Felice Beato Photograph Collection
General International Standard for Archival Description
Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Danielle Kovacs. 2007-09-24
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Creation of Felice Beato Photograph Collection
Time of Creation of Felice Beato Photograph Collection
Beato, Felice, b. ca. 1825
Biographical History for: Felice Beato Photograph Collection
Background Note Kaisando Temple, Nagasaki A pioneer in war photography and the photography of Japan, Felice Beato is believed to have been born between 1825 and 1830 on the Greek Island of Corfu, then a British protectorate. Although little certain can be said about his formal training or early career, Beato is known to have begun work as a photographer as early as 1851, when he traveled to Constantinople with his brother Antonio to work for James Robertson, an experienced photographer who would later become their brother-in-law. By 1853, the Beatos and Robertson had formed a partnership, taking touristic images of famous sites throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Palestine. In 1855, Robertson and Beato shifted course and lit out to document the Crimean War battlefields at Balaklava, following immediately on the heels of the photographer Roger Fenton. Three years later, Beato ventured even further afield, heading to Calcutta and northern India to take photographs of the devastation following the Lucknow Revolt, and producing a series of graphic images that are sometimes considered to include the earliest depictions of war dead. After spending an undetermined period of time in England, Beato left for Japan prior to 1863, and although he was not the first photographer there, his images are among the best known of the late Edo period. Once settled in Yokohama, he opened a photographic and art studio with the English journalist and illustrator Charles Wirgman, producing a stunning array of views, portraits, ethnographic images, and genre scenes over almost a decade and a half. He traveled throughout Honshu and other Japanese islands, becoming the official photographer on the military expedition to Shimonoseki in September 1864, and producing a widely reproduced series of views of Nagasaki and its surroundings shortly thereafter. After a fire destroyed all of his negatives in 1866, Beato resumed work with great energy. In 1871, he accompanied a United States naval expedition to Korea, sometimes referred to as the first Korean War, again as official photographer. Just as important as his documentary work, however, Beato is reputed to have helped train the first generation of Japanese photographers, including Kusakabe Kimbei, as well as the noted German photograph Raimund von Stillfried. Beato remained in Yokohama until 1877 at which time he sold his negatives and studio to Stillfried's firm. Later in life, Beato photographed in Africa and southeast Asia, but he appears to have stopped photographing after 1899. He died in 1908.
This collection was originally found housed with the John Thomson Photograph Collection (PH 2) and the Walter Bentley Woodbury Photograph Collection (PH 3), which seems to indicate that the images were acquired together.
The Beato Collection includes ten images taken by Felice Beato in Japan between 1863 and 1871, including his famous view of Daibutsu, the Great Buddha at Kotokuin Temple, Kamakura; his view of one of the residences of the Shimabara clan; two very scarce views of a farmhouse and agricultural laborers, probably taken along the Tokaido Road; two views of Yokohama; and a fine view of a naval fleet at Nagasaki.
The collection is open for research.
Collection was processed and images scanned by Meghan Fahey, August 2007.
Temples--Japan--Photographs
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Daibutsu (the Great Buddha) of Kotokuin Temple, Kamakura
Creation of Daibutsu (the Great Buddha) of Kotokuin Temple, Kamakura
Time of Creation of Daibutsu (the Great Buddha) of Kotokuin Temple, Kamakura
Daibutsu
Farmhouse on canal's side
Creation of Farmhouse on canal's side
Time of Creation of Farmhouse on canal's side
Farmhouse
Farmers in agricultural field
Creation of Farmers in agricultural field
Time of Creation of Farmers in agricultural field
Farmers
Kanazawa view from hill
Creation of Kanazawa view from hill
Time of Creation of Kanazawa view from hill
Kanazawa
Kaisando Temple, Nagasaki
Creation of Kaisando Temple, Nagasaki
Time of Creation of Kaisando Temple, Nagasaki
Kaisando Temple
Negishi Bay from Fudozaka Slope [View on the New Road]
Creation of Negishi Bay from Fudozaka Slope [View on the New Road]
Time of Creation of Negishi Bay from Fudozaka Slope [View on the New Road]
Yokohama from the New Road
Pagoda at Kamakura
Creation of Pagoda at Kamakura
Time of Creation of Pagoda at Kamakura
Temple at Kamakura
Port of Nagasaki with American and British warships
Creation of Port of Nagasaki with American and British warships
Time of Creation of Port of Nagasaki with American and British warships
Port of Nagasaki
Shimabara-han Fief Second Residence
Creation of Shimabara-han Fief Second Residence
Time of Creation of Shimabara-han Fief Second Residence
Shimabara-han
Yokohama from the new road
Creation of Yokohama from the new road
Time of Creation of Yokohama from the new road