Image

by anushy14

Picture Bride

by katherineleeahn

Lee Hee-kyung, center, poses in this undated photo with two other Korean women.
She arrived at Honolulu Harbor in October, 1912 to marry a Korean immigrant who initially left home for a sugar plantation job in Koloa, Kauai years earlier. Then an 18-year old bride, Lee Hee-kyung had never met her 26 year-old husband Kwon Do-in before, seeing him only once in a black and white photo shown by a matchmaker. Lee, a high school graduate, joined the picture brides group in the hope that she could go to college after marrying her husband-to-be. (Courtesy of Esther Kwon Arinaga)

Japanese women

by katherineleeahn

Japanese women arriving at the “Ellis Island of the West,” California’s Angel Island Immigration Station. By 1920, an estimated 6,000 to 19,000 Japanese “picture brides” were processed through Angel Island. (www.angelisland.org)

Japanese Picture Brides

by katherineleeahn

Picture Brides, San Francisco, circa 1920
Jim Kajiwara Collection, National Japanese American Historical Society

Korean Picture Brides

by katherineleeahn

Korean picture brides arrived in the greatest number between 1913 and 1919.
William Lee Photo

My Grandfather’s Photograph Album

by history369

My grandfather served for 2 years in the Pacific Islands during WWII. Below are some of the pictures from his war photo album:

His photographs of  Tinian locals.

Caption reads: “Gooks” at work

Published photographs in the scrapbook:

~Lisa

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Appalachian Family Photos

by nedweidner

These photos were taken by Shelby Lee Adams as part of a 36 year photojournalism project documenting Appalachian family life in rural Kentucky.  Shelby asked permission for every photo taken and compiled the photos into a book titled, Appalachian Portrait. All the photos below are from that book and depict the Napier family.  Shelby gave a copy of the book before it was sold in 1993 to the matriarch of the Napier family, Berthie.  Berthie was so pleased with the book that she remarked she would keep it till the day she died along side the “good book.” Family photos tell a story and these photos tell the story of the Napier family.

“The Hog Killin” – 1990

“Berthie with Pipe and John” – 1992

“The Napier Brothers with Puppies” – 1992

You can check out Shelby Lee Adams blog and more photos of the Napier family at

http://shelby-lee-adams-napier.blogspot.com/

An American Family in Russia

by shannonnutt

I found this photo album on the Library of Congress’ archives.  This is the Pray family and their experience of being an American family living in Russia.  This album contains everything from family photos, to small outings, and photos of the landscape of where they were living.  I had a great time looking through the photos to see what this family thought was important to photograph, the photos that were kept, and how the Library of Congress chose to arrange them.  I wish there was more context with dates to show the journey of the family within a chronological time line.

It is also interesting that the family decided to group the album of their time in Russia.  It would lead me to believe that they might have had multiple albums for different aspects of their life.

 

This photo was one with some members of the family during one Sunday outing.

 

Here is the description for the photo album:

• Title: Photograph album of Pray family expatriate life in Vladivostok, Russia
• Creator(s): Pray, Eleanor, 1868-1954, photographer Pray, Eleanor, 1868-1954, compiler
• Date Created/Published: 1899-1909, bulk 1899.
• Medium: 1 album (70 photographic prints) ; 15 x 21 cm. (6 x 8 in.)
• Summary: Photographs depict Eleanor Pray’s experiences as an American expatriate living in Vladivostok, Russia. Includes portraits and social activities with an international circle of friends and visitors; Japanese and Chinese servants; excursions in and around the city; interior and exterior views of Dom Smith, the residence she and her husband Frederick shared with his widowed sister Sarah Smith; and their dacha. The album also has a few photos of such Vladivostok landmarks as the Uspenskii Sobor (Cathedral of the Assumption) and the Nikolai Arch as well as the Pray family’s farm at Somersworth, New Hampshire.
• Here is the link: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003652872/

 

Lincoln and his son

by shannonnutt

While I was looking for a album to post, I came across this photograph of President Lincoln and his son looking at their own family photo album.  I thought this was interesting that with the time that it took to take a photo, this image was important enough to sit for.

The Saltonstall Photographs

by cpaulmartin

From the Massachusetts Historical Society:
“The papers, photographs, art, and artifacts of the Saltonstall family, one of the founding families of Massachusetts, chronicle five centuries of family history and involvement in public life, from before the European settlement of America through the 20th century. Saltonstall family collections at the Massachusetts Historical Society include papers of Leverett Saltonstall (1783-1845), mayor and U.S. representative from Salem, Massachusetts; Eleanor “Nora” Saltonstall’s letters home to her family while serving as a volunteer in France during World War I; and the personal and political papers and photographs of U.S. Senator Leverett Saltonstall (1892-1979).”

 

A 1934 photograph of the children of Leverett Saltonstall.

“From left to right: Leverett Saltonstall (1917-1966), Peter Brooks Saltonstall (1921-1944), Emily Saltonstall (1920-2006), Susan Saltonstall (1930-1994), and William Lawrence Saltonstall (1927-2009)” (MHS) photographer unknown

The full collection of Saltonstall photographs can be accessed HERE.

Given the placard upon which this photograph was printed, I am inclined to think that it may have been sent to relatives as a depiction of the current appearance of the children. At the same time, however, I cannot be sure, and it may have been instead designed for singular insertion into the family album. Either way, the Saltonstall family photographs, such as this above, demonstrate the desire to capture the appearance in time of some of the family members.

I think it especially interesting that two of the oldest children are not looking at the camera, one due to his interest in taking the photograph seriously, another due to his lack thereof. The result gives us insight, however small, into the dynamics of the relationships between the children. It seems obvious that the two elder boys probably had either different maturity levels, or at least different ways of approaching the world. The other three children, meanwhile, seem a quite disinterested in sitting still for the photograph. Draw your own conclusions, but from my own experience from growing up in a large family, this image represents so much that is familiar to me: the eldest trying to set an example, his younger brother rebelling against and perhaps lampooning his efforts, and a set of younger children anxious to re-immerse themselves into their respective, very active worlds.

Perhaps I am reading too much into the photograph, and yet at the same time, my own similar experiences suggest that I can safely draw many of these conclusions. Thus, this photograph is, perhaps, an excellent example of how images can be used as historical sources, as the picture above perhaps evidences portions of the childrens’s personalities and relationships.
~Christopher Martin