Finding aid for Martinique: vues & types, 1870s-1880s 95.R.97
Beth Ann Guynn
Special Collections
2021
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Martinique: vues & types
Identifier/Call Number: 95.R.97
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear Feet
(69 photographs in 1 album)
Date (inclusive): 1870s-1880s
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Abstract: The album of 69 photographs taken by an unidentified photographer(s) contains views of Martinique and studio portraits of
the island's inhabitants.
Language of Material:
French
.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Martinique: vues & types, 1870s-1880s, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 95.R.97.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa95r97
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired in 1995.
Scope and Content of Collection
The album contains 69 albumen photographs of Martinique by an unidentified maker(s) including 24 large format and 25 carte-de-visite
size views of Fort-de-France, Balata, St. Pierre, and environs; three large format portraits; and 17 carte-de-visite size
studio portraits. One of the large photographs depicts a group of East Indian immigrants, likely recruited to the island as
indentured laborers; the other two are studio portraits of a multiracial woman and a Congolese man respectively. Slavery was
abolished in Martinique in 1848. Lacking a labor force French coffee and sugar planters first looked to coastal western Africa
where they purchased enslaved persons, emancipated them, and then signed them into long-term contracts to work in Martinique.
This practice was quickly viewed as enslavement in another guise, and the planters then looked to East India for laborers.
The album is half bound in dark red leather with pebbled boards. The title is debossed on the front cover.
Titles for most of the individual photographs are from the French captions written on the mounts below the images. Consequently,
some of the language used to describe Black persons in the titles, such as négresses and mulâtresses (negro women and mulatto
women), are now considered to be outdated, racist, or offensive. Fifteen of the carte-de-visite size portraits depict women
of color. Grouped on two pages and collectively captioned as representing racial types, these images extend the 1860s and
1870s craze of collecting cartes-de-visite of one's friends, family, heads of state, and other celebrities to the collecting
of exoticized and objectified unnamed women. Since the names of the sitters are unknown descriptive titles for their portraits
were devised by the archivist.
Biographical Note
The album was likely produced by one of the early photographers working in Martinique.
Sources consulted:
Garcia, Claire Oberon. "My first visit to 'Le Pays des Revenants': Color, Caste, and Class in Martinque: Then and…?" https://sites.coloradocollege.edu/martinique/2011/07/21/79/
Northrup, David. "Indentured Indians in the French Antilles. Les immigrants indiens engagés aux Antilles françaises,"
Outre-Mers: Revue d'histoire, Année 2000: 245-271.
Arrangement
Arranged in a single series: Series I. Martinique: vues & types, 1870s-1880s.
Digitized Material
The collection was digitized by the repository in 2021 and the images are available online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/95r97
Processing Information
Beth Ann Guynn wrote the finding aid in 2021.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Martinique -- Description and travel
Indentured servants -- Martinique
Albumen prints -- Martinique -- 19th century
Photograph albums -- Martinique -- 19th century
Group portraits -- Martinique -- 19th century
Studio portraits -- Martinique -- 19th century
Photographs, Original.
Blacks -- Martinique -- Portraits
France -- Colonies -- America
Martinique: vues & types, Series I.
1870s-1880s
Martinique: vues & types, [1870s-1880s] (digitized version)
Arrangement
In original order.
box 1, Page Free endpapers
Front endpapers 95.R.97-fe
box 1, page Free front endpaper verso
Verso of free front endpaper 95.R.97-fev
box 1, page 1 recto
Rue du Gouvernement à Fort-de-France 95.R.97-1r
box 1, page 2 recto
Rivière Levassor 95.R.97-2r
box 1, page 3 recto
Chantier des transatlantiques 95.R.97-3r
box 1, page 4 recto
Rade de St. Pierre 95.R.97-4r
box 1, page 5 recto
Le Calvaire (Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-5r
box 1, page 6 recto
Camp de Balata, logement du colonel (environs de Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-6r
box 1, page 7 recto
Pitons Didier, établissement thermal (environs de Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-7r
box 1, page 8 recto
Camp de Balata, logement du gouverneur (environs de Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-8r
box 1, page 9 recto
Pitons Absalon, établissement thermal 95.R.97-9r
Scope and Contents
Caption continues: (environs de Fort-de-France).
box 1, page 10 recto
Fort-de-France: Baie des Flamands 95.R.97-10r
box 1, page 11 recto
Savanne de Fort-de-France: Statue de l'impératrix Joséphine 95.R.97-11r
box 1, page 12 recto
Rade de St. Pierre 95.R.97-12r
box 1, page 13 recto
Jardin du gouvernement à Fort-de-France: Arbre du voyageur 95.R.97-13r
box 1, page 14 recto
Jardin du gouvernement (Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-14r
box 1, page 15 recto
Pitons Absalon, établissement thermal 95.R.97-15r
Scope and Contents
Caption continues: (environs de Fort-de-France).
box 1, page 16 recto
Pitons Absalon, maison de bains 95.R.97-16r
box 1, page 17 recto
Rivière Madame à Fort-de-France 95.R.97-17r
box 1, page 18 recto
Rivière Madame 95.R.97-18r
box 1, page 19 recto
Bassin de radoub (Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-19r
box 1, page 20 recto
Bassin de radoub - 2e vue 95.R.97-20r
box 1, page 21 recto
Place Bertin à S. Pierre 95.R.97-21r
box 1, page 22 recto
Touffe de bambous 95.R.97-22r
box 1, page 23 recto
Cascade du jardin botanique 95.R.97-23r
box 1, page 24 recto
Groupe d'Indiens à dépôt des immigrants à Fort-de-France 95.R.97-24r
box 1, page 25 recto
Mulâtresse 95.R.97-25r
Scope and Contents
Full-length portrait of a Black woman.
box 1, page 26 recto
Nègre du Congo 95.R.97-26r
Scope and Contents
Full-length portrait of a Black man. See accession number 2002.R.1 for another copy of this image where it is attributed to
H. Hartmann.
box 1, page 27 recto
Négresses et mulâtresses 95.R.97-27r
Scope and Contents
The album page contains seven carte-de-visite size studio portraits of unidentified Black female sitters and includes bust
portraits as well as full- and three-quarter-length standing and seated portraits.
box 1, page 27 recto-1
[Seated Woman with Plaid Headwrap] 95.R.97-27r.1
box 1, page 27 recto-2
[Woman Seated by a Window] 95.R.97-27r.2
box 1, page 27 recto-3
[Bust Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Dark Dress, Large Beads, and Headgear] 95.R.97-27r.3
box 1, page 27 recto-4
[Woman Wearing Plaid Dress] 95.R.97-27r.4
box 1, page 27 recto-5
[Profile Bust Portrait of a Woman Wearing Bejeweled Plaid Headwrap] 95.R.97-27r.5
box 1, page 27 recto-6
[Standing Woman with White Collar] 95.R.97-27r.6
box 1, page 27 recto-7
[Woman Carrying Basket on Her Head] 95.R.97-27r.7
box 1, page 28 recto
Types de mulâtresses 95.R.97-28r
Scope and Contents
The album page contains seven carte-de-visite size studio portraits of unidentified Black female sitters and includes four
bust portaits, one standing three-quarter-length portrait, one seated half-length portrait, and a portrait of two seated women.
box 1, page 28 recto-1
[Bust Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Bejeweled Headwrap and Large Beads] 95.R.97-28r.1
box 1, page 28 recto-2
[Bust Portrait of a Woman in a White Top] 95.R.97-28r.2
box 1, page 28 recto-3
[Profile Bust Portrait of a Woman in a White Top] 95.R.97-28r.3
box 1, page 28 recto-4
[Bust Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Bejeweled Headwrap, Satin Scarf, and Large Beads] 95.R.97-28r.4
box 1, page 28 recto-5
[Woman Standing Next to a Basket of Fruit] 95.R.97-28r.5
box 1, page 28 recto-6
[Two Seated Women] 95.R.97-28r.6
box 1, page 28 recto-7
[Woman with White Scarf Looking to the Right] 95.R.97-28r.7
box 1, page 29 recto
[Three Occupational Portraits] 95.R.97-29r
Scope and Contents
The album page contains three carte-de-visite size occupational portraits of Black sitter (two men and a woman).
box 1, page 29 recto-1
Fabrit de fruits au cire 95.R.97-29r.1
box 1, page 29 recto-2
Porteuse de... 95.R.97-29r.2
Scope and Contents
The woman is carrying a bucket covered with a plank on her head.
box 1, page 29 recto-3
Montreur de serpents 95.R.97-29r.3
box 1, page 30 recto
[Views of St. Pierre and Fort-de-France] 95.R.97-30r
Scope and Contents
Album page with nine carte-de-visite size views.
box 1, page 30 recto-1
Place Bertin (St. Pierre) 95.R.97-30r.1
box 1, page 30 recto-2
Bassin de radoub (Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-30r.2
box 1, page 30 recto-3
Vue de Fort-de-France: Baie des Flamands 95.R.97-30r.3
box 1, page 30 recto-4
Remorqueur entre Fort-de-France et St. Pierre 95.R.97-30r.4
box 1, page 30 recto-5
Environs de St. Pierre 95.R.97-30r.5
box 1, page 30 recto-6
Rade de St. Pierre 95.R.97-30r.6
box 1, page 30 recto-7
Statue de l'impératrice Joséphine sur La Savanne de Fort-de-France 95.R.97-30r.7
Scope and Contents
Caption reads: Statue de l'Impr.ce. Joséphine sur la savanne de Fort-de-France.
box 1, page 30 recto-8
Eglise de Fort-de-France 95.R.97-30r.8
box 1, page 30 recto-9
Plan de Fort-de-France 95.R.97-29r.9
Scope and Contents
Photographic reproduction of a map.
box 1, page 31 recto
[Views of Fort Saint-Louis, Fort-de-France, and St. Pierre] 95.R.97-31r
Scope and Contents
Album page with eight carte-de-visite size views.
box 1, page 31 recto-1
Atelier de travail 95.R.97-31r.1
box 1, page 31 recto-2
Quartier d'artillerie et Fort St.-Louis (Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-31r.2
Scope and Contents
Caption reads: Quartier d'artillerie et Fort St. Louis (Fort-de Fre.)
box 1, page 31 recto-3
Rue du Gouvernement (Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-31r.3
box 1, page 31 recto-4
Rue du Fort-de-France 95.R.97-31r.4
box 1, page 31 recto-5
Pont et rivière au jardin botanique (St. Pierre) 95.R.97-31r.5
box 1, page 31 recto-6
Case de travailleurs dans les bois 95.R.97-31r.6
box 1, page 31 recto-7
Jardin botanique (St. Pierre) 95.R.97-31r.7
box 1, page 31 recto-8
Magasin de subsistances et Fort St.-Louis (Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-31r.8
box 1, page 32 recto
[Views of Fort-de-France, St. Pierre, and Religious Sites] 95.R.97-32r
Scope and Contents
Album page with eight carte-de-visite size views.
box 1, page 32 recto-1
Marché à Fort-de-France 95.R.97-32r.1
box 1, page 32 recto-2
Cascade du jardin botanique (St. Pierre) 95.R.97-32r.2
box 1, page 32 recto-3
Cascade (2er vue) 95.R.97-32r.3
box 1, page 32 recto-4
Cascade du Trou aux Sergents 95.R.97-32r.4
box 1, page 32 recto-5
Env. de St. Pierre (Environs de St. Pierre) 95.R.97-32r.5
Scope and Contents
View of nuns praying at an altar. Caption in negative below image: N. D. de la Déliverande / priez pour nous.
box 1, page 32 recto-6
Env. de St. Pierre (Environs de St. Pierre) 95.R.97-32r.6
Scope and Contents
Nuns and others praying at an outdoor shrine. Caption in negative below image reads: N. D. de Lourdes priez pour nous!
box 1, page 32 recto-7
Château d'eau (Fort-de-France) 95.R.97-32r.7
box 1, page 32 recto-8
N. D. de la Délivrande 95.R.97-32r.8
Scope and Contents
Exterior view of a church. Caption in negative below the image: N. D. de la Délivrande.
box 1, page Back endpapers
Back endpapers 95.R.97-be
