Project Description
This beautiful photo album is comprised of photos taken before 1890, some of which were taken by photographer Felice Beato in Japan. Beato spent more than 20 years in Japan, and through his photos he provided a rare visual record of a Japan that was restricted to foreign travelers. Filled with hand tinted photographs of Japanese locations, this photo album allows for insight into everyday life. The locations photographed are places mainly in Osaka and Kobe, Japan, and while most feature natural scenery, some photos capture the residents of these towns as well. Another aspect of this book that garners attention is the cover. The front cover is decorated with gold lacquer and has a relief design of geese at a stream, surrounded by flora, with an ivory and mother-of-pearl inlay. The back cover is decorated in the same way, depicting insects and plants. The album has a gold leather spine and the inscription on the inside reads “Presented to N.W. Utley and Wife by Rev. C. B. Moseley, Aug. 9, 1890. Kobe, Japan.” Mr. Utley and his wife traveled to Japan many times during their adult lives, serving as missionaries of the Methodist Church. The photo album was came to the collection by gift of Mrs. Francis Utley in 1985.
-Charla Hamilton, Class of 2015