Visual Materials

Aurora Studio and Kenji Uchida photographic postcards of the Philippines

Description: A collection of 52 photographic postcards and some unmounted photographs of the Philippines created by two Japanese-owned photography studios based in Zamboanga City prior to World War II. The images by Kenji Uchida and the Aurora Studio date from approximately 1906 to the 1930s and depict scenes in the Zamboanga region with a few in Jolo. Subjects include people in everyday activities; street scenes and bird's-eye-views; Moro people praying in the chapel; coconut husking on a farm; ships; schools, prisons, and church buildings. Most photographs have identifying captions produced on the prints.
Type: Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Production date: approximately 1906-1930s.
Call number: photCL 738
Provenance: Purchased from Michael Maslan Vintage Posters, Photographs, Postcards & Ephemera, November 2024.

Aurora Studio and Kenji Uchida photographic postcards of the Philippines

Visual Materials

A collection of 52 photographic postcards and some unmounted photographs of the Philippines created by two Japanese-owned photography studios based in Zamboanga City prior to World War II. The images by Kenji Uchida and the Aurora Studio date from approximately 1906 to the 1930s and depict scenes in the Zamboanga region and Jolo. Subjects include people in everyday activities; street scenes and bird's-eye-views; Moro people praying in the chapel; coconut husking on a farm; ships; schools; and church buildings. Most photographs have identifying captions produced on the prints.

photCL 738

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Album of photographs featuring life, industry, education, and travel in the Philippines

Visual Materials

An album of 70 photographs compiled by an unidentified American man who lived and worked in the Philippines designing and fabricating bridges and buildings. The photographs are accompanied by extensive typed descriptions that document building projects, remains of old Spanish warships, street scenes, churches and houses, crops and vegetation, schools, and many of the native residents. Some images include the Iloilo riverfront with the airing of sugar, a principal industry of that region. The writer/compiler of the album describes living in Iloilo and Cotabato, and refers to work hours spent in the steel shops and at well-drilling sites. He also documents various indigenous peoples and his impressions of their cultures and daily lives. Group photographs of Bagobo men and women near Kidapawan highlight their distinctive clothing and adornment. Other photographs include an American-run Moro boys' school at Kudarangan, an agricultural school, and a snapshot of Dr. Edwin Bingham Copeland, who founded the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture. There is also a photograph of the dedication of the Cotabato Public Hospital in 1916, decorated with American flags and banana palms. Locations include Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Zamboanga, and Cotabato City.

photCL 678

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Photographic postcards, photographs, and ephemera from the Philippines

Visual Materials

A collection of approximately 300 photographic postcards, 200 color postcards, 200 snapshot photographs, and 23 negatives of people and places in the Philippines. Also included are Philippines postage stamps and peso currency issued under the Japanese government. The imagery covers a range of subject matter and locations within the Philippines, spanning the decades of U.S. control after the end of Spanish colonial government, 1898 to 1946, along with later images dating to 1997. Many postcards have writing and were sent by mail to the U.S. and other locations. Several snapshots appear to have been taken by U.S. servicemen, who also appear in the images with Filipinos. The most recent images are several commercial color postcards produced approximately 1967 to 1997, and a few color photographs from the 1960s to 1980s. Subject matter includes: people in everyday activities, with many Indigenous people represented; social and cultural activities; street and market scenes in Manila and other locations; weaving; religious ceremonies; landscapes; buildings; historic sites; churches; villages; military ships and U.S. servicemen. There are several studio portraits, mostly of women. Please note that this collection contains historical images and language that library users may find harmful, offensive, or inappropriate.

photCL 719

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Collection of photographic postcards and travel ephemera of the Philippines

Visual Materials

A collection of 731 photographic postcards and 81 photomechanical or printed postcards of the Philippines, spanning the years of transition from the end of the Spanish colonial government through decades of American administration. Many were sent through the mail to U.S. destinations, including Berkeley, Seattle, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sioux Falls, as well as to recipients in Hong Kong and Portugal. A number of postcards have handwritten inscriptions, stamps, and printed captions, indicating how they were viewed, circulated, and used for tourism and government propaganda. Postcard imagery covers a variety of subjects in the Philippines, including people and communities, with many Indigenous people represented; agriculture; buildings and houses under construction; social and cultural activities; prisons; street and market scenes; weaving and textile production; religious ceremonies; and landscapes. There are several studio portraits, primarily of women and couples, and several color photomechanical postcards of various scenes. The collection also includes some related photographic prints and tourist guides, pamphlets and maps of the Philippines. Please note that this collection contains historical images and language that library users may find harmful, offensive, or inappropriate.

photCL 701

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Photographs of daily life in the Philippines

Visual Materials

Seven photographs of scenes depicting daily life in the Philippines in the early 1900s. Each photograph has a typed caption printed on it. Images show people using a carromata or horse-drawn carriage, two children riding a carabao, people shopping at an outdoor market, a steam ship near Iloilo, destroyed buildings in Iloilo possibly from the Philippine American War, a Filipino man holding a rooster, and people bathing in a river.

photCL 764

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Photographic postcards of individuals and groups in the Philippines

Visual Materials

A group of 29 photographic postcards and snapshots of people and activities in the Philippines prior to World War II. There are also images of indigenous Igorot peoples at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909 in Seattle, Washington, and a few photographs of Filipinos in San Francisco, including a group at the Filipino Community Methodist Church. Photographs taken in the Philippines include studio portraits (some with inscriptions in Tagalog), family groups, children, sports teams, and cock fighting. A 1945 image shows an overview of the Santo Tomas internment camp where Japanese authorities interned civilians during WWII. Some postcards have correspondence in English and were mailed to the United States. Please note that this collection contains historical images and language that library users may find harmful, offensive, or inappropriate.

photCL 739

Aurora Studio and Kenji Uchida photographic postcards of the Philippines

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Aurora Studio and Kenji Uchida photographic postcards of the Philippines

Album of photographs featuring life, industry, education, and travel in the Philippines

Photographic postcards, photographs, and ephemera from the Philippines

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Photographic postcards of individuals and groups in the Philippines