Events & Calendars“'When Shall We Meet Again?': Remembering a Trip to Japan in an Album"

Naoko Adachi, Ph.D. candidate in the History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania, will discuss “'When Shall We Meet Again?': Remembering a Trip to Japan in an Album."

In 1901, an American couple, Albert and Lillian Allen, traveled to Japan and documented their trip in an album with photographs. Their album, held today at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania, is a unique and interesting collection of photographs because it combines professionally produced photographs and Albert's own snapshots. The professional photographs are large-scale, hand-colored images of famous historical sites and the everyday lives of Japanese people. The smaller snapshots depict scenes from the couple's own trip, recording people and landscapes they encountered. In this presentation, Adachi explores how the album as a format changes the meanings of the photographs within, and how this album helped Albert's family remember their trip.