Museum Natur und Mensch
We would like to draw the attention of users of the Online Collection to the fact that some historical photographs reflect nineteenth- and early twentieth-century representations and attitudes, with the result that individuals have been depicted in a way that may be considered offensive today. When viewing, publishing and reusing historical photos, we therefore ask you to observe the following notes.
About Adolf Vollbrandt
Prior to studying and practicing medicine in Freiburg, Adolf Vollbrandt was an agent at Blohm & Voss, a shipbuilding company based in Hamburg in the late 19th century. As documented in the yearbook of 1922, he was a member of the local Shipbuilding Society. In 1887, Adolf travelled to Sāmoa to establish a new trading post for Blohm & Voss. During his stay, he became one of the founding members of the German school in Apia and held the position as clerk and cashier. Upon his return, he delivered public lectures recounting his travels titled “Three years among South Sea Islanders”. The first was held for the Workers’ Education Association (30.3.1924) at the university in Freiburg, followed by a second one organised by the Pensioners' Association (8.11.1926).
About the collection and album
The Adolf Vollbrandt collection is a private selection of 76 glass negatives donated to the Museum Natur und Mensch in Freiburg by the collector’s grandson in 2019. Little is known about its original assembly, acquisition, or nature. The collection provides a fragment of visual history in Sāmoa during colonial settlement. It showcases Sāmoan material culture, customary practices, and prominent people as well as political events and changes, and Euro-American influences.
This online album seeks to show connections between the people and places photographed, the photographers, and colonial narratives. It provides information on the scenes depicted, placing them within the broader historical context of Sāmoa. Each photograph is accompanied by reflective writing, drawing on critical insights and contemporary knowledge of colonial history. The writing should not be viewed as comprehensive, however. Instead, the interpretations are intended to contribute to the efforts of shedding light on alternative perspectives on colonial histories and the practice of photography.
People
The women, men, and children portrayed in the Adolf Vollbrandt collection span a range of social backgrounds. Some of them are Sāmoan matai (chiefs), or relatives thereof, who played pivotal roles in shaping the trajectory of European occupation and influencing the history and community dynamics of Sāmoa. The collection also includes individuals with perhaps less immediate prominent affiliations. Yet, their roles remain crucial in the working of a bi-cultural society. Among them are representatives of both communities who hold significance by bridging indigenous and Euro-American worlds. Also depicted are groups of Euro-American men, offering yet another insight of colonial occupation. The varied social backgrounds and roles showcased in the collection contribute to a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between different segments of society during colonial settlement.
The collection also includes individuals with perhaps less immediate prominent affiliations. Yet, their roles remain crucial in the working of a bi-cultural society. Among them are representatives of both communities who hold significance by bridging indigenous and Euro-American worlds. Also depicted are groups of Euro-American men, offering yet another insight of colonial occupation. The varied social backgrounds and roles showcased in the collection contribute to a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between different segments of society during colonial settlement.
Places
Sāmoa is an island group in the Pacific Ocean. Prior to 1900, it also included the islands that are known as American Sāmoa. Apia, the archipelago’s biggest city and capital, is located on the island of Upolu and has been a vibrant centre of commerce and social activity since Sāmoan settlement. The adjacent harbour attracted many Euro-American sailors in the early 1800s, fueling an intensive urban sprawl along the coastline and forever transforming the township.
Photographs in the Adolf Vollbrandt collection are predominantly situated in and around Apia. They provide a visual journey through the city’s historical landscape, showcasing various landmarks and significant locations important to indigenous Sāmoan and Euro-American communities. The photographs show a community in transition. They offer glimpses into the political tensions of a bi-cultural society in 19th century Sāmoa.
Colonial legacies
The arrival of settlers led to significant changes in Sāmoa's social fabric. As newcomers set foot on the islands, they brought with them distinct customs, ideas, and expectations that sought to redefine Sāmoa. The United States of America, Britain, and Germany vied for control over the island group, imposing borders where it suited their colonial interests and introducing new systems of rule. These imperial disputes, waged far from their homelands, exacerbated tensions among the indigenous community, fostering resentment within established family networks and alienation from kin.
The Adolf Vollbrandt collection documents some of the historical events that took place as a result of two worlds colliding. Despite many challenges, the Sāmoan population, drawing upon centuries of ancestral wisdom, adapted and resisted. Contrary to prevailing historical narratives depicting Sāmoa as a victim, the Sāmoans emerged as resilient ocean people navigating various facets of adversity throughout their history.
Acknowledgements
This research project is a collective effort and contains contributions from:
Research team:
Heike Gerlach (Museum Natur und Mensch)
Safua Akeli Amaama (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Sean Mallon
Athol McCredie (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Te Papa Tongarewa support:
Gareth Watkins (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Grace Hutton (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Martin Lewis (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Leann Williams (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Anita Schrafft (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Kim McClintock (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Amy Phillips (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Courtney Powell (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Claire Regnault (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Jane Harris (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Emelither Kihleng (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Alexander Gordon (Te Papa Tongarewa)
German institutions:
Gerrit Menzel (Internationales Maritimes Museum Hamburg)
Dr. Jeanette Kokott (Museum am Rothenbaum)
Susanne Walther (Museum am Rothenbaum)
Dr. Olaf Matthes (Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte)
Volker Reissmann (Staatsarchiv Hamburg)
Individuals:
Emily Parr
Tony Brunt
Reinhardt Wendt
Hilke Thode-Arora
Peter Hempenstall
Further readings:
Alofaituli, Brian T. (2017). Indigenous protest in colonial Sāmoa: The Mau movements and the response of the London Missionary Society, 1900 – 1935. University of Hawai’i Mānoa Press.
Author unknown (1907). The cyclopedia of Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands. McCarron, Stewart & Co. Publisher.
Balme, Christopher (2007). New Compatriots: Sāmoans on Display in Wilhelminian Germany. The Journal of Pacific History. V. 42 (3). Pp. 331-344.
Barrow, Terence (1959). Arts of the South Sea islands in British and continental museums: a photographic record with an explanation. Wellington, New Zealand.
Blackburn, Mark (2005). Women of Polynesia: 50 years of postcard views 1898 - 1948. Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
Burg, Richard (1987). A postal history of the Sāmoan Islands. Wellington Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand.
Burton Brothers (1987). Burton Brothers: fotografen in Nieuw-Zeeland, 1866 - 1898 = photographers in New Zealand, 1866 - 1898. Amsterdam Fragment Uitgeverij.
Cochrane, Susan (2007). Hunting the collectors: pacific collections in Australian museums, art galleries and archives. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Cowan, James (1914). Sāmoa and its story. Whitcombe and Tombs.
Droessler, Holger (2022). Coconut Colonialism: Workers and the Globalization of Sāmoa. Harvard University Press.
Duering, Kurt (2001). Early photography Tonga & Sāmoa, 1855 - 1900. Government Printing Dept.
Edwards, Elizabeth (1995). Picturing paradise: colonial photography of Sāmoa, 1875 to 1925. Daytona Beach Community College.
Eves, Richard (2006). “Black and white, a significant contrast’: Race, humanism and missionary photography in the Pacific. Ethnic and Racial Studies Journal. V.6 (4). Pp. 725 - 748.
Frost, Lenore (1991). Dating family photos 1850 - 1920. Essendon publisher.
Gilson, Richard Phillip (1970). Sāmoa 1830 to 1900: the politics of a multi-cultural community. Oxford University Press.
Koepke, Wulf (2014). Blick ins Paradies: Historische Fotografien aus Polynesien = A glimpse into paradise: historical photographs of Polynesia. Museum fuer Voelkerkunde.
Kraemer, Augustin (1994). The Sāmoa Islands: an outline of a monograph with particular consideration of German Sāmoa (V.2). Plynesian Press.
Liava’a, Christine (2002). Strangers in the Sāmoan Islands: foreigners mentioned in the cyclopedia of Sāmoa - 1907. New Zealand Society of Genealogists.
Newton, Gale (2008). Picture paradise: Asia-Pacific photography 1840s - 1940s. Parkes, A.C.T. National Gallery of Australia.
O’Brien, Patricia (2017). Tautai: Sāmoa, world history, and the life of Ta’isi O.F.Nelson. University of Hawai’i Press.
'Olaf Nelson and the place of afakasi in Samoa', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/olaf-nelson-and-place-afakasi-sam…, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 2-Sep-2014.
Quanchi, Max (2007). The Euro-American Psyche and the Imaging of Sāmoa in the early 20th century. The Asia Pacific Journal V. 5 (1).
Quanchi, Max (2006). The Imaging of Samoa in Illustrated Magazines and Serial Encyclopaedias in the Early 20th-Century. The Journal of Pacific History, 41(2), 207–217.
Quanchi, Max (2006). Visual Histories and Photographic Evidence. The Journal of Pacific History, 41(2), 165–173.
Ranger, T. (2001). Colonialism, Consciousness and the Camera [Review of Anthropology and Photography, 1860-1920; Picturing Empire: Photography and the Visualization of the British Empire, by E. Edwards & J. R. Ryan]. Past & Present, 171, 203–215.
Salesa, Toeolesulusulu Damon (2000). Half-castes between the wars: colonial categories in New Zealand and Samoa. New Zealand Journal of History V.34 (1).
Si’ilata, Elisheva Talei Manumalo (2018). O le Pale o Laei Samoa: The Crowning Glory of Samoan Adornment Examining The Changing Role of Tuiga in Samoan Culture. Master’s thesis. University of Auckland.
Sperlich, Tobias (2014). Photographing Mata‘afa Iosefo: Encounters, Interactions and Engagements in Colonial Samoa, History of Photography, 38:3, 296-314, DOI: 10.1080/03087298.2014.935107.
Stevenson, Robert Louis (1892). A footnote to history: eight years of trouble in Sāmoa. London Cassell.
Swain, Peter (2022). Fono: the contest of the governance of Sāmoa. Te Herenga Waka University Press.
Taylor, Maureen Alice (2004). More dating old photographs, 1840 - 1929. Ontario Family Chronicle.
Te Papa (date unknown). Tuiga: a Sāmoan ceremonial headdress. https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/10595.
Thode-Arora, Hilke (2014). From Sāmoa with love: Sāmoan travellers in Germany 1895 - 1911: retracing the footsteps. Hirmer Publishers.
UNESCO (1992). The Sāmoan fale. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000139897/PDF/139897engo.pdf.multi.
Wareham, Evelyn Sarah (1997). Race and Realpolitik: the politics of colonisation in German Sāmoa. Te Herenga Waka Press.
Watson, Robert MacKenzie (2021). History of Sāmoa. Legare Street Press.