H. H. Bennett's "A Summer in Japan" Series



Click the image above to view the entire series in large format

The Published "A SUMMER IN JAPAN" Series

The following series of stereoviews was published by the Wisconsin studio of Henry Hamilton Bennett (a Civil War veteran) who was famous for his many photos of the Wisconsin Dells (and a favorite series of mine depicting scenes of raftsmen). The series was titled "A Summer in Japan" and consisted of 26 published views, predominantly taken in Yokohama, Kamakura, Nikko, and the Fuji-Hakone region. They were taken in the summer of 1877 (not 1873 as suggested elsewhere on the web) by William Henry Metcalf, business tycoon, friend, and benefactor of Bennett, who visited Japan with a homemade box camera designed by Bennett. For much of his journey, Metcalf accompanied the eminent American scientist, Edward Sylvester Morse, though Morse's published diary excluded all mention of his wealthy and influential traveling companion. Other sources corroborate that Metcalf and Morse arrived in Yokohama by steamship on June 18, 1877, giving absolute certainty that the "Summer in Japan" was indeed the summer of 1877. Metcalf brought back additional negatives and printed untold numbers of both published and unpublished views on his own mounts marked by his personal blindstamp. The creation of Metcalf's own stereo cards and the gaps in the published yellow-mount Bennett cards have created widespread uncertainty about the total number of extant views in the "Summer in Japan" series. It also creates a semantic problem that requires us to define the published series as those created by Bennett and intended for public sale, which Metcalf's private views were not. Further work needs to be done and collectors await fresh research on this matter. Click me for more information about H. H. Bennett. I have indicated some information where I know it but I welcome any further information, critiques, or comments. If you have any of the Bennett stereoviews or other early flatmount views of Japan, I am always interested in collecting more early photography of Japan.

		326. Japanese Bed Chamber
		Inn interior, Hatsu-ishi [Hachi-ishi?]. Metcalf and Morse stayed here for several days while visiting Nikko. Morse included an almost identical drawing of this room in his published diary of Japan. Click here to see it.

		327. The Kago - Traveling Conveyance
		Location unknown. The kago was a traditional method of travel. This is the same tree as in 342, shot from a lower angle and different camera position. This could be the Fuji-Hakone region or the Nikko area, possibly an exterior of #326.

		328. Pagoda.
		This was taken at the Toshogu shrine at Nikko. Nikko was a standard destination on any foreigners visit to Japan and has some of the most lavish and ornate shrine carvings in all Japan.

		329. Approach to Temple
		Another photograph of Nikko: this image depicts the carved shrine enclosure near the Yomeimon gate. Nikko was closed to visitors until the Meiji period and was thus not one of the traditional famous sights of Japanese woodblock printing.

		330. Temple
		This photograph depicts the Dainichido temple grounds, further mentioned for views 333, 334, 338. These four views draw on a central focal building on the temple grounds. Their connection is explained below. 330 is a variant of view 338.

		332. Gate of the Great Temple - Nikko
		This depicts one of the inner buildings of Toshogu, the shrine to shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, and very near his tomb.

		333. Temple Grounds - Dai-Nichi-Do
		The Buddhist Dainichido temple was one of the famous sites of Nikko, slightly west of Toshogu. Click here for Isabella Bird's account of Nikko from Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (frankly this one was pretty well beaten!)

		334. Temple Grounds - Dia-Nichi-Do [sic]
		Another view of the Dainichido grounds. Dainichi Nyorai was the Japanese name for the Cosmic Buddha, the Great Buddha, or the All-Encompassing Buddha important to the Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism. Click me for info!

		335. Hachi Ischi
		Hatsu-ishi, Nikko. Morse mistakenly referred to it as "Hashi-ishi" meaning stone-bridge (which it did have). Hatsu can also be read Hachi (and I'm not certain if it is Hachi-ishi or Hatsu-ishi today). I believe you see the Inari River flowing in front of Toyama [?] toward the right. Metcalf and Morse stayed here for several days visiting Nikko. Isabella Bird described "Hachi-ishi" here as having "a sort of Swiss picturesqueness" and yet "a truly dull, quaint street."

		337. Approach to Temple
		The Dainichido temple grounds? The Nikko shrine complex? Somewhere else completely? Who knows for now.

		338. Temple Grounds - Dai-Nichi-Do
		Another image of the Dainichido temple grounds. Notice the uncharacteristic switching of the series and publication imprint on the sides of the images. An unusual goof.

		339. Approach to Temple.
		This is a straight-on photograph of the famous (and much photographed) Yomeimon gate at Toshogu temple, Nikko.

		340. Among the Nikko Mountains
		This appears to be another photograph of Toyama (prominent in #335) from a vantage point looking up the Inari River (also just visible in #335 to the right background). This is a Metcalf printing on green mount: no orange mount view available at present. See below.

		341. Temple Lantern
		This was likely taken within the Toshogu complex of Nikko.

		342. Tea House Court Yard
		Location unknown. As stated under view 327, this photograph shows the same tree from different angles.

		346. Bronze Image of Buddha at Kammakura
		This great statue of Amida Buddha dates to 1252. The surrounding wooden structure was washed away in the 15th century by a tsunami tidal wave. Kamakura is a marvelous excursion south of Tokyo for those who can not make it to Kyoto further west.

		348. Village of Kiga
		Kiga is a village near Miyanoshita, a hotspring (onsen) destination in the Fuji-Hakone region.

		351. Hakone - Mountain Village
		Hakone was a hotspring resort destination on the great Tokaido road west of Tokyo. For early foreign travelers, the Fuji-Hakone region seemed to be the furthest west from Tokyo that was permissible.

		352. Temple at Enoshima
		It seems self-explanatory. Excuse the poor scan for the moment. Click here for the clearer green mount version.

		353. Village of Enoshima
		While published out of sequence, this image was taken on his visit to the Kamakura area, south of Tokyo. There appears to be the ghosted figure of a person who had left the shot during the exposure.

		354. Near Odowarra
		Odawara was another post town on the Tokaido road. This picture seems to depict the road itself with a small hint of its impressive Japanese cypress (hinoki) border.

		359. Fisherman's Cottage
		Location unknown. Metcalf read widely about the techniques and artistic principles of photography, and even wrote a little on the subject. I am not certain what general principle was applied to the inclusion of people in photographs but Metcalf seems to use them as scale objects at times. The people standing in front of this "cottage" are indistinct.

		360. Rice Fields - Newly Planted
		Location unknown. The man seated in the jinrikisha is purported to be professor Morse. It could also have been Metcalf himself but who would have taken the picture. Morse would write that upon his arrival in Japan in June 1877, workers were just planting rice in the wet fields.

		361. English Hospital Grounds Yokohama
		As the port of arrival for foreigners, Yokohama was easily accessible for photographers. This image stands out in that it does not depict a stereotypically Japanese subject. The other pictures more readily convey the peculiarities of Japan to an audience that would never actually visit there.

		363. Honcho-Dori - Yokohama
		This is one of three published images Metcalf took in Yokohama, the main port of entry for foreigners visiting Japan. In it, he has carefully composed the jinrikisha driver in the foreground and what appears to be a sailor leaning against a building behind.

		365. Bird's-eye View of Yokohama
		The third image taken in Yokohama. This one shows the city stretching out below and was probably taken from the bluff upon which many foreigners built their residences. This may even have been the tea house at the top of the famous 100 steps, appearing often in period photographs.

Metcalf's Dainichido temple grounds Grouping:
At several points in his journey, Metcalf exposed several negatives of the same subject. These three views depict the temple grounds of Dainichido near Nikko. Numbers #333 and #338 are connected directly by the fact that they are taken from facing directions. I have also indicated how #334 connects to them. The images below indicate the rough camera positions for images #333, #334, and #338. You can imagine Metcalf setting up his stereo camera and looking right at you. In view #334, Metcalf leaves us a small personal detail from his trip to Nikko. You can see the pole and hanging chair of his kago (traveling chair) similar to the one pictured in #327. Thanks to Rob Oechsle for pointing these details out (and much much more). Additional note: #330-Temple is part of this series as well and is a variation of #338. While not yet pictured, the photograph shows the same thatch-roofed pavilion and pond. Metcalf placed the camera forward and to the right of image #338, altering the perspective only slightly. #330 brings into prominence some of the stone lanterns and carvings connected to the pond.



Matters of Style: Printing variations between Metcalf and Bennett:
Metcalf's stereo negatives from Japan captured a larger area of scenery than could be put onto the stereocards. This meant that when developing an image, the artist could make subtle stylistic choices about how to frame the picture. Metcalf apparently printed his own cards plausibly before turning over the negative to Bennett. A discussion of Metcalf's green mounted photographs can be found from the main index page for this site.

348. Village of Kiga
The image below shows how Bennett and Metcalf differed in the framing of their views. On the left is Bennett's published #348 "Village of Kiga" in the mountains near Hakone. On the right is Metcalf's personal printing on green mount. Bennett was perhaps more slavish to the proportions of the landscape genre, and put the horizon line a third of the way from the top. Metcalf's framing suggests either a centering of the focal point (the village beside the river) or the desire to include more of the foreground details. This is reminiscent of some of his other non-Japan images which feature close foreground detail.


338. Dai-Nichi-Do
Here is the most recent example of the framing difference between Bennett and Metcalf. It also mirrors the tendency of Metcalf to choose more foreground. Bennett has chosen to publish a cropped variation that reveals more of the overhanging eave of the building to his right.


Variations in titling and mount stock:
Bennett's published views of Japan show variation in the letterpress titling. Without further research, it is uncertain whether Bennett produced one variation before the other or simply switched back and forth at will -- though that seems less likely given the difference in the typeface. George C. Baxley has chosen to refer to the variants as Type A & Type B and I see no logical reason to change the designation at present. It should not be assumed, however, that Type A was produced earlier than Type B. Type A is characterized by the number being stamped to the left of the title, without intervening punctuation or an abbreviation for "number." Type B is printed with the number to the right, preceded by "No." and followed by a period. The image below also indicates another variation in "A Summer in Japan" views. Most of the card mounts I have seen could rightly be referred to as orange in color. The Type B example below is noticeably more yellow. In looking through a stack of these cards, there are subtle shade differences that might reflect fading over time but also attest to different lots of card stock. Most physical descriptions of the series address this difference of shade by calling them orange-yellow.



Variations in TYPE-A titles:
Bennett published left numbered views (Type A) with two variations. The illustration below shows examples in which the title is roughly centered and others which are left justified. I had previously thought that this was just an irregularity in the way that Bennett set the type on his foot-treadle title-press machine. See the comments that follow for an update.



Additional Findings in Title Variations:
As stated above, left numbered Type-A examples of the series reveal a curious variation in the way Bennett positioned the title and number. I had not observed a single card in which there was both a left-justified and centered version. However, photographic researcher Jeff Ward recently acquired a card from the series that counters that. Below is an illustration of #346 that shows the variation clearly. While only a minor detail, it reinforces the idea that over time Bennett manufactured cards with perhaps three generations of titling: two variations of left numbered and a right numbered variety. Until more cards appear, it is difficult to know if there are examples of the whole series in both left numbered variations. Given this observation, I am tentatively subdividing Type-A examples: Type-A1: left-numbered, left-justified Type-A2: left-numbered, centered While these subdivisions may be useful in indicating when the cards were manufactured, it is impossible at present to know the order or dates. This information should also be considered hypothetical until more examples surface.



The Chapin Backmark:
Some of the views presented on this website were published for the wholesale firm of C. R. Chapin & Son, of Mohawk, New York. I have only seen this printed labeling on Type-B examples of the series. Here is a good example of the backmark. More work needs to be done about the history of this firm and the connections with Bennett. If you have any information about this, I would be obliged to learn about it.



Publication Information


Series Title
This series title generally appears on the right side of the card but I have seen examples on which it appears to the left. This seems to be an unusual goof.



The T. W. Ingersoll pirated image:
Here is an interesting example of nineteenth century photographic piracy. T. W. Ingersoll published his own version of the Bennett/Metcalf #363 "Honcho-Dori." Being a copy print, it lacks the precision of depth and detail. It appears on a later curved-type mount and caries Ingersoll's own titling in the negative on the right-hand image. This is a real mystery because Bennett knew Ingersoll very well and often corresponded with him. Bennett's son worked for Ingersoll at one time, though Ingersoll was mostly trying to steal Bennett's secret method for quick printing and mounting. Despite this, they had what appeared to be a cordial working relationship. I can not imagine that Bennett would not have known about this.


Edward Sylvester Morse: He and Metcalf could enter big-pointy-beard contests together.



I have borrowed this image without permission from Tokyo University's Digital Museum. As part of a larger "History of Jomon Study," the page summarizes Morse's seminal archaeological work in Japan, entitled "Collections of Morse from The Shell Mounds of Omori," written by Keiji Imamura. Link


Copyright Information:
The information and images on this page are the intellectual property of the site owner (or appear with permission of other stated sources). It is not permissible to use or adapt information or images from this site without written permission from the author. All such requests must be made in writing or via email to: rsandow@lhup.edu. All permissions must be acknowledged with appropriate links and citations.

© Robert M. Sandow, Ph.D.