Samoan postcards

Folder of 48 postcards from Samoa with images photographed by Alfred Tattersall and Thomas Andrew.

The postcards were all reproduced in the publication compiled by Alice Hunt 'Greetings from Samoa: Early Twentieth Century Postcards and a tribute to Alfred Tattersall' (Palmerston North: Manuia Books, 2016).

The photographic postcards document Samoa, including historic events such as the cyclone of 1889, the volcanic eruption of 1905, and some are dated 1910. During this period Samoa was under German administration and consequently many of the postcards feature captions in the German language.

Other subject matter depicted includes:

- Volcanic activity, including lava running into the sea

- Shipping, including naval vessels and fishing canoes

- Shipwrecks of American and German naval vessels following cyclone of 1889

- Landscapes and scenery, including waterfalls

- The build environment, including traditional and colonial buildings

- Individual and group portraits of people, ranging from copra workers and to the king of Samoa, Malietoa Laupepa.

- Natural history and indigenous costumes and adornments

Some of the postcards bear the imprint of the "Deutsche Samoa-Gesellschaft, Berlin-Apia"

Also two postcards not directly related to Samoa, one portraying two female subjects related to Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, and one depicting "The Mosque of Omar, at Jerusalem". These two postcards with inscribed messages from circa 1918, at the time of the Influenza Epidemic, by Olive Blanche King to her sisters Florence King and Amelia Cora King, describing the experience of severe illness suffered by the writer and her family, including mother Susana Key and brothers Edward and George.

The postcards are mostly blank and not postally used, while some have messages and postal markings.

Quantity: 1 folder(s) 48 postcards.

Physical Description: Postcards.