Photograph album of the Los Angeles Times Oriental Excursion Party to Japan, China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines in 1906, 1906-1907

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Summary

Abstract:
Photograph album documenting an excursion to Japan, China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines in fall 1906.
Extent:
1 album (171 photographic prints) : b&w, 27 x 33 cm (albums)
Language:
Finding aid is written in English. and Materials are in English.

Background

Scope and content:

The excursion, sponsored by the Los Angeles Times [?], begins in Shasta Springs, Calif. on Aug. 31, 1906, where the 140 travelers board a "Special" train for Seattle, Washington. They sail from Seattle aboard the S.S. Dakota on Sept. 2, 1906, bound for Yokohama, Japan, the first stop on their journey. Aboard the ship, a group of lady travelers poses for pictures, including the Misses Johnson, Pfaffinger, Larronde, Halliwell, Mrs. Craig, Mrs. Frank Schumacher, Mrs. Heffner, and Mr. Amestoy. Once in Yokohama, the photographer records city streets, railroad station, temples, residences of foreigners, groups of Japanese children, and groups of women laborers, and several of the lady travelers pose in rickshaws. In Kyoto, the travelers visit several temples, and shoot the Hodzu River rapids in sampans. There are several photos of coaling coolies--men, women, and children--loading coal aboard the "Dakota" in Nagasaki. Photos taken in Shanghai, China record scenes in various streets, markets, along the Woo-Sung River, and in the old walled city, and include a photo of a Chinese woman with tiny bound feet. In Canton (Guangzhou), the photographer records sampans in the harbor, several pagodas, street scenes of a woman driving pigs, an open-air barbershop, and a wood-carving shop. The chief executioner of Canton poses with his drawn sword, having beheaded over 2000 people in 17 years! By mid-October, the party is in Hong Kong, where they visit the Peak, and photograph foreign residences, barracks, the King Edward Hotel, Hong Kong's Chinatown, and Kowloon. Several harbor shots record the aftermath of the burning of the British steamer S.S. Hankow, which had arrived in Hong Kong from Canton, China with 2000 Chinese passengers aboard; during the fire which broke out on Oct. 14, 1906, 130 people aboard perished. Photos of Manila include the Escolta, Manila's main street; Luneta park; Santa Cruz church; the Germinal cigar factory; and many scenes of water buffalo. The travelers return to Washington by Nov. 18, 1906. Also included in the album are several stock photos by Karl Lewis recording the sinking of the S.S. Dakota the following year, when she hit a sunken reef off the coast of Yokohama on March 3, 1907.

Acquisition information:
Gift of John Sandbrook, 1984.
Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.
Physical facet:

Photographs are mounted on rectos and versos of 23 (of 25) leaves of heavy black paper, interleaved with sheets of glassine taped along inner margins; captions neatly-written on each page in white ink.

Bound in black morocco-grain cloth album covers; manufacturer's label on inside back cover: "Heinn Co., Milwaukee," with stamped serial number "607."

Spec. Coll. copy: in modern beige cloth clamshell box; box label has title "Los Angeles Times Oriental Excursion Party."

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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