Dorer, Harry C. This Was New Jersey as Seen by Photographer Harry C. Dorer, edited by John T. Cunningham.

Rivergate/Rutgers University Press, 2007. 1st edition (unstated).  Hardcover like new with protected fine, like new dust jacket.  256 pages. "Harry C. Dorer roamed New Jersey for four decades from 1920 until 1954 with his boxy Speed Graphic camera, capturing for a weekly newspaper the images of what is now a vanished landscape. From the state's cities and villages to its rural areas to the then-mysterious Pine Barrens and the fishing fleets at the Jersey Shore, Dorer amassed hundreds of images that revealed the region's rapidly changing countryside, customs, and social dynamics. Distinguished for his journalistic eye, Dorer did not search out "pretty" subjects."  Summary:

This Was New Jersey (2007) is a nostalgic and meticulously curated retrospective of the work of Harry C. Dorer, a staff photographer for the Newark Evening News who spent over four decades (1915–1955) documenting the state’s evolution. Edited and narrated by the prolific New Jersey historian John T. Cunningham, the book serves as a visual eulogy for a "lost" era of the Garden State.

Core Themes and Content

The "Newsman’s" Eye: Dorer was a quintessential press photographer. His work captures the immediate, the quirky, and the monumental—ranging from the high-society boardwalks of Atlantic City to the gritty industrial waterfronts of Newark and Jersey City.

A State in Transition: The book is organized by theme and region, showing New Jersey’s shift from a largely agricultural and maritime economy to a suburban and industrial powerhouse. It features rare images of the Morris Canal, old watermills, and the last of the coastal windjammers.

Human Interest: Dorer was particularly skilled at capturing "the common man" at work. The collection includes intimate shots of cranberry harvesters in the Pine Barrens, glassblowers in South Jersey, and commuters navigating the early rail and ferry systems. A chapter on children is included. 

Artistic and Technical Style

Press Photography as Art: While Dorer shot for daily deadlines, his compositions often transcend journalism. He made masterful use of natural light to document textures—the splintered wood of a rural barn or the sleek steel of a new bridge.

The "Cunningham" Context: John Cunningham’s text provides the essential historical "finish," explaining the significance of the people and places that Dorer captured, often just before they were demolished by 20th-century progress.

Harry C. Dorer was an American news photographer and photojournalist celebrated for his comprehensive documentation of New Jersey's changing landscape, culture, and social dynamics. Armed with a Speed Graphic camera, Dorer traveled extensively across the state from 1920 to 1954 shooting for weekly newspapers, capturing a wide array of subjects ranging from urban street scenes in Newark to rural life in northern New Jersey, the coastal fishing fleets, and the residents of the Pine Barrens. His photojournalistic work stood out for its candid, blunt, and unvarnished perspective, documenting major historic events such as the SS Morro Castle disaster alongside everyday depictions of working-class families and regional communities. Dorer's extensive archive of over 300 images was later collected and published in the retrospective volume This Was New Jersey As Seen by Photographer Harry C. Dorer by historian John T. Cunningham, preserving his legacy as an essential visual chronicler of mid-20th-century Middle Atlantic history.