1395 - German New Guinea / Bismarck Archipelago

German New Guinea / Bismarck Archipelago Collection of 12 original photographs of landscapes and one original drawing, depicting local people and group portraits from the colonial territory of the New Guinea Company. German New Guinea, ca. 1886–1892. Dimensions: 15.5 x 11 cm, 11 x 15 cm, and 11.5 x 17.5 cm (drawing). Gelatin silver print. Vintage. Mounted on cardboard Extremely rare. The collection documents several of the earliest and most significant outposts of the German colonial administration and trading companies in the Bismarck Archipelago and Kaiser Wilhelm Land, as well as numerous key figures of the German colonial administration and expeditionary corps. Among the labeled photographs are: "House of the Provincial Governor"—view of the official residence of the New Guinea Company in Finschhafen, which served as the seat of government for Kaiser-Wilhelms-Land until the provincial administration was relocated to Stephansort (1892).“Aladang Island near Finschhafen”—a topographical view of an offshore island in the harbor area of Finschhafen. "Market Day in Ralum, New Britain"—an ethnographic scene from the trading and plantation center of Ralum on the Gazelle Peninsula, where Richard Parkinson and Emma Forsayth ("Queen Emma") were active. "Mioko" – "Mioko" – View of the trading post on the Duke of York Islands (Neulauenburg), the main station of the German Trading and Plantation Company (DHPG) and the historic site of the flag-raising ceremony on November 4, 1884. A large-format group photograph of European colonial employees, planters and company officials in white tropical attire, together with local attendants, a dog, and a bentwood chair (Thonet-style) outdoors, set against tropical vegetation and a fenced-in garden. Among those pictured is the South Sea explorer and ethnographer Richard Parkinson (1844–1909), a long-time resident of Ralum and author of the seminal work *Thirty Years in the South Seas* (1907). The locations documented in the series (Finschhafen, Mioko, Ralum) most plausibly correspond chronologically to the terms of office of the provincial governors von Schleinitz, Kraetke, and Rose (1886–1892), as well as with Richard Parkinson’s main period of activity in Ralum (beginning in 1882, with his most intensive photographic work taking place from 1887 to 1894). The overlap of several smaller research and collecting expeditions (Schrader, Hollrung, von Below/Hunstein, Lauterbach) during precisely this period also explains why travel albums of this kind often combine multiple company stations in a single collection: Scientists, civil servants, and merchants used the same company steamers (including the “Samoa” and the “Herzogin Elisabeth”) for round-trip voyages between Finschhafen, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the trading posts. In addition, there are ethnographic images of the Gazelle Peninsula—Tolai and Baining, as well as Bauke/Buka Islanders, archers from the Bougainville region, and more. Included: pen-and-ink drawing: Ralum on the Gazelle Peninsula (New Pomerania/New Britain)—shown from a different perspective and apparently during a different season or at a different point in the journey; this time depicted as a drawn view of the shore with a densely built-up coastline, palm trees, and outrigger canoes on the beach. - In good condition. German New Guinea—Bismarck Archipelago. - Collection of 12 original photographs, views, and an original drawing of the local population and group portraits from the colonial territory of the New Guinea Company. German New Guinea, ca. 1886–1892. Each 15.5 x 11 cm or 11 x 15 cm, and 11.5 x 17.5 cm (drawing). Silver gelatin. Vintage prints. Mounted on card. Extremely rare. The collection documents several of the earliest and most significant outposts of the German colonial administration and trading companies in the Bismarck Archipelago and in Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, along with numerous key figures of the German colonial administration and expedition corps. The captioned images include, among others: "Haus des Landeshauptmanns" (House of the Landeshauptmann)—a view of the administrative headquarters of the New Guinea Company in Finschhafen, which remained the seat of government for Kaiser-Wilhelmsland until the territorial administration was relocated to Stephansort in 1892. "Insel Aladang bei Finschhafen" Aladang Island near Finschhafen—a topographical view of an offshore island in the harbor area of Finschhafen. "Market Day in Ralum, New Britain" – an ethnographic scene from the trading and plantation center of Ralum on the Gazelle Peninsula, the base of operations for Richard Parkinson and Emma Forsayth (“Queen Emma”). "Mioko"—a view of the trading post on the Duke of York Islands (Neulauenburg), the principal station of the Deutsche Handels- und Plantagengesellschaft (DHPG) and the historic site where the German flag was raised on November 4, 1884. A large-format group photograph of European colonial employees, planters, and company officials in white tropical attire, along with local attendants, a dog, and a bentwood chair (