A Tourist's Album of Japan

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 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.

List

Gallery

Information

Showing 1 - 10 of 130 Records

Relevance Title (A-Z) Title (Z-A) Year (0-9) Year (9-0)
10 25 50 100

130 1909
Miniature of A bridge spanning a small river in the Japanese countryside
A bridge spanning a small river in the Japanese countryside
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    • Date Created: 1909
    • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
    Miniature of A charm to protect against fire
    A charm to protect against fire
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      • Date Created: 1909
      • Description: The charm was created to protect the bearer from fire. On the marker, it says Jadaiji temple, which may be the Jindaiji temple in Tokyo.
      • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
      Miniature of A group of female performers
      A group of female performers
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        • Date Created: 1909
        • Description: The woman on the right is holding a Shamisen, while the other women strike poses.
        • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
        Miniature of A group of monks under a large Buddhist statue
        A group of monks under a large Buddhist statue
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          • Date Created: 1909
          • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
          Miniature of A group of travelers on the Japanese coast
          A group of travelers on the Japanese coast
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            • Date Created: 1909
            • Description: A group of five people and a horse appear to be traveling along the coast. A small town lies in the background.
            • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
            Miniature of A hotel in the Japanese countryside
            A hotel in the Japanese countryside
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              • Date Created: 1909
              • Description: In the upper left hand section of the picture, there is a black X inscribed on the picture. This was probably done by the original collector to identify which room (s)he stayed in.
              • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
              Miniature of A husband and wife dining
              A husband and wife dining
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                • Date Created: 1909
                • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                Miniature of A lantern maker and his family plying their trade
                A lantern maker and his family plying their trade
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                  • Date Created: 1909
                  • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                  Miniature of A large house in the countryside
                  A large house in the countryside
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                    • Date Created: 1909
                    • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                    Miniature of A man and five women dining
                    A man and five women dining
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                      • Date Created: 1909
                      • Description: The gathered group of people appear to be eating either Udon or Soba noodles. The gender ratio is somewhat perplexing, but can most likely be attributed to the artificial nature of the picture.
                      • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs