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 [30]
Place(s)
- Clothing and dressJapan [30]
- LifestylesJapan [30]
- Japan [26]
- PeasantsJapan [6]
- PoorJapan [6]
- Musical instrumentsJapan [2]
- ParksJapan [2]
- Women musiciansJapan [2]
- ArchitectureJapan [1]
- FestivalsJapan [1]
- FlagsJapan [1]
- FlowersJapan [1]
- Fuji, Mount (Japan) [1]
- GamesJapan [1]
- MusicJapan [1]
Format(s)
- image [30]
Genre(s)
- photographs [30]
- photomechanical prints [30]
Topic(s)
- Clothing and dress [30]
- Lifestyles [30]
- Women [16]
- Peasants [7]
- Poor [6]
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Browsing by:
Topic: ("Lifestyles")
Topic: ("Clothing and dress")
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: 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: Group of farmers tending to their crops
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
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: Rural farmer
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The man in this picture is wearing a straw raincoat, as well as the other traditional attire of a rural farmer. In his left hand, he holds a plant and what looks like a hoe. The other hand is carrying a container.
Title: Rural worker carrying his tools
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Samurai bowing before their lord
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The important figure is stepping into a palanquin, about to be carried to his destination by his bodyguards.
Title: Sandal shop owner with a customer
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The Japanese Sandal is known as a "Geta" and was the most common piece of footwear throughout most of Japan's history. Geta can have varying amount of pegs, or none at all. When they don't have pegs, they are sometimes known as "Zori."
Title: Street vendor posing for a photo
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
A street vendor carrying his container over his shoulder. The threadbare nature of his clothing supports this conclusion. Japan's national flag is supported on the back end of his container, and a bell is dangling from his left hand.
Title: Street vendor with small pipes on display
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: Two 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 woman on the left is posed in a position as if she were about to begin dancing.
Title: Two men attired as Samurai playing Shogi
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Judging by their hairstyles and the manner in which they are dressed, the two men are either of Samurai heritage or imitating men of such. They are playing Shogi, a Japanese board game similar in quality and manner to Chess.
Title: Two men getting their hair styled
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
A public hair styling experience.
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 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 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 with a tea set
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Two women practicing calligraphy
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The two women are practicing Japanese calligraphy, or "Shodou," an art most saw as a signifier of refinery and nobility.
Title: Two women preparing a meal
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Two women preparing their attire
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Two women posing in elegant kimono. It seems one is about to put a long shawl around the other.
Title: Two women under a blooming Sakura tree
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Woman preparing her hair and clothing
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
There is a woman using a system of two mirrors to ensure that her hair is done properly. She appears to be in her own room. Clothing, as well as a dresser and other assorted items fill the room.
Title: Woman with umbrella posing in front of a mural of Mt Fuji
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
A women dressed in a very formal kimono, is depicted holding an umbrella in her left hand. In the background is a mural of Mt Fuji and the Japanese countryside. The woman, a symbol for Japanese urban life, stands as a stark contrast to the background of nature imagery. Her kimono is hand colored in the image, as well as the flora surrounding her.
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