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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129 1909
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 Mt Fuji and the surrounding countryside
    Mt Fuji and the surrounding countryside
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      • Date Created: 1909
      • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
      Miniature of Rickshaw driver picking up two clients
      Rickshaw driver picking up two clients
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        • Date Created: 1909
        • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
        Miniature of Woman admiring flowers
        Woman admiring flowers
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          • Date Created: 1909
          • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
          Miniature of Woman carrying her child on her back
          Woman carrying her child on her back
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            • Date Created: 1909
            • 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 People walking through the empty streets of city
                People walking through the empty streets of city
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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 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