[19th century Japan - Album of 42 original tinted albumen photographs of Japan, Alaska and Sir G. Baden-Powell and Sir G. Dawson seal expedition in 1891]

[19th century Japan - Album of 42 original tinted albumen photographs of Japan, Alaska and Sir G. Baden-Powell and Sir G. Dawson seal expedition in 1891]
N.p.
N.d. [c. late 19th C, 1891]

Oblong 14 x 18.5cm album, disbound, accordion style. Paper mache over wood boards with an intricate embossed design and gold and red pigment. Stiff card pages are bordered in pale blue with mounted, tinted album photographs 10.8 x 14cm. Most are captioned in pencil in English in the margins of the card mounts. The leaves are disbound/unhinged. [25]pp, 42 photos. 8 of the 50 sides are blank, with no photo mounted. There is no evidence of any photos (truncated) having been removed.

The posed Japanese photos appear to be from photography studios in Japan that catered to tourists. Among these studio portraits are photos of sumo wrestlers, women with umbrellas, in a rickshaw, washing and applying makeup and posing as dancers. There are also picturesque views of Nagasaki. A photo of the bronze horse statue at Suwa Shrine 諏訪神社 (Suwa Jinja) in Nagasaki [mislabeled a 'temple' in the album] does not have an enclosure around it, dating it to between 1870 when it was first dedicated, and 1913, as a corral was built around it during the Meiji period.

Scenes of villages from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska are pictured as well as locations in Russia. Included are photos of people on a rustic main street in Petropavlovsk, Russia, the SSS Danube in Avacha, Russia, a seal rookery, and a group photo that includes Sir George Smyth Baden-Powell (1847-1898) and scientist and explorer Sir George Dawson (1849- 1901).

On June 23, 1891 an article appeared in the NY Times stating that the two men were made British Commissioners in the Bering Sea seal question and an October 22, 1891 article from the same newspaper announced the arrival of Baden-Powell and Dawson in Ottawa, Canada after returning from the expedition to observe seal hunters, dating the photos from late June to October of 1891. This expedition was important in gaining evidence that was used in arbitration that voted in favor of England against the U.S. As the expedition was an official one, undertaken largely in secret, it is possible that the photos of the area were taken by a member of that expedition, likely a Westerner and skilled amateur or professional photographer. A full report of that expedition, undertaken on the chartered steamer Danube, also in the photos, was accessed 1.2.23. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hwyprv&view=1up&seq=11
The British Man-O'-War Porpoise, which is included in the photographs, is mentioned as accompanying the group.

Photos overall are in good condition, a few are slightly faded, some with tissue guards interleaved. Chipping to edge of cover. An unusual combination of studio and candid photos with historic significance in stunning lacquer paper-mache covers. (Inventory #: 86161)