William Reese Company AMERICANA • RARE BOOKS • LITERATURE AMERICAN ART • PHOTOGRAPHY ______________________________ 409 TEMPLE STREET NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 06511 (203) 789-8081 FAX (203) 865-7653
[email protected] New Acquisitions in Americana January 2021 An African-American Unit in the Philippines 1. [African Americana]: [World War II]: [PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM CONTAINING A MIXTURE OF VERNACULAR PHOTOGRAPHS, PUBLISHED IMAGES, AND POSTCARDS CAPTURING THE EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN THE PHILIPPINES TOWARD THE END OF OR JUST AFTER WORLD WAR II]. [Various locations in the Philippines. ca. 1945]. 138 vernacular photographs, most about 5 x 4 inches, twelve small strips containing thirty-six vernacular thumbnail photographs, forty-one professional photographs, and twenty postcards, all in mounting corners. Program for the May 1949 commencement of Hampton Institute laid into a rear pocket. Oblong folio. Contemporary brown leatherette, black titles on front cover. Some rubbing and minor edge wear to boards. Some leaves detached, some chipped. Album in good condition; photographs and postcards in very good to near fine condition. A substantial photograph album containing both vernacular and profes- sionally-produced photographs, as well as picture postcards, all pertaining to an unidentified soldier’s experiences in the Philippines towards the end of or just after World War II. In our experience, photographic evidence of African-American military service in the Philippines is uncommon. The photographs picture African-American soldiers almost exclusively, sometimes posing with local Philippine men and women. Several pho- tographs depict African-American soldiers playing basketball, tennis, and horsing around on a basketball court. The African-American soldiers are also seen in camp, driving large military trucks, playing catch, building a structure, transferring supplies, interacting with locals, and dancing with local women at a party.