5 Photo Albums connected to Yokohama-based manager of Butterfield & Swire Co., Mr. James Dodds 400+ photos of ex-pat life in Meiji Japan
[Japan] Unique collection of photos relating to James and Mary Dodds along with colleagues, acquaintances, and friends during their time spent living in Japan. Dodds first came to Japan in 1873 and left in 1905 to retire in England. He managed the Butterield & Swire office located at No.7 on The Bund and became very successful during his long tenure. He was a very active member of the foreign community in Yokohama and was also a founding member of the Japan Brewery Company in 1885 which was the forerunner of Kirin Brewery. At least one of the five albums was owned by Beryl Dodds, daughter of James and Mary, and it seems likely she may have inherited the others from her parents. Thankfully, many of the photos are captioned so numerous people are identified thus creating an important record of some of the Westerners who lived in Yokohama in the Meiji era. There are photos of parties, sporting activities, trips out of town, fancy dress events, the eruption of Mount Bandai in 1888, and more. The photos range in size from small to large (large being around A4 size and taking up a whole page). The photographers are unknown but many images appear to be taken by a professional and others by amateurs. There are also some photos of locations outside Japan.
5 albums. Over 400 photos. c1888-1908. The largest album is 38 x 27cm.
Three of the five albums are in very good condition with age wear and some marks. One album has a home-made cover and has wear and one album is damaged with some missing pages. p35101481
