Gumilla, JosephAntiquariat.de
Venezuela. OilABAA
Oil to the Sea." Picture Story of the Mercedes Pipeline. Photographs Taken During Construction
1943540Venezuela 1943. Very good. 48 original photographs each 8 x 10 inches. Quarto. Plain leather boards twin-bolt binding. Some photos detached from mounts some wear to covers but images generally fine with typed captions affixed beneath each photo. A rare photographic document of Venezuelan oil production in the early 20th century. This album contains nearly fifty large-format original images that depict the construction of a 157-mile crude oil pipeline from Las Mercedes Del Llano Guanico to a deep-sea terminal at Pamatacual in 1943 by the Sociedad Anonima Petrolera las Mercedes owned jointly by the Texas Company later Texaco and British-controlled Caracas Petroleum S. A. Venezuelan oil reserves attracted foreign investment as early as 1908: "In 1908 General Juan Vicente Gomez took power to become the strongest dictator of the 20th century with 27 years in office. He opened the gate to foreign oil investors.World War I was the trigger introducing Venezuela into the world oil market. After 1919 the investment and the exportation of Venezuelan oil increased tremendously. By 1922 Venezuela became an important supplier of oil in the world and biggest reserves of oil were discovered in the Lake of Maracaibo. During World War II Venezuela was the most secure provider of oil to the United States." -- Johannes Alvarez and James Fiorito Venezuelan Oil Unifying Latin-America. Venezuela increased its production 42 percent in 1943 and 1944 to satisfy the Allied demand for wartime oil. The images contained in the present album show various features of the pipeline oil wells and storage facilities at the inland stations as well as the path of the pipeline through the jungle to the sea. Several photos depict groups of men at work on the line in several locations. Another series of images depict views of the terminal station and the construction of its structures as well as its shipping facilities and the operations surrounding the loading of tankers there. From a research perspective this album is a fascinating look into the development of the now-critical oil industry in a lesser known region of mid-20th century Venezuela the involvement of American in this case Texan companies in South American industrial growth as well as the importance of South American resources to the United States war effort during World War II. We were unable to find any examples of large format photographs from the Venezuelan oil industry from this period in auction records or on the market. Photographs of Venezuelan oil production from outside of the Lake Maracaibo region where the bulk of early oil development occurred are equally difficult to locate. The printed title page suggests that more than one of these albums was produced but we are unable to uncover another example in OCLC or archived sales records. unknown books
McBride Rare Books · États-Unis2 750,00 $US≈ 2 326,78 €
