IDNO

LS.26711.WHI

Description

On catalogue card: "N.W. Amazon. 175.14 - 16.
14. River view, with canoe.
15. Capt Whiffen in canoe, w. natives.
16. ? Capt. Whiffen's camp.
(3 slides)."

Scene of "Robuchon’s camp in the Japura Valley", with what appears to be a small tent and camping equipment in the foreground. Amongst the rocks on the left are seated two small groups of men and two women, most of whom are holding rifles. The men and women appear to be mostly South American Indian and are wearing "European" style clothing. [TC 09/06/1999]

Place

S America; Colombia; North West Amazon; Japura Valley; near Japura River (Caqueta River)

Cultural Affliation

South American Indian; ?European

Named Person

Photographer

?Whiffen, Thomas William; ?Robuchon, Eugenio

Collector / Expedition

Date

?1905 - 1908

Collection Name

Whiffen CollectionTeaching Slide Collection

Source

Whiffen, Nöel H.

Format

Lantern Slide Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

Related Image: A duplicate print is at the RAI, reference 36160, and annotated by Whiffen in pencil on the reverse with "Robuchon’s Camp in the Japura Valley."
Photocopies of Whiffen prints at the RAI are held in the UCMAA archive, reference W19/1/3. See Whiffen Collection record for further details on RAI collection. [TC 09/06/1999, updated JD 02/10/2019]

Some of the photographs in the Whiffen Collection were taken by Robuchon and this is probably one of them. The camp depicted here appears to be in use, so the photograph was probably taken during Robuchon’s 1905-1906 expedition. Alternatively, this image may depict Robuchon’s last camp as Whiffen found it in 1908. The people depicted may, then, be some of Whiffen’s "carriers" and their wives, as described in Whiffen, T. W., 1915 (pp. 2-4). He explains that at the beginning of his expedition he "collected eight Indian carriers, two half-castes, and eight "rationales", or semi-civilised Indians, armed with Winchesters, together with three Indian women, wives of three of the rationales" (ibid: 3). See Whiffen Collection record for further details.

For source details, see the Museum Annual Report, CUMAA 1934. See also 1934 correspondence between Louis Clarke and Nöel Whiffen. For full details see collection notes.