Most
of my World War One material is either by H. D. Girdwood, an English company,
who sold their views under the trade name 'Realistic Travels' and concentrated
on the British troops and UK market, or Keystone which concentrated on
US troops, the U.S. market, and entered the war with the U.S. in 1917.
Due to the high gloss and exaggerated curve, the Keystone views do not
scan very well. They will therefore almost all be of far higher quality
than they appear on the screen. The Keystone views all have a full text
description on the back - the Realistic Travels views do not.
Please
click here for a high quality
scan which gives a true indication of the quality.
Girdwood's
views have more immediacy and action. They were issued in sets of
between 50 and 500 views so the numbering sequence is pretty muddled. Customers
could also pick out the views they required and so a box or collection
may have non-sequential numbering. They come on Underwood-type mounts
or on lighter mounts with curved or beveled edges. These are interchangeable
and most views appear on both types of mount.
The first views are professional quality although not commercially produced. They may therefore be unique. They depict the damage inflicted by the Germans on the towns of Senlis and Creil in northern France.
'2554.
Senlis. Interieure de la Gare'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12726.
Price
$18.
'2555.
Senlis. Maison en ruine'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12727.
Price
$18.
'2557.
Senlis. La rue Bellon'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12728.
Price
$18.
'2560.
Senlis. L'Hotel du Nord'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12729.
Price
$18.
'2566.
Senlis. Ruines d'une maison'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12730.
Price
$18.
'2567.
Senlis. L'Hotel du Nord'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12731.
Price
$18.
'2581.
Creil. Le pont detruit'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12732.
Price
$18.
'2582.
Creil. Debris du pont detruit'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12733.
Price
$18.
'2587.
Creil. Coup d'oeil par une fenetre'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12734.
Price
$18.
'2588.
Creil. La quincaillerie centrale'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12735.
Price
$18.
'2594.
Creil. Interieure en ruine'.
Condition
9/10.
Order
#12736.
Price
$18.
The rest are ALL condition 8, 9 or 10 and priced at $8 each unless otherwise mentioned.
'Guarding
sacred Ypres, where British heroism shone resplendent through war's darkest
hours'.
Order
#12737.
'Looking
into depths of the tremendous crater of our mine fired at La Boiselle on
the Somme'.
Order
#12738.
'Tangled
ruins of Marne Bridge blown up by Germans, and Red Cross train wreck'.
Order
#12739.
'Alincourt,
France; German ammunition camp destroyed by Allied airmen'.
Order
#12740.
'On inhospitable
Gallipoli hills, where burning bushes drove us from many hard won positions'.
Order
#12741.
'How
the Germans devastated France. Lille, once a prosperous manufacturing town'.
Order
#12743.
'The
Hun vandal, French village set on fire wantonly by the Germans in their
retreat'.
Order
#12744.
'Bells
of Villers-Bretonneux Church, erected after the German repulse removed
the menace to Amiens'.
Order
#12745.
'Mariakerke,
shelled by British Monitors in battles which loosened the enemy's hold
on Flanders coast'.
Order
#12747.
'Grand
Place, Bethune, set on fire by Hun artillery after all attempts to break
our line were defeated'.
Order
#12748.
'Shell-riddled
church at Richbourg; a mute witness to the Huns' disregard for sacred places'.
Order
#12749.
'Inspecting
the ruins of the once beautiful Richbourg Cathedral'.
Order
#12750.
'The
High Altar amid the ruins of the shell-wrecked Richbourg Cathedral'.
Order
#12751.
'Where
the flower of our Army hurled back the Prussian Guards, Beury Chateau,
Festubert'.
Order
#12752.
'Notre
Dame, Armentieres, a mute witness to desperate fighting in '14 and critical
days in Battle of Lys'.
Order
#12753.
'The
world-renowned cathedral of Reims, France. Ruined by the Germans'.
Order
#12754.
'The
world-renowned cathedral of Reims, France. Ruined by the Germans'.
Order
#12755.
'Evacuated
after terrific bombardment by gas shell during battle of Lys, Armentieres
- St Vaast Church'.
Order
#12756.
>Order
#12757.
'Albert
Cathedral, where statue of Virgin Mary hung amid ruins 'til felled by Hun
shells'.
Order
#12758.
'War's
devastation ! Shell-torn houses caught in the path of the German guns,
Ypres Salient'.
Order
#12759.
'British
officers examining wrecked interior of beautiful Bapaume Cathedral'.
Order
#12760.
'Shell
bursting in square of ruined town on British front'.
Order
#12761.
'Responding
to the call at a recruiting meeting. Trafalgar Square, London'.
Order
#12762.
Price
$12.
'One
of the hundreds of villages ruined in the great Marne battle'.
Order
#12763.
'Deep
trenches bitterly contested in battle, in once peaceful village, Ypres'.
Order
#12764.
'Tenedos
Castle in Aegean Sea near Dardanelles. Occupied by Allies'.
Order
#12765.
'Setting
up German Naval gun from S.S. Emsden, Parade Grounds, London'.
Order
#12766.
'Chateau
Thierry where a glorious page of American History was written'.
Order
#12767.
'Looking
for spies on the east coast of England'.
Order
#12768.
'Bridge
destroyed by the Germans where Allies crossed the Aisne, 1918'.
Order
#12769.
'View
of the famous bridge over the Marne, looking toward Hotel de Ville and
heights of old chateau'.
Order
#12770.
'Testifying
to the furious Hun assaults on Kemmel Hill, April 1918, the destroyed chapel
on the summit'.
Order
#12771.
'Watching
effect of the German bombardment of a French village'.
Order
#12772.
'Searching
the ruins, "Somewhere in France"'.
Order
#12774.
'In the
path of the Hun. Church wrecked by German shells'.
Order
#12775.
'"Miracle
of Lucy", France - Unharmed crucifix amidst total ruin'.
Order
#12776.
'Anxious
days in 1914, details thrown in to help check the German break-through'.
Order
#12777.
'Ruins
of famous church at Albert, France'. Couple of slight creases at bottom.
Order
#12778.
'Bosche
prisoner escorted by French troops, in front of Albert Cathedral, wrecked
by shellfire'.
Order
#12779.
'The
shattered ruins of Albert, lost and retaken in critical days of the great
German offensive'.
Order
#12780.
'Weird
desolation of Berry au Bac, after four years of fighting, France'.
Order
#12781.
'Mount
Grappa and ruins of Quero, on the Italian battle front'.
Order
#12782.
'A village
reduced to debris near Verdun, France'.
Order
#12783.
'National
Road Bridge over the Marne, blown up to prevent German advance'.
Order
#12784.
'Altar
of Malines Cathedral, wrecked by German shells'.
Order
#12785.
'At Longwy,
France - Ruins around main gateway'.
Order
#12786.
'A pioneer
of the Kaiser's forests, shattered into toothpicks by a shell from the
Russian lines'.
Order
#12787.
'Ruined
village of Eclusiers, France. M'lle Semmer, decorated for heroic actions
under fire'.
Order
#12788.
Price
$18.
'Once
fair village of Coucy, near Reims, France'.
Order
#12789.
'The
ruined stronghold of Fort de la Malmaison, Chemin des Dames, France'.
Order
#12790.
'Looking
south over Chateau-Thierry from Ramparts of the Old Chateau'.
Order
#12791.
'Ruins
of Longpont Village and Abbey, France'.
Order
#12792.
'Looking
from Belleau Village south across the valley to Belleau Wood'.
Order
#12793.
'Ruins
of Soissons and its two great Cathedrals'.
Order
#12794.
'Searching
for souvenirs in the shell-pitted ground around Laventis Church'.
Order
#12795.
'"Enemy
airmen successfully bombed one of our supply trains". Official Report'.
Order
#12796.
'The
battered sugar refinery at Le Transloy taken by the Australians at the
point of a bayonet'.
Order
#12797.
'West
door of the shell-torn Cathedral, Ypres, an insuperable obstacle in the
Kaiser's path to Calais'.
Order
#12798.
'Arteries
of communication to the front line on the Yser, Belgian light railway with
elephant shelters'.
Order
#12799.
'German
ammunition depot after visit of French airmen, Alincourt, Ardennes'.
Order
#12800.
To page one - Troops on the move
To page four - Guns and gunners
To page five - In the trenches, over the top, fixed defenses, communications, materiel
To page seven - Battlefield landscapes, prisoners
To page nine - The wounded, the fallen, war graves
