Are these old book pages or something else?

[*shellys]

I was given a stack of these by someone whose late mother owned an antiques store. The giver didn't know what they were.

Each "page" has a pasted-on picture of a ship on one side and printed advertisements (not pasted)  on the other side.  The paper is thick like card stock and measures about 11 x 13.75 inches.  They are not in the best condition. One edge seems "raw" like the pages were removed from a binding.

I imagine the ads might be worth something to someone if nothing else.  But I don't think I should cut them up.

Anybody know anything about them? Thank you in advance!

Does anyone know what they are?

Thank you in advance!

[soh.maryl]

Currently some motels will offer a booklet listing restaurants and tourist attractions.

These look like versions of that, pages from such books from a bygone era.  

"Corner of Powell and Market Streets" seems like it might have been in San Fran.  

[*shellys]

Thank you. I'll research the other businesses advertised and see if they are all in San Francisco. 

[argon38]

---

@*shellys wrote:

Each "page" has a pasted-on picture of a ship on one side and printed advertisements (not pasted)  on the other side.

---

Are the other ship descriptions/photos consistent with this 1896 souvenir picture book?

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/NHC/Warships%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Navy/Warships%20of%20the... 

While I haven't verified this, I suspect that books with similar contents may have been issued in several formats, by different publishers, in different cities. The one in the link above was published by a Philadelphia firm:

https://www.worldcat.org/title/warships-of-the-united-states-navy/oclc/32621253?referer=br&ht=editio... 

[sonomabarn67]

"a pasted-on picture' would be a "tipped in" image. Do you have a loupe and if so do they show up as lithos (dots) or original photos? are there more? All four of what you show are from San Francisco.

[sonomabarn67]

You're right, don't cut them up. Is there any type of a binding of the pages?

[argon38]

---

@sonomabarn67 wrote:

All four of what you show are from San Francisco.

---

The ads are from San Francisco, but the ship picture (with caption) is identical to the 1896 Philadelphia book featured in my link. I think the question is whether a similar book - complete with ads - was also printed locally in San Francisco, or whether the ads were added locally by a San Francisco resident or firm after buying the book. Either seems possible.

[argon38]

I see my link jumps directly to the photo. Here are the descriptions, higher up the page. Obviously the book has been converted to webpage format:

www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/NHC/Warships of the United States Navy/Warships of the United States Navy.h... 

I'm fairly sure the other ship photos (and captions) in OP's collection will also turn out to have been taken from a copy of "War-ships of the United States Navy."

[argon38]

---

@argon38 wrote:

I'm fairly sure the other ship photos (and captions) in OP's collection will also turn out to have been taken from a copy of "War-ships of the United States Navy."

---

I've just noticed the dimensions of the Philadelphia book are too small (20 x 26 cm) to fit OP's stated dimensions.

Here's a larger (25 x 35 cm) version of "Warships of the United States Navy,"  but published in New York (Army and Navy Tailors, [1896?], "Compliments of Lucky and Sammies"):

https://www.worldcat.org/title/warships-of-the-united-states-navy/oclc/50490657&referer=brief_result... 

I'm guessing various publishers around the country may have had permission to use the same collection of captioned warship images, for souvenir or advertising purposes.

[mudshark61369]

@*shellys,

  "Each "page" has a pasted-on picture of a ship on one side and printed advertisements (not pasted) on the other side. The paper is thick like card stock and measures about 11 x 13.75 inches".

My guess is the two sets of images may have been from someone's scrap book.  Possibly a Naval Officer posted to different bases or ships. Those old books had very thick pages. The water stain marks match almost perfectly. How many pages do you have.

The binding marks on the photo and information may have come from a Navy Publication or from a ship identification guide like Jane's Fighting Ships, first published in 1898 as All The Worlds Fighting Ships.  

The page of Hotel drawings may have been from a newspaper ad, though the paper doesn't look like antique newsprint. It could be from a Northern Pacific or Union Pacific Railroad Line  magazine or pamphlet available to 1st class car passengers from the late 1800s possibly the 1890s.  The Baldwin Hotel was destroyed in 1898, The Cliff House burned down in 1907 after surviving the 1906 earthquake.  The St. Nicholas Hotel collapsed and burned in the 1906 earth quake, as did the Lick House.

The  page with the photo of the USS Cushing, Torpedo Boat TB-1 may have been taken at any time post 1898 when she was decommissioned as a fast gun boat and refitted with 3 torpedo tubes, becoming TB-1 in 1900.  She spent most of her time serving with the Atlantic and Caribbean fleets home ported at Newport Ri.,  and as a test bed for torpedo development.   She was sunk as a target ship on Sept. 24, 1920.  

[*shellys]

Yes, I see litho dots, especially on the ship.  Thank you for your response and the tip on "tipped in."

[*shellys]

I don't see a binding. 

[*shellys]

Thank you so much for your help and the link!

[*shellys]

I spoke too soon. There are the remnants of a gray binding as well as a couple of punched holes. 

[*shellys]

There are more than 22 pages. There's also a picture captioned "Torpedo-Tube and Gunners (on the Maine)."