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 31 - 40 of 54 Records

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54 1909
Miniature of Farmers planting their crop
Farmers planting their crop
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    • Date Created: 1909
    • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
    Miniature of Two female performers
    Two female performers
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      • Date Created: 1909
      • Description: The woman on the right is holding a Shamisen, while the woman on the left is posed in a position as if she were about to begin dancing.
      • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
      Miniature of A public park
      A public park
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        • Date Created: 1909
        • Description: What appears to be the entrance to a public park. If you look closely, you can detect the mixing of cultures. Some men wear the traditional robe, but also don a western hat.
        • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
        Miniature of A man paying homage to two Buddhist statues
        A man paying homage to two Buddhist statues
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          • Date Created: 1909
          • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
          Miniature of Tea house with waitresses
          Tea house with waitresses
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            • Date Created: 1909
            • Description: Judging by the large quantity of women present in the building, this residence is most likely a tea-house or establishment catering to entertaining men.
            • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
            Miniature of Three people bathing
            Three people bathing
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              • Date Created: 1909
              • Description: Communal bathing was not uncommon during the early 20th century. It was often done together as a family, especially in the countryside.
              • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
              Miniature of Rural worker carrying his tools
              Rural worker carrying his tools
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                • Date Created: 1909
                • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                Miniature of Three basket weavers at work
                Three basket weavers at work
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                  • Date Created: 1909
                  • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                  Miniature of Employees outside a tea house
                  Employees outside a tea house
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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