From Savage Maneaters of New Guinea to Samoan Maidens, perhaps 20,000 or more of the nearly half-million photographs housed in the collections at University of California, Riverside's California Museum of Photography (UCR CMP) document a century of history in the Pacific region, with the majority of images taken between 1870 and 1930. Most of the photographs were produced by stereographic companies that dispatched vast armies of photographers to collect images of all kinds for commercial opportunities in educational and home entertainment markets. But there were also people like Harry Pidgeon, an adventurous soul who crossed the Pacific in a small boat to document all aspects of life in the region. Images of remnant traditional activities and occupations, rituals, crafts, architecture, monuments, and sundry other material culture elements, as well as images of burgeoning development and "modern" industrial societies are represented. The collections are under-utilized, however, and very little, if anything, has been catalogued. Still, they are available for use by those who are willing to brave the stacks and contend with the idiosyncratic filing system established by the original stereographic companies. For the archaeologist and anthropologist working in the Pacific region, the collections provide an incredible wealth of information that can complement or supplement other, more conventional research schemes. Moreover, many of the photographs have proved particularly useful as aides in establishing a context within which to view and interpret some of the less well understood elements of the material culture across the Pacific.
Index
Title Page
Background
