Photographs made by Robert E. Kuntz documenting people and the natural and built environments that he encountered during his world travels. Locations depicted include Asia (Taiwan, India, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Japan), the Middle East (Pakistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Yemen), Africa (Sudan, Libya, Kenya, and Nigeria), and Oceania (Borneo and the Philippines). Images of Taiwan include street scenes of Taipei, festivals and ceremonies (including celebrations of 10-10 Day, Buddha's birthday, and Lantern Festival), temples, villages and agriculture, boats and harbors, artwork and shrines, carving, construction, markets, bridges, and a cemetery. The collection also includes images of the Acropolis of Athens, the Taj Mahal and other structures in India, historical structures and the harbor in Istanbul, markets and vendors in west Pakistan, and Wat Benchamabophit and Wat Arun in Thailand, ancient structures in BaŹ»labakk (Lebanon), St. Catherine's Monastery (Sinai) and a parade and ceremonies in Egypt.
Biographical/Historical note:
Dr. Robert E. Kuntz (1916-2003) was a parasitologist for the U.S. Navy and the Southwest Research Foundation. After earning his MS in zoology from Oklahoma University and Ph.D. in parasitology from the University of Michigan, he joined the United States Navy in 1943. He was a parasitologist and medical entomologist with the Naval Medical Research Institute and then Chairman of the department of parasitology at the Southwest Foundation for Research and Education, a position that brought him into contact with groups in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In 1964, Kuntz retired from the Navy as a captain. He wrote hundreds of publications and his photographs have been reproduced in textbooks, National Geographic Magazine, and other publications.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 2003-25
Reproduction Note:
Modern prints made from original negatives by Smithsonian Institution, 1987.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Kuntz's field notes are held in the Smithsonian Institutuion Archives in the Field Book Project, SIA Acc. 12-254.
Taiwanese fish skins collected by Kuntz held in the anthropology collections of the NAtional Museum of Natural History, accession 231999.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Photo Lot 2003-25, Robert E. Kuntz photographs of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution