PACIFIC ISLANDS COLLECTIONS AT THE CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA–RIVERSIDE

Authors

Felicia R. Beardsley, University of California, Riverside

Abstract

More than twenty thousand photographs in the collections at the California Museum of Photography, University of California–Riverside (UCR CMP), document a century of history in the Pacific region. Most were taken between 1870 and 1930, many by a corps of unnamed photographers dispatched by stereographic companies to collect images for commercial purposes. There were also individuals like Harry Pidgeon, who crossed the Pacific documenting all aspects of life in the region. The Pacific images in two of the principal stereographic collections at UCR CMP, the Keystone-Mast Collection and the Harry Pidgeon Collection, are described. These collections have not been cataloged, yet for those willing to brave the idiosyncratic filing systems established by the original stereographic companies as well as Pidgeon himself, they are well worth the time and effort. For the archaeologist, anthropologist, and historian working in the region, the collections provide a wealth of information that complements and illustrates other research materials. Represented are traditional activities and occupations, rituals, crafts, architecture, monuments, and other material culture elements, along with images of burgeoning development and “modern” industrial societies.

Recommended Citation

Beardsley, Felicia R. (1997) "PACIFIC ISLANDS COLLECTIONS AT THE CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA–RIVERSIDE," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 20: No. 4, Article 13.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol20/iss4/13