Philippine Colonial Photography of The Cordilleras 1860-1930 (PRE-ORDER)

Synopsis:

Philippine Colonial Photography of the Cordilleras (1860-1930) offers a fascinating visual journey into the rich cultural heritage of the people of the Cordilleras from the mid-nineteenth century to the turn of the twentieth century: their daily lives, the rituals they performed, the customs and traditions they practiced, the kinds of clothes and accessories they wore, and the beliefs and principles they observed.

This detailed ethnographic exercise would not have been possible without the prolific use of photography as a medium of documentation and excursion into the exotic and heretofore distant reaches of Spanish and American colonial territories in the Philippines. American and European photographers traversed the remote regions of the Cordilleras in their various roles as anthropologists, missionaries, teachers, researchers, scientists, soldiers, and government bureaucrats. Though they always retained the imperial gaze of colonialists as they surveyed their domain, the photographs featured in this book also highlight their sensitivity to the historical importance and proud cultural distinctiveness of the communities that they assiduously documented. 

The book showcases over 100 photographs by notable colonial photographers such as Henry Otley Beyer, Charles Martin, Dean Worcester, Fay-Cooper Cole and Mabel Cole, Albert and Maude Jenks, and Alfred Marche. Their works were used in popular magazines and government bulletins, used as postcards and cartes de viste, and embellished travel diaries and anthropological reports, thus stirring world interest in the Cordilleras and in the Philippines as a whole. These images recorded not just a vanishing way of life but also served as an important milestone in the inception of photography as a visual art and ethnographic practice up to the first quarter of the twentieth century. 

❗️NOTE❗️:

THIS IS A ❗️PRE-ORDER ITEM❗️PRODUCT WILL BE SHIPPED IN THE END OF AUGUST-SEPTEMBER.

 If you are ordering an item that is currently in stock in the same order, the order will be held until the pre-ordered book or item arrives from the Philippines. Shipping of pre-ordered items from our partners in the Philippines to New York are scheduled to take place in May, August and November 2026 ONLY.

Once pre-ordered items ship and arrive from the Philippines to New York, items will be dispatched from New York to their final destination.

Due to the gas situation worldwide and especially in the Philippines, shipping of pre-ordered items are delayed and shipping from the Philippines has been set to ease our partner's in the Philippines.

Shipping during these 3 months for 2026 also allow our partnered local artisans from the Philippines such as our weavers, anitu sculptors, and brass pre-colonial gold replica jewelry pieces, the time needed they need to work on your one of a kind, handmade pieces. 

These pieces are all handmade by our local partners and traditional artisans, not mass produced. If you want a ready made and in stock clothing piece, figure, ceramic, or jewelry piece, if we have any available in stock and on hand, you purchase those. Every shipment from the Philippines we do order extra's to put up on the shop for those who want to keep an eye out for in stock items. 

❗️CURRENT SHIPPING❗️

If you are going to be pre-ordering an item and ordering an in stock item, two separate orders must be placed to guarantee arrival of in stock products within 2-3 weeks.

Our shipping days for in-stock items from New York are currently only being shipped at the beginning and end of each month. This allows time for packing and shipping items. Also due to the rising gas prices, we have decided to cut back on shipping days to make it easier on ourselves (two person team) to pack and deliver items to the Post Office 2x a month.