Letter-carrier
Object Details
- Local Numbers
- R337 (Rosin Number). FSA A1999.35 337
- General
- Forms part of Rosin album number 1. Page 45.
- Title taken from label affixed to bottom center of mount.
- This album, with covers of lacquer and ivory, was produced by a shop which used photographs by Beato, Von Stillfried, Kimbei, and others, without including their descriptions or numbers. Each photograph is described by a label affixed below the print. The work is almost certainly by A. Farsari, who owned the stock of all of these photographs in the 1880s. Kimbei kept some stock he had purchased from Von Stillfried in his own shop. Confusion and uncertainty regarding attribution of 19th century Japanese photography is well-discussed in published material.
- Album Information
- rosinalbum1 045
- Photographer
- Kusakabe, Kimbei, 1841-1934
- Collector
- Rosin, Henry D., Dr.
- Rosin, Nancy
- Names
- Kusakabe, Kimbei, 1841-1934
- Collection Collector
- Rosin, Henry D., Dr.
- Collection Creator
- Lyman, Benjamin Smith, 1835-1920
- Ueno, Hikoma, 1838-1904
- Beato, Felice, b. ca. 1825
- Collection Collector
- Rosin, Nancy
- Collection Creator
- Stillfried, Raimund, Baron von, 1839-1911
- Underwood & Underwood
- Place
- Asia
- Japan
- Topic
- Photography -- Japan
- Photography -- 19th century
- Letter carriers
- Tattooing -- Japan
- Photographer
- Kusakabe, Kimbei, 1841-1934
- Collector
- Rosin, Henry D., Dr.
- Rosin, Nancy
- See more items in
- Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan
- Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan / Series FSA A1999.35 A1: Photo album from the studio of Adolpho Farsari
- Biographical / Historical
- Born to a family of textile merchants in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Kusakabe Kimbei moved to Yokohama in 1859. Although unclear, Kusakabe apprenticed under either Felice Beato and/or Raimond von Stillfried (Bennet, T. (1996) Early Japanese Images. Charles E. Tuttle Company: Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan.) Kusakabe managed a studio in Yokohama, first at Bentendori until 1881, then later at Honcho. His photo studio was well received by many, including foreigners.
- Extent
- 1 Photographic print (Album 1, page 45, hand coloring, image 26.5 x 19.9 cm.)
- Date
- [1860 - ca. 1900]
- Container
- Box 1, Item R337
- Archival Repository
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
- Identifier
- FSA.A1999.35, Item FSA A1999.35 337
- Type
- Archival materials
- Photographs
- Photographic prints
- Photographs
- Portraits
- Collection Citation
- Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
- Genre/Form
- Photographs
- Photographic prints
- Portraits
- Scope and Contents
- View of tattooed man in loin cloth with letter on bamboo staff. Indoor studio setting.
- It was customary for men who exposed much of their skin while working (i.e. grooms, construction workers) to tattoo themselves. These tattoos not only looked fearsome, but was also believed to protect the individual from harm.
- Photographer unidentified.
- Collection Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Record ID
- ebl-1643210100175-1643210104391-0
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
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