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.

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Showing 91 - 100 of 130 Records

Relevance Title (A-Z) Title (Z-A) Year (0-9) Year (9-0)
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130 1909
Miniature of Priest holding a religious accoutrement
Priest holding a religious accoutrement
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    • Date Created: 1909
    • Description: 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.
    • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
    Miniature of Women in kimono watering flowers
    Women in kimono watering flowers
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      • Date Created: 1909
      • Description: A woman is watering flowers in a kimono.
      • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
      Miniature of Woman in kimono posing
      Woman in kimono posing
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        • Date Created: 1909
        • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
        Miniature of The town of Hakone
        The town of Hakone
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          • Date Created: 1909
          • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
          Miniature of Monks in front of a large statue of Buddha
          Monks in front of a large statue of Buddha
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            • Date Created: 1909
            • Description: Possibly a picture of the Amida Buddha statue in Kamakura.
            • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
            Miniature of Bridge in rural Japan
            Bridge in rural Japan
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              • Date Created: 1909
              • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
              Miniature of Bridge spanning a large river in rural Japan
              Bridge spanning a large river in rural Japan
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                • Date Created: 1909
                • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                Miniature of An estate in the Japanese countryside
                An estate 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 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 Fan crafter with a customer
                    Fan crafter with a customer
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                      • Date Created: 1909
                      • Description: There are two main types of fans in this man's shop. The folding fan - known as the "Sensu," and the hand fan - known as the "Uchiwa."
                      • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs