Pacific Studies Journal
Abstract
The Crane Pacific Expedition was privately funded by Cornelius Crane and institutionally sponsored by the Field Museum, Chicago. Originally planning a pleasure trip, Crane offered to fund and organize a scientific one for the museum. The expedition circled the globe from November 1928 to October 1929, and collected over 18,000 specimens of all types for various departments at the Field Museum. Sculptures were also collected and given to several museums. However, the Crane Expedition is particularly significant for its photographic record of the Sepik River, New Guinea. One official photographer, Sidney N. Shurcliff, was documented, yet five men are now known to have taken photographs and motion pictures. Over 500 photographs were made of people, art, architecture, and everyday life in New Guinea, especially while traveling the Sepik, Keram, and May Rivers during April and May 1929. This article discusses the planning and participants, and provides information and attributions for both the official and unofficial photographers of the Crane Pacific Expedition.
Recommended Citation
Webb, Virginia-Lee
(1997)
"OFFICIAL/UNOFFICIAL IMAGES: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE CRANE PACIFIC EXPEDITION, 1928–1929,"
Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 20:
No.
4, Article 9.
Available at:
https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol20/iss4/9
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