Operating Room No. 6, U.S. Evacuation Hospital, WW1, with Extensive Notes Detailing Contents on Reverse

Interior of Operating Room No. 6 at the U.S. Evacuation Hospital No. 1. This hospital was established in early 1918 near Sebastapol Barracks in France and became a crucial World War I medical unit. (Lots more about it and the other U.S. Evacuation Hospitals during WW1 here.) I believe this photo was likely taken just before or just after it opened, with meticulous, beautifully handwritten notes on reverse detailing its contents, down to diagramming the components of the tray sitting on the side table. I love an old photograph taken for documentary purposes but now full of all sorts of expanded resonances, and what could be more poignant than an empty but fully prepped operating room during wartime? To my eye quite a formally beautiful image as well as a historically rich one. (And feels quite contemporary in ways too, making me think of the work of Lucinda Devlin, for example.)

 5 3/8" x 3 3/8". Very good condition, richer and more beautiful in hand; I've tried to get photos close but the contrasts of dark and light in my photos are a but too pronounced.