In "Unreal Estate", the photographs of Robert de Gast reveal what "isn't so simple" about the abandoned buildings so common on the Chesapeake's Eastern Shore. His colour photographs of ghostly houses and weathered details illustrate the powerful hold architecture has on us, even when a building no longer serves its purpose. Like more ancient ruins, the abandoned structures of the Shore tell stories of decline and departure. Some appear proud and sturdy, even beautiful, seen across a wide marsh or meadow. Others are tortured ...
Read More
In "Unreal Estate", the photographs of Robert de Gast reveal what "isn't so simple" about the abandoned buildings so common on the Chesapeake's Eastern Shore. His colour photographs of ghostly houses and weathered details illustrate the powerful hold architecture has on us, even when a building no longer serves its purpose. Like more ancient ruins, the abandoned structures of the Shore tell stories of decline and departure. Some appear proud and sturdy, even beautiful, seen across a wide marsh or meadow. Others are tortured abstractions - one Cobb Island house twists almost comically to one side, a sitigle timber postponing its collapse. In his introduction, de Gast tells of structures abandoned as a result of both a shrinking population and difficult circumstances. The Depression of the 1930s began the decline. During World War 11 many residents left for Norfolk, Baltimore, and other cities to find work. Postwar mechanization led to larger farms - and the need for fewer labourers. Today, the Eastern Shore counties of Accomack and Northampton are among the poorest in Virginia. But de Gast finds a different kind of wealth in the region. He is drawn to places named Mutton Hunk and Frogstool, Clam and Oyster, Chincoteague and Kiptopeke. His photographs are not of people, but they are full of human feeling. They evoke mystery and romance, compassion and nostalgia. They show houses where children shouted and played, and shops where old friends gossiped; where people lived and dreamed - and left behind familiar shapes that time and nature now alter and reclaim. Born in the Netherlands but now a full-time resident of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Robert de Gast is a photographer and writer with a lifelong interest in architecture and landscape. He has restored several abandoned houses and spends as much time as he can sailing the waters around the Shore. His previous books include "The Oystermen of the Chesapeake", "Western Wind, Eastern Shore", and "The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake", also available from Johns Hopkins.
Read Less
Add this copy of Unreal Estate: the Eastern Shore to cart. $15.00, like new condition, Sold by DogStar Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lancaster, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in Very Good+ dust jacket. 0801844126. Color Photographs; 4to 11"-13" tall; 96 pages; 1993 The Johns Hopkins University Press. Oversize HC/DJ. 1st edition. Tightly bound and fresh in crisp edged color pictorial dust jacket. Feels and appears unread. Trace sunning to jacket at spine and whisper of shelf evidence to extremitis. Striking landscape and detail photos of abandoned structures on Maryland's Eastern Shore. F/VG++
Add this copy of Unreal Estate: the Eastern Shore to cart. $25.87, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Milton Under Wychwood,
OXFORDSHIRE,
UNITED KINGDOM
$26.68
$70.00
Add this copy of Unreal Estate-the Eastern Shore to cart. $26.68, very good condition, Sold by Greensleeves Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milton Under Wychwood, OXFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1993 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of Unreal Estate: the Eastern Shore to cart. $59.01, new condition, Sold by Pink Terrace rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Windsor, CT, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by The Johns Hopkins University Pre.
Add this copy of Unreal Estate: the Eastern Shore to cart. $63.72, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by The Johns Hopkins University P.
Add this copy of Unreal Estate: the Eastern Shore to cart. $90.21, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of Unreal Estate: the Eastern Shore to cart. $139.00, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by The Johns Hopkins University P.
