A Tourist's Album of Japan
Collection Overview
Katherine Wolcott and her uncle, Robert Hull Fleming, compiled this photo album on their visit to Japan in 1909. Part of a larger Asian trip, the two stopped in Japan and collected photos, postcards, bookmarks, and other materials. Fleming was a...
Show moreKatherine Wolcott and her uncle, Robert Hull Fleming, compiled this photo album on their visit to Japan in 1909. Part of a larger Asian trip, the two stopped in Japan and collected photos, postcards, bookmarks, and other materials. Fleming was a graduate of the University of Vermont, and in 1929 Katherine Wolcott helped to fund the construction of the Robert Hull Fleming Museum in memory of her late uncle. This album, a memento from their trip, was part of Wolcott’s own collection.
There are nearly 40 leaves of collected photographs and postcards, numbering two to three per album page. The pictures range in content, some depicting staged photos of daily life while others portray landscapes and countryside. The album itself measures approximately 11 x 14 x 4 inches and is currently housed at the Robert Hull Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont.
Wolcott’s album captures a unique view of Japan at the brink of burgeoning Western influence. After defeating the Russians in the Russo Japanese War (1904-05), Japan began to cement itself as a global power, and its efforts to modernize began to attract Westerners. The images in this album depict a Japan with a strong national heritage and cultural appreciation as well as a newfound embrace of modernization and technology.
Most of the pictures in the album sold commercially as a form of postcard. In the early 1900s, the Japanese populace began consuming millions of these types of commercially produced picture postcards. Eventually, the medium became so popular that it started to replace the more traditional wood block print. The citizenry sought pictures of their budding nation, wanting to hold a still image of the rapidly modernizing and changing countryside.
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Additional Content
- Title
- Album of Japanese Photographs
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
Katherine Wolcott and her uncle, Robert Hull Fleming, compiled this photo album on their visit to Japan in 1909. Part of a larger Asian trip, the two stopped in Japan and collected photos, postcards, bookmarks, and other materials. Fleming was a graduate of the University of Vermont, and in 1929...
Show moreKatherine Wolcott and her uncle, Robert Hull Fleming, compiled this photo album on their visit to Japan in 1909. Part of a larger Asian trip, the two stopped in Japan and collected photos, postcards, bookmarks, and other materials. Fleming was a graduate of the University of Vermont, and in 1929 Katherine Wolcott helped to fund the construction of the Robert Hull Fleming Museum in memory of her late uncle. This album, a memento from their trip, was part of Wolcott’s own collection.
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- Title
- Bridge spanning a large river in rural Japan
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Cherry blossom festival in full swing
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Elderly man with a bow
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
An elderly man is posing in a clan kimono with a "Yumi" (Bow) in his left hand. The bareness of his left arm suggests that the man is a practitioner of "Kyudo" (Japanese Zen Archery).
- Title
- Five women on a bench
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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Five women, dressed in elegant kimono's, sit astride a wooden bench. The picture is hand colored.
- Title
- Mount Fuji
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
A view of Mount Fuji through the trees.
- Title
- Mt Fuji and the surrounding countryside
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Priest holding a religious accoutrement
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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A man dressed in highly formal attire, holding what appears to be some form of altar in between his hands. The long sleeves and exaggerated hat suggest either a religious or upper class background.
- Title
- Samurai posing in a sitting position
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
A hand colored picture of a Samurai posing for a picture, fully garbed in armor.
- Title
- Street vendor posing for a photo
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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A street vendor carrying his container over his shoulder. The threadbare nature of his clothing supports this conclusion. Japan's national flag is supported on the back end of his container, and a bell is dangling from his left hand.
- Title
- Two women posing in front of a mural of Mt Fuji
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
Two women are depicted as walking through a rural setting. A mural of Mt Fuji is seen in the background. The women are wearing rather large Geta (Footwear).
- Title
- Woman preparing her hair and clothing
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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There is a woman using a system of two mirrors to ensure that her hair is done properly. She appears to be in her own room. Clothing, as well as a dresser and other assorted items fill the room.
- Title
- Woman with umbrella posing in front of a mural of Mt Fuji
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
A women dressed in a very formal kimono, is depicted holding an umbrella in her left hand. In the background is a mural of Mt Fuji and the Japanese countryside. The woman, a symbol for Japanese urban life, stands as a stark contrast to the background of nature imagery. Her kimono is hand colored...
Show moreA women dressed in a very formal kimono, is depicted holding an umbrella in her left hand. In the background is a mural of Mt Fuji and the Japanese countryside. The woman, a symbol for Japanese urban life, stands as a stark contrast to the background of nature imagery. Her kimono is hand colored in the image, as well as the flora surrounding her.
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- Title
- Young girl playing a game
- Date Created
- 1909