Visual Materials

Photographic postcards of individuals and groups in the Philippines

Description: 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.
Type: Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Production date: approximately 1909-1945.
Call number: photCL 739
Provenance: Purchased from Michael Maslan Vintage Posters, Photographs, Postcards & Ephemera, November 2024.

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 in the Philippines include studio portraits (some with inscriptions in Tagalog), family groups, children, sports teams, and cock fighting. One 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

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Photograph album of individuals and groups in the Philippines

Visual Materials

A photograph album containing 12 photographs. The last page of the album has a handwritten index with descriptions of each photograph. The photographs depict "the artist" (possibly the photographer) and his home in Inga, Enrile, Cagayan, Philippines; scenes of life on Luzon Island in the Philippines including a market, students and their teacher, and women bathing; a prison yard labeled as "Fort Santiago, Manlia"; and the Pasig River in Manila. Content warning: one image depicts skeletal remains.

photCL 753

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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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Photographic postcards, color postcards, and a few photographs

Visual Materials

A binder of approximately 400 images of the Philippines, chiefly black-and-white photographic postcards, 3.25 x 5.5 inches, with titles imprinted by the publisher. There are also color photomechanical postcards, and a few loose photographs. Some postcards have writing and stamps and have been mailed to the U.S. and elsewhere. Of note is one oversized panoramic format, hand-colored photo postcard of Baguio. These postcards were produced in large quantities by photography studios and publishers often based in the Philippines and circulated internationally.

photCL 719

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Dorothy O'Dell Philippines photograph album

Visual Materials

This album contains photographs compiled by Dorothy O'Dell, who resided in the Cavite province of the Philippines during her husband's service in the U.S. Navy. The images depict the couple's travel in England, India, Jerusalem, Panama, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, capturing specific sites such as Mount Ebal, the "Gateway to Ancient Shechem," Sebastia (Palestine), the "Ancient Castle Thunton" (Taunton Castle, England), Windsor Castle (England), Edinburgh Castle (Scotland), Heidelberg Castle (Germany), the "Hindu Temple" (Meenakshi Amman Temple) and the "Lake Temple" (Vandiyur Mariamman Temple) in Madurai, India. The photographs also document their residence in O'ahu, Hawai'i and Dorothy's evacuation from the Philippines and return to the United States via the S.S. Washington to San Francisco, California. However, many of the images capture Philippine landmarks in Manila, some of which were later damaged or destroyed by the Japanese in World War II. These landmarks include the Jai Alai Building, Puerta de Parián, and Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje cathedral in Antipolo. There are also photographs of the Chinese Yu Tan and Paco cemeteries in Manila, the Taal Volcano, images of Igorot dancers in ceremonial dress performing for Navy personnel, an Igorot person in traditional clothing in Northern Luzon, Filipino funeral processions, street scenes capturing Filipino citizens in their daily activities, livestock, and the O'Dell home on "Radio Road" or Salamanca Drive.The depictions of daily life in pre-war Philippines in and around the naval base are described through written notes by Dorothy on the album pages. Two cabinet card portraits produced by the B.D. Garduno Studio are also included in the album along with photographs of American naval ships and military personnel. The leather album cover is embossed with two Chinese dragons with an emblazoned sphere between them and a Chinese Junk ship below. A few of the album pages appear to have missing photographs.

photCL 746

Photographic postcards of individuals and groups in the Philippines

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Photographic postcards of individuals and groups in the Philippines

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