Hawai

1920 · 219786 — Circa1920s - 1930s. Collection of twenty-six loose photographs and five postcards two in colour. Photograph sizes vary but most are 10 x 14cm a few a bit smaller. The largest photograph measures 17.1 x 27.3cm and while silvered and torn with loss at the lower left corner is a lovely period piece showing a Japanese man driving an early 20th century car and an attractively dressed western-style Japanese woman looking on. In general the photographs show signs of wear some corner tears evidence of removal from albums or silvering but are still a fascinating collection showing people at home at work or on a day out. An interesting collection of photographs and postcards mostly black-and-white with a couple of coloured postcards. They appear to come from the family album of Japanese migrants to Hawaii or California. Most date from the 1920s and 1930s although one postcard was written during a visit to Paris in the 1950s. A few have dates on the back - the oldest being a photo of a smartly-dressed Japanese couple dated 1921 it is difficult to tell whether this was taken in Japan or the USA. <br> <br>Two photographs dated 1929 and 1931 show a Japanese woman with her small daughter - in one image she is shown with an Anglo-European family. There a studio photograph of a Japanese man holding serious-looking photographic equipment suggesting that at least one member of the family was a keen photographer. A particularly interesting shot shows the interior of a shop evidently run by the family selling a wide range of goods from electric fans cooking utensils baskets padlocks and other items. The family seems to have prospered quite well since several photos show outings in their car and a trip to Santa Cruz and the collection also includes a postcard from the famous Hotel Wawona in Yosemite National Park California. Another postwar postcard sent from Paris to the Tsuchiya family in Numazu describes a trip from Japan where the writer apparently stayed with the Tsuchiyas to France via Switzerland. . unknown