E. H. Harrington, Jr., grew up in Geneseo, Illinois, a small town of scarcely 2,000 people in the late 19th Century, and turned to photography in the decade or so before the First World War. The photographs in this book display the breadth of Harrington's subject matter, artistry, and technical skill. His photographs are not of conflict and community discord, but rather the celebration of the everyday; the comforting, and the predictable pace, constants, and glorious joys of small-town life at a time of great change. Quiet photos that don't call undue attention to themselves until taken as a whole: shared friends and values, remembered history and traditions, patriotism and a satisfying life enjoyed where everyone knows each other and their families. His eye as a photographer was not as a detached reporter, recording life as it unspooled in front of his lens, but as a trusted neighbor. There is an affection evident in the photos for his town and its people.
There are many photos of transportation, juxtaposing the old and new: airplanes and trains, cars and horses, and bicycles and motorcycles. Harrington chronicled these transitions without any suggestion of drama or disorientation. Poisoned by photographic chemicals, Harrington's health suffered, and he was forced to abandon his work. He turned to other ways to support his family as the Great Depression settled over the nation, relegating his photographs to the basement. There they gradually deteriorated for half a century, waiting for his grandson Dale and the author of this book, the former editor and owner of the town's newspaper, the Geneseo Republic, to resurrect them. From a collection of many thousands of images, only 300 are known to exist; perhaps a third of them are in this book.
When the output of gaggles of cell phone photographers become little more than unreadable digital gibberish 10 decades in the future, Harrington's vivid black & white photographs will still gleam 200 years and more after they were taken, preserving the light of other days.
