WW2 Tel-Pics Japanese Ortolan Salvages Midget Sub 1943 - Original Press Photo For Sale

An original 10.5x12.5
" vintage photo acquired as part of a large archive of very rare Tel-Pic publications issued during WW2 by a company out of NYC. The Tel-pics Syndicate company issued a daily war photo (except Sundays) for home front subscribers during the peak war years. This is a large format image on thin 1940s paper (thicker than newsprint). Professionally packaged in a rigid mailer for safe delivery.

Photo Overview

Sailors from the submarine rescue ship USS Ortolan pose proudly on deck and atop a freshly-salvaged Japanese two-man midget submarine, hauled from the waters off Pearl Harbor on 6 Aug 1943. The panoramic view shows the Ortolan’s heavy crane, lifeboat and conning tower, while nearly forty shirt-sleeved crewmen stand in formation against the ship’s rail with the captured undersea craft literally “underfoot.” The glossy 10.5 x 12.5-inch press photo sheet is a TEL-PICS Syndicate issue, Volume 2, No. 92, distributed the same day to American newspapers.

These Ko-hyoteki-class midget subs were part of the surprise attack force at Pearl Harbor; five were deployed, and only one managed to enter the harbor before being sunk. Recovery operations like this gave U.S. Naval Intelligence priceless insight into Japanese design and tactics and provided a morale-boosting trophy for war-bond rallies. Original WWII press photos featuring a complete enemy submarine and its American captors are scarce—secure this dramatic piece of naval history while it’s still available.

Text Present

Front, upper left: “Entered as Second Class Material at the Post Office of New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879”
Front, top center: “VOLUME 2 — Number 92 — August 6, 1943”
Front, upper right: “TEL-PICS, published daily except Sundays and Holidays by TEL-PICS SYNDICATE, INC., 1697 Broadway, New York City. By Subscription only... $10.00 per year”
Headline: “JAP UNDERSEA BOAT UNDERFOOT”
Caption: “Crewmen of the U. S. Navy tug Ortolan line up along the rail and on a Jap midget two-man submarine they raised from its resting place. The tiny sub is one of the eight or possibly nine sunk since Pearl Harbor. Raising the subs has been an easy task as the subs rise by themselves after divers remove the batteries.”
Bottom line: “NEW RECORDS SET BY ALLIES IN DELIVERING SUPPLIES TO RUSSIA”

Back, upper left stamp: “TEL-PICS 1697 BROADWAY NEW YORK, N.Y.”
Back, large type: “NEWSPAPER”
Back, right: “ENTERED AS SECOND CLASS MATTER AT THE POST OFFICE IN NEW YORK, N.Y.”
Typed routing: “FELLER & CO, MARKET ST, HARRISBURG, PA BB 5141”
Red grease-pencil notation: editorial mark

Print analysis: Contemporary TEL-PICS press sheet mailed to newspapers on the same date it was shot; gelatin silver wire photo on thin newsprint stock with period routing stamps—Type 1 Original Press Photo.

Condition: Good to fair antique condition. Photo has age related coloring, scuffs, and other imperfections. Some have the original address of the 1940s subscriber on the back. Please see images for exact condition.