ALTOONA, PA 75th Anniversary Commemorative Keystone City Founding Book

Description: My Grandfather, Claire Vahey lived in Altoona, PA and worked for the Pennsylvania Rail Road (PRR) as a Brakeman, Trainman and Conductor. As a Conductor on countless passenger train routes throughout the eastern rail corridor of the United States, he became a big collector of PRR publications, photographs and other artifacts that showed the industrial role that Altoona played in growth and expansion of the PRR. My Grandfather would often obtain these items from various rail road agents or fellow rail road employees. He obtained this 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book on the Founding of Altoona from a rail road agent at the downtown train station in Altoona, PA during the mid 1950’s. This was one of my Grandfather's cherished publications on the City of Altoona. When my Grandfather and Grandmother died, all of his PRR items were passed to my Father, John Vahey, who also worked for the PRR, Penn Central Transportation Company and the Consolidated Rail Corporation, first as an Electrician in the Altoona, PA Locomotive Car Shops, then as an Industrial Engineer in the Engineering Office, Juniata, PA and the Locomotive and Rail Car Repair Estimating Office at the Samuel Rea Car Shops in Hollidaysburg, PA. When my Father died in May 1999, I received all the railroad memorabilia from my Father and Grandfather. I have retained these railroad memorabilia items for over 20 years; however, since my wife and I have relocated from Manassas, VA to Fort Myers, FL we no longer have the space to display or indefinitely store all of these PRR and other railroad memorabilia items. Subsequently, I have decided to post this 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book on the Founding of Altoona for sale on eBay. The view of the book’s front soft back cover is shown in the first attached high resolution photograph. The textured cover stock is a light beige color and exhibits the following blue over light gold raised text: “ALTOONA” at the top of the cover. Below this text is the raised flag of the City of Altoona. The flag has a dark blue rectangular field surrounded by a gold border. The left side exhibits a gold flag pole with a round top and two braided gold cords on the left and right side of the gold pole. The flag design consists of a large keystone of blue outlined in gold, on which is placed the seal of the city. This round seal contains the following text: “CITY OF ALTOONA PENNSYLVANIA” around the outer perimeter. The center of the inner circle exhibits a log cabin with a stone chimney and split rail fence. On the bottom of the inner circle contains the following text: “INCORPORATED 1868”. At the top of the keystone is the coat of arms of Pennsylvania done in gold. The bottom right hand corner contains the following blue text: “The Keystone City of the Great Keystone State” and “Charles M. Schwab”. The size of the front cover is 5 inches long by 7 ¾ inches high. Since I cannot exhibit all 72 pages of this commemorative book, I elected to showcase the book’s introduction and some of the key aspects of this vintage publication. The view of the book’s rear soft back cover, center spine along with another view of the front cover is shown in the second attached high resolution photograph. The book’s rear cover exhibited on the left side of the photograph has the same textured light beige color cover stock. This side of the book also contains no text, exhibits or markings. The center spine exhibited in the center of the photograph showcases two metal staples along its top and bottom. The book’s front soft back cover attributes have already been discussed. The book’s first page provides a definition of Altoona as shown in the third attached high resolution photograph. As noted, this book was published by The Altoona Chamber of Commerce. The book’s second and third page is shown in the fourth attached high resolution photograph. The second page on the left side contains a poem of Altoona written by Robert F. Lantz and the third page on the right side contains the book’s dedication from The Altoona Chamber of Commerce. The fourth page of this book exhibits the World-Famous Horseshoe Curve as shown in the fifth attached high resolution photograph and captures the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, four miles West of Altoona. The Story of Altoona begins on page 5 and continues through page 9 as shown in the sixth, seventh and eighth attached high resolution photographs. This section also contains photographs of historic buildings, like the former Logan House at the former Altoona Station shown on page 6 where loyal War Governors met in 1862. There are also photographs on the views of the city along with scenes in the Business Section. Unfortunately only a few of these historic structures remain today, like the Penn-Alto building. The Advantage of Location that starts on page 9 is shown in the eighth photograph and continues through page 12 as shown in the ninth and tenth attached high resolution photographs. The History that starts on page 12 is shown in the tenth photograph and continues through page 17. Based on the posting page limitation, only pages 14 and 15 are shown in the eleventh attached high resolution photograph. The remainder of the book contains the following topics: “A CITY OF HOMES, SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES, INDUSTRIES, FINANCIAL, ALTOONA BUSINESS, UTILITIES, ORGANIZATIONS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PARKS AND PLAYGROUNDS, SCENIC SURROUNDINGS, CONVENTIONS, and ALTOONA’S FUTURE” and follows the same content format. As previously noted, there are five pages that have separated from the two spine staples as shown in the twelfth attached high resolution photograph. At the end of the book there are Altoona Facts that start on page 65 and conclude on page 75 and include the following topics: “Population and Growth, Physical, Geographical, Historical, Municipal, Financial, Industrial, Commercial, Building and Improvements, Schools, Churches, Hospitals, Post Office Receipts, Recreational, Miscellaneous, and A Convention City". This book was printed in Altoona, PA. The printing company’s name is located on the inside of the rear cover, but some of the letters are blurred and unreadable. The following is the only readable text: “THE … PRINTING OS., ALTOONA, PA. Below this is a straight line and underneath this is a Union Labor Printing Seal with the number “7” centered below. The weight of the book is approximately 4 ounces. This book was only displayed and/or stored in smoke free homes. This is an excellent opportunity to start or expand your collection of Altoona, PA, history which included its previous title and operational role as the Railroad Capital of the United States. Note: Photographs are an important part of my description; please review all photographs before purchasing. If my photographs and or description are lacking something of importance, please ask questions prior to purchasing. Thanks!

Price: 110 USD

Location: Fort Myers, Florida

End Time: 2025-01-22T15:00:56.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5.5 USD