A Tourist's Album of Japan
Collection Overview
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.
Time Period Covered: 1909
Sub-collections
Published: February 01, 2011, University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections
Rights: Requests to reproduce this item should be sent to the UVM Libraries' Center for Digital Initiatives at cdi@uvm.edu. For more information, see http://cdi.uvm.edu/about/rights.
Browse Options
Creator(s)
- Wolcott, Katherine [36]
Place(s)
- Japan [32]
- LifestylesJapan [26]
- Clothing and dressJapan [24]
- PeasantsJapan [5]
- PoorJapan [5]
- Musical instrumentsJapan [4]
- FlowersJapan [3]
- Women musiciansJapan [3]
- Fuji, Mount (Japan) [2]
- MusicJapan [2]
- ArchitectureJapan [1]
- DwellingsJapan [1]
- GardensJapan [1]
Format(s)
- image [36]
Genre(s)
- photographs [36]
- photomechanical prints [36]
Topic(s)
- Women [36]
- Lifestyles [26]
- Clothing and dress [24]
- Peasants [5]
- Poor [5]
- Dwellings [1]
- Gardens [1]
- Music [1]
- Pedicab drivers [1]
- Portrait photography [1]
- Religion [1]
- Rickshaw men [1]
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Browsing by:
Topic: ("Women")
Title: A group of female performers
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The woman on the right is holding a Shamisen, while the other women strike poses.
Title: A lantern maker and his family plying their trade
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: A man and five women dining
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
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.
Title: A portrait of a young woman
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Doctor attending to a sick woman
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Employees outside a tea house
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Fan crafter with a customer
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
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."
Title: Five women on a bench
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Five women, dressed in elegant kimono's, sit astride a wooden bench. The picture is hand colored.
Title: Four women picking plants
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
It looks like the women are picking tea leaves. Less labor intensive then traditional rice farming, but still a difficult job.
Title: Four women preparing a meal
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The four women are engaged in various tasks. The woman on the farthest left is grinding something within her bowl, while the woman to her right is dicing a radish. The two women on the right are tending a fire.
Title: Groups of people eating lakeside
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
A group of women are eating together by a lake. A group of men are in the background, and appear to be eating as well.
Title: Rickshaw driver picking up two clients
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Shamisen crafter with a customer
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Tea house with waitresses
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
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.
Title: Three men carrying a woman in a palanquin
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Three people bathing
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Communal bathing was not uncommon during the early 20th century. It was often done together as a family, especially in the countryside.
Title: Three women bathing
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Two female musicians
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The woman on the left is playing a Koto, while the woman on the right is playing a Shamisen.
Title: Two traveling female performers
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The woman on the left is carrying a Shamisen, while the woman on the right is holding a Kokyu.
Title: Two women and a child siting below Sakura Trees
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
A small Gazebo structure appears behind the women.
Title: Two women bathing and dressing themselves
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The two women are in different stages preparation. The one on the left appears to be applying various forms of make up to herself, while the one on the right is washing herself.
Title: Two women getting water at a well
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Two women posing for a picture with their calligraphy
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Two women posing with umbrellas and calligraphy.
Title: Two women posing in front of a mural of Mt Fuji
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Two women are depicted as walking through a rural setting. A mural of Mt Fuji is seen in the background. The women are wearing rather large Geta (Footwear).
Title: Two women posing with a tea set
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
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