Sold by Max Rambod Inc, Woodland Hills, CA, U.S.A.
Association Member:
AbeBooks Seller since 5 February 2021
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Photo album documenting American travel through Japan during the interwar period, preserving extensive visual evidence of Japanese urban life, maritime culture, civilian labor, and American naval presence during the decades preceding the Second World War. The photographs capture Japan at a moment of accelerating modernization and rising nationalism while also recording ordinary daily life in cities, ports, and rural communities encountered by foreign visitors traveling through the country. The material documents cross-cultural travel and maritime exchange systems through photographs of harbor infrastructure, naval vessels, ceremonial gatherings, transportation networks, and civilian street scenes, revealing how Americans visually interpreted Japan during an era of expanding Pacific diplomacy and naval projection. The album is particularly significant for its sustained attention to everyday Japanese life beyond formal tourist monuments, including laborers, women, children, transportation workers, and commercial activity in both urban and coastal settings. Original string-bound black paper photograph album containing 214 silver gelatin photographs mounted with corner tabs, album measuring approximately 7 x 10 inches, with most photographs approximately 2 x 2.75 inches. A page titled "JAPAN" introduces the principal section of the album, and several photographs are captioned with locations including Kobe and the Mirim Boat Club, indicating travel along Japan's southern and central coastal regions. Images depict a broad range of Japanese subjects including women in kimono, rikisha drivers, merchants, laborers, children, fishermen, and groups gathered in marketplaces and along harbor districts. Numerous photographs portray Japanese architecture, shrines, gardens, bridges, terraced landscapes, village pathways, and waterfront townscapes. Maritime scenes occupy a substantial portion of the album and include American naval vessels, cargo steamers, docked battleships, traditional Japanese sailing craft, harbor labor, and ships viewed both at sea and in port. Several photographs show uniformed American sailors assembled in parade formation alongside Japanese civic or military gatherings, suggesting an official or semi-official visit connected to naval diplomacy, Pacific fleet activity, or interwar goodwill missions. Additional images depict public ceremonies, mass gatherings, processions, and uniformed Japanese officers or youth groups, reflecting civic and military culture during the interwar years. The photographs alternate between posed portraits and candid street scenes, with many emphasizing interactions between foreign visitors and local residents. The album documents Japan during a period of profound social and political transformation as the nation expanded industrially and militarily while remaining a major destination for American diplomatic, commercial, and naval visitors in the Pacific. Unlike commercially produced tourist albums emphasizing only temples or scenic landmarks, this vernacular compilation preserves a broader visual record of daily life and maritime activity, including working people, transportation systems, harbor economies, and informal social encounters. The recurring presence of American naval imagery situates the album within the larger history of interwar Pacific relations prior to the deterioration of U.S.-Japanese relations in the late 1930s. Minor wear to several photographs and expected album handling wear; images remain clear and well preserved overall. Very good condition. A substantial and visually detailed record of interwar Japan through the perspective of an American traveler, combining documentary, maritime, and cross-cultural historical significance.
Seller Inventory # 22155
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