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The H. H. Bennett
"A Summer in Japan" series |
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Metcalf's Japanese images
on green
mounts |
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A selection of non-Japan
photography by Metcalf |
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SEEKING YOUR HELP |
| One of H. H. Bennett's "A
Summer in Japan" series is titled 330. Temple.
I would be grateful if any viewer would be willing to send a higher
resolution scan of this card for inclusion on the site. I will be
happy to acknowledge your contribution. I am also interested in
purchasing the card or other of the Bennett/Metcalf cards depicted on
this website.
This website is a work in progress and you can
help! Please send me any comments, criticism, or information you
would like to share. Even if you just want to tell
me what you thought, drop me a line at
rsandow@lhup.edu. |
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Have you seen
this card? |
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STEREOVIEWS OF JAPAN |
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The history of stereo-photography is a rich one, and goes back to
the earliest years of photography itself. In the Victorian
Era, stereo viewers and assortments of cards were staples of the
parlor. Some of the earliest stereo-photographs of Japan were
taken in the 1860s, when the Meiji Revolution "opened" the country
to foreign visitors. The first wave of western photography
resulted in a variety of views published in Europe and America and
these are the rarest and most highly sought after today. In
the 1870s, there appears to have been a lull in production as native
Japanese photographers became a more extensive force in the
production of Japanese images. It is in this period that the
series below was taken and published. Toward the turn of the
century, a number of well
known series of Japan became readily available. H. C White, Underwood &
Underwood, and Keystone published hundreds of views in
the 1890s and early 20th century. This publication was
promoted as educational, and the cards were often accompanied by
descriptive paragraphs. The popularity of such images
prompted companies like Sears and Roebuck to produce cheaply made
lithographic stereoviews in gaudy inaccurate colors.
In addition to stereoviews,
photographers including Kusakabe Kimbei, Baron von Stillfried and
Felix Beato were producing marvelous albumen prints of Japanese
people and places. Such prints were often sold in albums to
travelers and have significant value in today's market. Many
dealers disassemble the albums to increase profits in online
auctions but at the same time destroy the context and connectedness
of the original albums. |
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Image of
William Henry Metcalf: |
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This stereoview depicts William H. Metcalf in one of
Bennett's chosen sites in the Wisconsin Dells. The 1977 Bennett studio
stereograph list refers to this number as "Stand Rock with Jumping Man" but
clearly the image is different. Bennett and Metcalf often traveled
throughout the region together on excursions and Metcalf appears in more than
one published stereoview. The exact number is uncertain at present.
Thanks to Rob Oechsle for helping me to acquire this spectacular card. |
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Acknowledgements: |
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I would like to thank the following individuals for
supplying information, views, insightful critiques, and other encouragements in
the development of this page:
Rob
Oechsle, Terry Bennett, Luke Gartlan, Jeff
Ward, Bob Brue, David Spahr, and
George Baxley.
Baxley's informative site offers a great variety of Meiji era photography for
sale as well as useful information and links to other great sources. |
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Copyright Information:
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The information and images on these pages 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. |
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© Robert M. Sandow, Ph.D. |
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