Photograph Albums and Scrapbooks, 1890s-1910s

Scope and content:

Series comprises bound and disbound albums created and collected by the Parrish family largely during their time in Japan from about 1899 to 1905.

Three of the photograph albums contain black-and-white photographs depicting the Japanese estates and staff of Kichibei Murai, of the Murai Brothers Company, and may have been given as a gift to the Parrishes as a souvenir of their stay, or assembled by the Parrish family from photographs they took or had taken.

Seven of the albums are of the kind commercially produced and sold to tourists, and contain large hand-colored albumen photographs taken by well-known Japanese photographers of the time. The traditional tourist scenes feature city views, mountain and coastal landscapes, parks with lotus ponds and cherry blossoms, cultural and historic sites, agricultural and business enterprises, and portraits of Japanese men and women in native dress, including rickshaw owners, geishas, artisans, farmers, children, and wrestlers. Many of these albums were probably assembled from photographic prints chosen by the Parrishes, but some may have been pre-assembled by the studio.

The Parrish family's personal photograph albums include black-and-white snapshots and formal portraits taken by family members and friends during the family's travels to Japan, North Carolina, Niagara Falls, and other unidentified places. There are also a few large-format colorized photographs.

A scrapbook rounds out the collection of albums, and was contains calling cards and other memorabilia related to Lilly Parrish (d. 1948), the wife of President Flowers of Duke and only daughter of Edward James and Rosa Parrish.

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