IDNO

N.22925.ACH2

Description

Portrait of a Papi and his Mabuiag family sitting on a bench in front of a thatch house. Sitting in the front are two women and a young girl, all wearing missionary dresses. At the back is a man sitting on the bench wearing a calico (sarong) and shirt, a boy standing on the bench with his arm around the man’s shoulders, and a second boy seated. On the bench-table is a hat, and in the background is a man standing watching on with arms his crossed and legs astride. A second thatch house and palm trees are in the distance. [Jude Philp 9/3/1999, updated JD 20/5/2011, 2nd update JD 11/10/2014]

Physical Condition: The emulsion is very faded and the image is difficult to see. Some peeling and cracking of the emulsion which is no longer attached in limited areas around the edges. A number of white speckles over the surface of the emulsion which have been partially retouched. Brownish discolouration of the emulsion. February 1999.

Place

Oceania Australasia; Australia; Torres Strait; Mabuiag [Mabuyag]

Cultural Affliation

Torres Strait Islander

Named Person

Papi

Photographer

None

Collector / Expedition

Haddon, Alfred Cort [Cambridge University Anthropological Expedition to the Torres Straits, 1898 - 1899]

Date

1898

Collection Name

Torres Strait Island ExpeditionHaddon Collection

Source

Haddon, Alfred Cort (Dr)

Format

Glass Negative Halfplate

Primary Documentation

Other Information

This negative was kept in an envelope marked C51/26/ by the cataloguer. The envelope was kept in box marked C51/ by the cataloguer. The envelope is now re-housed in Neg. Env. Box 8 which is stored in Storage Box B in the Photo Archive room.

Place: The Place field was previously recorded as being “Torres Strait”, but matching it to the duplicate print, P.71682.ACH2, shows that it was taken in Mabuiag. The Place field has been amended accordingly. [JD 21/4/2011]

Context: This type of photograph served the dual purpose of being a momento/studio portrait for the sitter and a record of the sitter for the physical anthropological and ethnographic work of the Expedition; some portraits were taken in exchange for assistance with psychological testing (Myers 1898). [Jude Philp, 2/1998 - 3/2000]

Online Publication: This image is published on 'True Echoes: Reconnecting indigenous communities with historic audio records of the sung and spoken cultures of Australia and Oceania' website - a British Library Sound Archive project in conjunction with seven institutes, including MAA. This research project focuses on early collections of wax cylinder recordings from the Pacific region, including those from the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits. Website launched October 2020. [JD 02/10/2020]