very powerful images were given to Saroyan by Stackpole at the time and have since remained in the family's possession. Whether or not Saroyan ever created a manuscript for the assignment is unclear.
Stackpole's obituary in the New York Times on May 14, 1997 suggests that these prints may now be unique. The article states that '...In 1991, a fire at his home in Oakland, Calif., destroyed most of his negatives. Friends said Mr. Stackpole had less than 20 minutes to save what he could and managed to salvage only the work...showing the building of San Francisco's great bridges.'