Souvenir of Java, 1860-1890

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Summary

Creators:
Kinsbergen, Isidore van, 1821-1905 and Woodbury & Page
Abstract:
This photograph album depicts events and sites in the city of Batavia (Jakarta) and surrounding countryside.
Extent:
1 album(s) (88 photographic prints)
Language:
Collection material is in English with some French.
Preferred citation:

Souvenir of Java, 1860-1890, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 2002.R.6

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2002r6

Background

Scope and content:

The album includes views of the European and Chinese quarters of Batavia, and its canals and rivers. Scenes from the Chinese quarter (Glodok) include festivals and parades with floats and costumed figures, and the decorated coffin, funeral procession, and tomb of a local dignitary. There are portraits of indigenous officials and their retinues, and studio portraits and street shots of indigenous peoples including street vendors, gamelan orchestras, and theater troupes. Views of temple ruins include those on the Prambanan plain (Candi Lara Jonggrang and Candi Sewu), Borobudur, the large, free-standing sculptures of raksasa (giants) and other dieties from Singasari, and two views of the Kraton palace complex at Yogyakarta. There are also views of the countryside, hillside villages and plantations, processing plants, and natural landmarks such as the volcanoes at Tenger and Krakatoa. Most of the photographs are by Woodbury & Page; a few are attributed to Isidore van Kinsburgen. Also included are three studio portraits of North African people.

The album has red full-leather covers.

The photographs are numbered sequentially in their lower left corners up through number 79. Pages 80 through 88 are unnumbered. There are some modern pencil annotations on the mounts as noted; otherwise descriptions are provided by the cataloger.

Biographical / historical:

The young Englishmen Walter B. Woodbury and James Page met while seeking their fortunes in the Australian goldrush the 1850s. In 1857 they traveled to Java and opened the Woodbury and Page portrait studio in Weltevreden, Batavia (now Jakarta). Although Page returned to England in 1860, and Woodbury returned in 1864, the firm Woodbury and Page existed in Java until 1901, run first by Woodbury's younger brothers (Henry James and Albert), and later by Adolf Groth. Woodbury's successful career in photography continued after his return to England. He is best known for inventing the Woodburytype process (photo-relief printing).

Acquisition information:
Acquired in 2002.
Processing information:

Processed and cataloged by Beth Guynn; finding aid encoded by Holly Larson with grant funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR).

Arrangement:

In original order. Arranged in a single series: Series I. Souvenir of Java.

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.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers.

Terms of access:

Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.

Preferred citation:

Souvenir of Java, 1860-1890, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 2002.R.6

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2002r6

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
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