Pre-WWII Imperial Japanese Navy Photo Album Akagi Fuso Hyuga Ryujo 1935
Its title translates as: “The Elite of the Imperial Japanese Navy” The album was produced to commemorate the National Defense and Industry Exposition held in Japan in 1935. Akagi would later become one of the most famous Japanese aircraft carriers of World War II, participating in the attack on Pearl Harbor before being lost at the Battle of Midway in 1942. But this album was published in 1935-six years before the Pacific War began. The album goes well beyond portraits of individual warships. It includes photographs of battleships, aircraft carriers, destroyers, naval aircraft, seaplanes, aerial formations, torpedo firing, fleet maneuvers and dramatic nighttime searchlight exercises. The opening pages also record the dates of the National Defense and Industry Exposition: From March 27, 1935 to May 10, 1935. The exposition was a public event presenting Japan’s national defense and modern industry to ordinary visitors. This gives the album another interesting historical dimension: it shows not only the Japanese Navy itself, but also how naval power and technology were presented to the Japanese public in the mid-1930s. For collectors today, the timing is particularly fascinating. Battleships still represented enormous naval power, while aircraft carriers and naval aviation were becoming increasingly important. Both worlds appear side by side in these pages. The album is more than 90 years old and shows age-related wear, staining and discoloration. Please examine the photographs carefully for condition. Own a Piece of History. International Buyers – Please Note.