U.S. Camera. 4:2, August 1941. Featuring Marjorie Collins photo essay on Hoboken, New Jersey.

Very good with a scuff and closed short tear on front cover.  Includes important photo essay on Hoboken, pages 39–54, by Marjorie Collins and Wilfrid Zogbaum at the time that it was forbidden to photograph there.  Issue also includes a tour of Disney Studies, Photography in National Defense, and photographs by: Russell Lee; Philippe Halsman; Irving B. Lincoln; Carl Oeser; Barrett Gallagher; Geoffrey Landesman; Haanel Cassidy; Roger Kahan; Bill Brunk; Ed Clark; Martin Hyman; Maxwell Coplan. Also portraits of photographers George Platt Lynes, Paul Outerbridge, Arnold Genthe, and Arthur Siegel, with biographical notes. 112 pages, including interesting advertisements.  Summary:

The August 1941 issue of U.S. Camera (Vol. 4, No. 2) represents a pivotal moment in American photojournalism, transitioning from the experimental "New Vision" photography of the 1930s toward the gritty, socially conscious documentary style that defined the WWII era.

The Hoboken Photo Essay: "City in Transition"

The centerpiece of this issue is Marjorie Collins’ extensive 16-page photo essay on Hoboken, New Jersey (pp. 39–54). This work is significant for several reasons:

• The FSA Influence: Working under the auspices of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), Collins applied the agency’s documentary rigor to an urban setting. Her lens captured Hoboken not just as a city, but as a complex ecosystem of labor, ethnicity, and maritime industry.

• Visual Narrative: The essay moves through the city’s geography—from the bustling waterfront docks and the "Elysian Fields" to the intimate, cramped interiors of working-class tenements and local social clubs.

• Humanist Focus: Collins emphasized the dignity of the residents during a time of national mobilization. Her shots of longshoremen, children playing in the streets, and the distinct local bars provide a raw, unvarnished look at a community on the brink of the wartime industrial boom.

Context and Magazine Format

During this period, U.S. Camera—edited by Tom Maloney and advised by the legendary Edward Steichen—was the premier technical and aesthetic journal for American photographers.

• Technical Sophistication: The magazine was known for its high-quality gravure printing, which allowed the deep blacks and textured shadows of Collins’ documentary work to resonate more powerfully than in standard newsprint.

• Editorial Vision: The 1941 issues focused heavily on "The American Scene." Collins’ Hoboken essay served as a bridge between art photography and social reportage, illustrating how a camera could be used as a tool for sociopolitical observation.

Legacy

Marjorie Collins’ contribution to this issue remains a definitive historical record of pre-war Hoboken. It stands as a masterful early U.S. example of a "picture story," a model which for the way magazines like LIFE and Look would eventually communicate complex social issues to a mass audience.

Note: For a short bio of Collins, see Wikipedia.