The Northeast by Eastern (Film, 102 min)

For years, Belfast, Maine-based Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company sent traveling photographer-salesmen on the roads all over New England and beyond with cameras, catalogues, and order books, seeking buyers and markets for their unique “real photo” postcards.

The Northeast by Eastern combines Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company’s comprehensive collection of early 20th century photographs with archival film footage, interviews, oral histories, a musical soundtrack featuring period music, as well as an original score by Sumner McKane. Combined, these stories and images illustrate an era unlike any other in American history.

The audience hears first-hand accounts of smuggling during prohibition, of river drivers brawling for fun, of growing up without worry and without constant adult supervision, and of slop buckets spilling on tourists’ pies. These accounts are woven together amidst an exceptional backdrop of archived films and Eastern Illustrating’s work.

For more information, go the Firehouse website.