1940s WWII-Era U.S. Navy Official Photographs – Samoan Village Women & Boys – Silver Gelatin (9x12) – Pacific Islands Ethnographic Group

$250.00
This offering consists of a large group of original vintage silver gelatin photographs, each measuring approximately 9 x 12 inches with white borders, depicting village life in the South Pacific and most likely taken in American Samoa during the period of United States Navy administration (1900–1951). The photographs show women and boys posed in traditional village settings, with the women wearing knee-length wrap skirts featuring wide horizontal light and dark striping, secured at the waist with belts, and finished with visible fringe at the closure. Young boys appear in customary waist wraps. The structures in the background are open-sided palm-thatched huts consistent with traditional Samoan fale architecture, and coconut palms are visible throughout the landscape. The images have the character of official documentary photography rather than informal snapshots. Each print bears a back stamp reading, “RELEASED – If published credit must be given as follows: ‘Official Photograph U.S. Navy,’” indicating that the photographs were officially cleared and distributed by the U.S. Navy for publication. The paper, format, and stamping are consistent with production in the late 1930s through the mid-1940s. These are original darkroom prints, not later reproductions, and they retain strong contrast and detail with only light, age-appropriate handling wear. This group represents a cohesive and historically significant body of U.S. Navy Pacific documentation and would be of interest to collectors of military photography, Oceanic ethnography, and twentieth-century documentary imagery. Condition: Good with some signs of wear. Check out some fine art: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DCSILVERSHOP?ref=shop_sugg§ion_id=14973859 For other wondrous treasures, wander around the shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DCSILVERSHOP
This offering consists of a large group of original vintage silver gelatin photographs, each measuring approximately 9 x 12 inches with white borders, depicting village life in the South Pacific and most likely taken in American Samoa during the period of United States Navy administration (1900–1951). The photographs show women and boys posed in traditional village settings, with the women wearing knee-length wrap skirts featuring wide horizontal light and dark striping, secured at the waist with belts, and finished with visible fringe at the closure. Young boys appear in customary waist wraps. The structures in the background are open-sided palm-thatched huts consistent with traditional Samoan fale architecture, and coconut palms are visible throughout the landscape. The images have the character of official documentary photography rather than informal snapshots. Each print bears a back stamp reading, “RELEASED – If published credit must be given as follows: ‘Official Photograph U.S. Navy,’” indicating that the photographs were officially cleared and distributed by the U.S. Navy for publication. The paper, format, and stamping are consistent with production in the late 1930s through the mid-1940s. These are original darkroom prints, not later reproductions, and they retain strong contrast and detail with only light, age-appropriate handling wear. This group represents a cohesive and historically significant body of U.S. Navy Pacific documentation and would be of interest to collectors of military photography, Oceanic ethnography, and twentieth-century documentary imagery. Condition: Good with some signs of wear. Check out some fine art: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DCSILVERSHOP?ref=shop_sugg§ion_id=14973859 For other wondrous treasures, wander around the shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DCSILVERSHOP