The Sand Pebbles

[Sgt Saunders]

This is a cabbinet card I scored a few years back at a gun show. I really liked it. It kind of reminded me of the Steve McQueen movie The Sand Pebbles. They are all armed with 03 Springfields and have mills belts on. The mills belts look to have eagle snaps on them, not the later lift the dot type. That was an other reason that I wanted it, because finding an early card photo with that many US Navy Sailors armed with 03's was rare no matter how you slice it.
There was no markings anywhere on the card. I believe it's WWI or later. If you look to the middle upper right you will see a building in the back ground. There is also a building on the extreme left. The windows are rather high up on the building and the roof looks kind of oriental. China sailors? I hope you can see it. I don't know much more about it, but I really love all those sailors and there 03's!

[everforward]

Ahhh.....what a great movie. Thanks for posting your pics...!

[Vincennes]

I did a little digital work on your image to bring out the background and the buildings you mention. The overall quality suffers, but the background is visible.

 

Neat photo.

 

Paul

[BOLO]

yes, it does look around 1918 - 1925 and probably somewhere in China

[Sgt Saunders]

I did a little digital work on your image to bring out the background and the buildings you mention. The overall quality suffers, but the background is visible.

 

Neat photo.

 

Paul

 

Thanks, Great job. My scan was a little off. I should spend some time and re scan it and see if I could improve it. I'm a novice in that area.

[Dirk]

Can you post an enlargement of the buildings in the background from the enhanced image....the men of the Asiatic squadron sometimes did rifle practice at Hongkew through at least 1914. This photo does not look like that range but if I could see close ups of the buildings that would help.

[bleujacket34]

Thanks for the post! Always great to see unit pictures like that. I agree with others with a better scan might be able to find out more!

Andrew

[Sgt Saunders]

Can you post an enlargement of the buildings in the background from the enhanced image....the men of the Asiatic squadron sometimes did rifle practice at Hongkew through at least 1914. This photo does not look like that range but if I could see close ups of the buildings that would help.

Ok I'll give it a try, but it might take me some time. I'll work on it tonight.

[Sgt Saunders]

See if this works for now, I'm trying to blow it up.

[Sgt Saunders]

Here we go, let me know if I need to do it again. The bottom looks more like a stable. That is the first time I've blown it up that far. Like I said I'm just a novice. It's a hit and miss, but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

[Dirk]

It is a very nice picture, and it displays very well and could date anywhere from pre-WWI to the mid-1920s, but I am still having trouble seeing the China connection....the second enlargement looks like a farm complex with water tower that does not look like the far east nor does the tree types or how they are grouped. Furthermore, during this period Asian photographers or their studios tended to emboss their names/studio location on the mounting board.....in addition after the early 1900's they favored fancy matting surrounding the photo that made it look double or triple matted....vice American studios that had simpler boarders around the photo like this picture.

 

That said, I've got several examples from China, that go against what I said above but from what I can see the images looks more stateside then Asia.....but I'll be happy to be proved wrong as a nice shot of a gunboat crew out with their rifles would be a very nice find. I will add a tile roof on those buildings would be a positive toward being Asian but I just cant see them that well....

[topdcnut]

First off, sweet picture. I might be off base here and am not trying to be all contentious like some. Is there a chance that this is a guard battalion in france? I cannot see any petty officers and the asiatic photos seem to usually have a mix of petty officers to seaman, there always seem to be some crusty low ranking squids in the mix. THese guys all seem to be very young and fresh and the out building behind them could be european, a long time ago I saw a picture of some navy blacksmiths in a building that had similar look to it. My take is that it is a group that trained and deployed togather to an exotic palce. Again this is a great photo and I am not trying to usurp anyones opinion I look forward to seeing more closeups and discussion and wish the photo was in my collection.

 

John

[Sgt Saunders]

The more I look at it the more it does not look like China. No tiles on the roofs. The trees are really tall and skinney. I don't know what they are. Nothing like what we have here in New England. Maybe Europe? I'll play aroung with it some more. Thanks for all the great help and kind words. It's still one of my favorites pictures. I have a very small photo that's 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 of a gun boat in China. I've tried to inlarge it but it doesen't come out very good. I'm going to post that later if I can do something with it.

Thanks!

[Dirk]

Either way you have a nice image there.....and I for one would like to see your gunboat image.

[Sgt Saunders]

Ok, here she is. I was sold this as "It might The USS Pannay" I bet you guys have heard that line more that once. It's from a long way off when it was taken. So far this is the best that I can do with a blowup and still make it out. So is it the Pannay or just Jake Holmand on the The San Pablo?

[Steindaddie]

I'd make a small bet that the gunboat seen is the USS Monocacy (PG-20) Doesn't look like the USS Panay, plus, the photo appears to me to predate that vessel - Panay was commissioned in 1928, Monocacy in 1914.

[topdcnut]

I must say, I would grab a USS Monocacy pic as fast or faster than a Panay photo. Sorry personal taste I guess as the boats that were specifically built for asiatic service. Here is a pic of the Wilmington, specifically built for china river service like the Monocacy. This pic is of the W in Great Lakes service at the end of her life.

John

 

Sorry, the Wilmington pic was to big to load

[Dirk]

Here is one of the Wilmington at Shanghai...early in her China career....

[Dirk]

And here is a shot of the Gunboat Richard McKenna used for inspiration for the book the Sand Pebbles.....the USS Vilalobos. The Vilalobos was a captured Spanish Gunboat drafted into service along the Yangtze following the SpamAm War.

[Sgt Saunders]

And here is a shot of the Gunboat Richard McKenna used for inspiration for the book the Sand Pebbles.....the USS Vilalobos. The Vilalobos was a captured Spanish Gunboat drafted into service along the Yangtze following the SpamAm War.

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. I just love those old gun boats. I read the book for the first time last year. Good read.

[Dirk]

I'll throw this shot out for viewing...taken aboard the Vilalobos prior to WWI. This is part of a collection recently broken up on e-bay of sailor that served aboard several ships of the Asiatic Squadron and who must have assumed the duties of the ships photographer. A number of photos of the Vilalobos went for a few dollars each until several bidders figured out the importance of the ship to the Sand Pebbles story and then bidding went nuts. I was able to get few images from this collection but would have loved to have had it all. Anyway I liked this photo a lot, as it gives the impression that there were indeed some real characters on the Yangtze.

[bleujacket34]

I'll throw this shot out for viewing...taken aboard the Vilalobos prior to WWI. This is part of a collection recently broken up on e-bay of sailor that served aboard several ships of the Asiatic Squadron and who must have assumed the duties of the ships photographer. A number of photos of the Vilalobos went for a few dollars each until several bidders figured out the importance of the ship to the Sand Pebbles story and then bidding went nuts. I was able to get few images from this collection but would have loved to have had it all. Anyway I liked this photo a lot, as it gives the impression that there were indeed some real characters on the Yangtze.

 

What a great image! It is always fun to see those pictures, especially when they are at work. It always makes me want to cry when I see great collections broken up. I missed those pictures on ebay too bad you were not able to keep it together.

 

Andrew

[Sgt Saunders]

I'll throw this shot out for viewing...taken aboard the Vilalobos prior to WWI. This is part of a collection recently broken up on e-bay of sailor that served aboard several ships of the Asiatic Squadron and who must have assumed the duties of the ships photographer. A number of photos of the Vilalobos went for a few dollars each until several bidders figured out the importance of the ship to the Sand Pebbles story and then bidding went nuts. I was able to get few images from this collection but would have loved to have had it all. Anyway I liked this photo a lot, as it gives the impression that there were indeed some real characters on the Yangtze.

 

That's a great picture. I bet you guys would like to see my collection of my great uncle who was in the Navy prior to the Span Am War. I have a pile of letters he wrote home and Opium pipe he swiped off a Chinaman in an alley in Hong Kong who was "out" at the time. Quite a story there. My father knew of some of his antics. Uncle Sim was allways a great topic when all the men in the family got together.

[Dirk]

That would make an outstanding thread....hopefully you could post the photos and some of the letters!

[bleujacket34]

That would make an outstanding thread....hopefully you could post the photos and some of the letters!

 

I agree whole heartedly! That would be a great post if you posted some of that collection. He sure sounded like a character grabbing a opium pipe. Bet he would have been able to tell some interesting stories.

 

Andrew