From 1914 to 1918 my great-grandfather Walter Koessler meticulously documented his service in the German army. Trained as an architect, Walter used his eye for beauty and his technical excellence as a photographer to make almost a thousand incredible photographs. After emigrating to California in 1925, he made a hundred-page photo album to preserve his experience for future generations.

Walter took photos at nearly every opportunity, showing cannons, weapons, life in the trenches, and day-to-day life with his comrades. He often stepped outside of his duties to capture the task at hand. Walter also took aerial photographs from biplanes and recorded investigations of destroyed cathedrals and other structures on official business. These are his photos, unedited and unmodified, precisely as he laid them out in his personal photo journal.

I've researched these images and included captions detailing where Walter was and what was happening around him where I could. I've also included insets of some of the best photos, and spreads printed straight from the original negatives.

Thanks to overwhelming support from Kickstarter and the excellent cooperation of my printer, I've been able to make a gorgeous reproduction of Walter's album. The book shows each page from the album at a nearly full size reproduction, 11 by 17 inches in size. Printed on archival-quality heavy matte paper with a fold out of Walter's aerial photography in the back, it's meant to be shared for generations in your family as it has mine.