Photography Handbook No. 11. Fawcett, 1942. Edited by Norman C. Lipton.

Good with cover wear and small losses on spine, some page corners chipped, pages age toned and fragile. 146 pages. Includes color photo foldout of an attractive woman in front of a small airplane. Numerous articles in chapters, For Better Pictures, Technique, Foto Projects (including article on Paper Negatives marred with pencil scrawls), Build It Yourself, Photography in Brief, and Salon Section with photos by Stratford Enright (marred with blue ball point ink scrawls), Major M.J. Burelbach, Hazel Wiley, Yale Joel (when he was with the U.S. Signal Corps), A. Eriss (photo taken from a military glider), Edith Bjorkman, Herman Stock, Arthur G. Macaulay, Charles N. Tigrett, John I. Yastrop, John Makar, Elizabeth H. Hibbs, Ruth Canaday, Bill Regan, Stokely Webster, and Fenno Jacobs (tear on edge; Jacobs former member of Edward Steichen’s team of WWII Navy photographers). Some of the photos were exhibited at the 4th Annual Salon of the Rockefeller Center Camera Club, New York.  Summary:

The Photography Handbook No. 11, published by Fawcett Publications in 1942 (and often found with a 1943 copyright), is a classic example of the "How-To" hobbyist manuals that were wildly popular during the Golden Age of analog photography. Edited by Norman C. Lipton, it’s less of a narrative book and more of a technical compendium for the "shutterbug."

Here is a summary of its contents and historical flavor:

1. The DIY Spirit (Build-It-Yourself)

True to the Fawcett style (the same publisher behind Mechanix Illustrated), a large portion of the handbook is dedicated to homemade equipment. In 1942, with wartime shortages making commercial gear expensive or unavailable, the book provided blueprints for:

• Building your own enlargers and darkroom timers.

• Constructing lighting rigs and "gadget bags."

• Developing tanks made from everyday household items.

2. Technical Mastery & "Foto Projects"

The book offered practical lessons for photographers looking to move beyond simple snapshots. Key sections included:

• Paper Negatives: Instructions on how to use paper instead of film to create artistic, textured images.

• Technique Guides: Deep dives into exposure, composition, and the chemistry of developing and printing.

• Wartime Context: Some articles touched on photography from military gliders or during wartime conditions, reflecting the 1942 era.

3. The Salon Section

A highlight of this specific volume is the Salon Section, which showcased high-quality "pictorialist" photography. It featured works by notable photographers of the time (like Fenno Jacobs, who worked with Edward Steichen in the U.S. Navy) and winners from the Rockefeller Center Camera Club salon. This section served as both inspiration and a benchmark for amateur readers.

4. Cultural "Extras"

Like many magazines of the early 40s, it leaned into the "pin-up" culture of the era. This issue famously included a four-color fold-out of a glamour model (often posed with an airplane, a nod to the aviation-obsessed war years) to demonstrate color photography and lighting.