Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930 Search this
Extent:
1 Album (42 leaves, unbound, 38 x 52 cm.)
1 Album (8 leaves, Japanese bound cloth-covered boards with gilt edges, 28 x 37 cm.)
1 Album (8 leaves, embroidered cloth-covered boards with gilt edges and silk endpapers, 36 x 48 cm.)
1 Item (one photographic portrait, in a 55 x 45 cm. frame, image 23 x 17 cm.)
2 Items (two signed photographic portraits, in elaborately carved frames, 44 x 34 cm., images 28 x 21 cm.)
2 Items (two photographic portraits, in 48 x 40 cm. frames, images 27 x 22 cm.)
1 Item (one photographic portrait, in a 23 x 13 cm. frame, 14 x 6 cm.)
1 Photographic print (loose, 26 x 18 cm.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Albums
Photographic prints
Photograph albums
Portraits
Photographs
Postcards
Place:
Beijing (China)
China
Japan
Korea
Philippines
Hawaii
Tokyo (Japan)
Hong Kong
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
A collection of photographs and photographic albums obtained by Alice Roosevelt, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, when she accompanied the Taft Mission to Asia in the summer of 1905. The collection contains 1.) One album of 8 leaves, embroidered cloth-covered boards with gilt edges and silk endpapers, 36 x 48 cm., containing 16 photographs of Alice Roosevelt during her stop in San Francisco, and on the passenger ship Manchuria, with the inscription "To Miss Alice Roosevelt: This Album of Photographs Taken by its Artists Is Presented by the San Francisco Call As a Souvenir of Her vist to the Philippines 1905." on the inside cover is an oil painted scene of a ship leaving San Francisco painted by the California artist Frederick John Behre (1863-1942); 2.) one album of 42 leaves, unbound, 38 x 52 cm., containing photographs of the Mission by American photographer Burr McIntosh, with the inscription "To Alice Lee Roosevelt in sincere admiration and appreciation of her generosity to the 'official photographer.' -- Burr McIntosh"; 3.) one album of 8 leaves, cloth-covered with gilt edges, 28 x 37 cm., containing photographs of a reception at Korakuen in Tokyo; 4.) one photographic portrait of the Empress Dowager Cixi, image 23 x 17 cm. in a 40 x 31 cm. frame; 5.) two signed photographic portraits, one each of the Meiji Emperor and Empress, images 28 x 21 cm. in elaborately carved frames, 44 x 34 cm.; 6.) two signed photographic portraits, one each of Emperor Gojong and Crown Prince Sunjong of Korea, images 27 x 22 cm. in 45 x 38 cm. frames; 7.) one photographic portrait of Japanese Foreign Minister Nagasaki Shōgo, by the Maruki Studio, Tokyo, 14 x 6 cm. in a 23 x 13 cm. frame, inscribed "Hon. Taft with sincere regards from his friend" above the image and signed "Michinori S. Nagasaki" below; 8.) Small matted print of American and Japanese audiences watching a Sumo demonstration at Korakuen in Tokyo, 6.8 x 16.3 cm., mounted on a board 22 x 31.5 cm; 9.) one loose photographic print of Alice Roosevelt and William H. Taft on the deck of the Manchuria, 26 x 18 cm.; 10.) one album of photographs of Nikko by the Hoshino studio in Nikko, with elaborately embroidered dragon cover, 27 x 38 cm.; 11.) accordian album of woodblock prints and descriptions of the whaling industry in Ikitsukishima in Nagasaki province, dated 1829, 23 x 34 cm.; 12.) album of various 19th century Japanese woodblock prints, 37 x 25.5 cm.; 13.) 73 picture postcards from the Kobe Picture Postcard Club, many handmade, addressed to President Roosevelt in appreciation of his efforts to obtain a peace treaty between Japan and Russia.
Biographical / Historical:
Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth, eldest child of President Theodore Roosevelt, was a writer, activist, and socialite, known for her exploits and willingness to flout convention. Her father once said that, "I can be President of the United States, or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both." She was born on February 12th, 1884 in New York City, and was the only child of Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Hathaway Lee. Her mother died two days after her birth. Alice's life changed dramatically when her father became the 26th president of the United States in 1901 upon President William McKinley's assassination. She entered Washington society the following January at her debutante ball, launching her career as an important political mover and a celebrity. During her father's presidency, she hosted large events for him, acted as a stand-in at events he could not attend, and went on various diplomatic trips at his behest, cementing her place among the Washington political elite.
On February 17, 1906, she married Congressman Nicholas Longworth (1869-1931), a Republican from Ohio, and moved her base of influence from the White House to her husband's home. She had one daughter in 1925 named Pauline. After her daughter's death from an overdose of sleeping pills in 1957, Alice gained custody of her granddaughter, Joanna and raised her. Alice Longworth campaigned frequently for Republican Party candidates and wrote regular political columns, but she supported the Democratic Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Throughout her life, Alice Longworth was known both for her caustic wit as well as her convivial dinner parties, two traits that gave her lasting influence and in later years earned her the title, "the other Washington Monument." She died two weeks after her 96th birthday on February 20, 1980.
Alice was a member of one of the first and largest U.S. foreign diplomatic delegations to Asia. It embarked from San Francisco on July 8, 1905 for a three-month tour, stopping in Japan, the Philippines, and China. The delegation, under the leadership of then-Secretary of War William Howard Taft, also included congressmen, senators, and a group of other civilians. Alice's future husband, Nicholas Longworth, was one of the congressmen with the delegation and their engagement was declared shortly after their return. On this trip, Alice met with the Meiji Emperor of Japan, the Philippine Sultan of Sulu, and the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi. Multiple photographs of her, other members of the delegation, and those they met with, were taken during the journey. Alice also collection albums, prints and postcards of local cities on her journey.
Local Numbers:
FSA A2009.02
Related Materials:
Alice Roosevelt Longworth Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The Alice Roosevelt Longworth Collection of Photographs from the 1905 Taft Mission to Asia, FSA A2009.02. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
A photograph received by Alice Roosevelt in September 1905 following an audience at the Summer Palace with the Emperor Guangxu and the Empress Dowager Cixi for members of the Taft Mission to Asia.
北京 慈禧 慈禧太后 勋龄
Biographical / Historical:
Alice Roosevelt visited Beijing in September of 1905 as a member of the William H. Taft Mission to Asia. According to her autobiography, the afternoon following an audience at the Summer Palace with the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, a troop of Manchu horsemen delivered the photograph on an imperial yellow chair.
Local Numbers:
FSA A2009.02 04
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The Alice Roosevelt Longworth Collection of Photographs from the 1905 Taft Mission to Asia, FSA A2009.02. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Cixi (慈禧太后), Empress Dowager of China, 1835-1908, Photographs. Forty-four glass plate negatives depicting the Empress Dowager of China, Cixi of the Qing dynasty, taken between 1903 to 1905 by the photographer Xunling (勋龄; ca.1880-1943). Scenes include the empress dowager on the imperial barge, in the Summer Palace (颐和园) with attendants, and individual portraits of Cixi in varieties of court attire. Other important figures of the royal court depicted are Empress Longyu (隆裕皇后; 1868 - 1913), Jinfei ((瑾妃; 1874 - 1924), Princess Der Ling (德龄公主; 1885 - 1944), Rongling (容龄;1882-1973), Lady Yugeng (裕太太), first chief eunuch Li Lianying (李連英; 1848 -1911), and second chief eunuch Cui Yugui (崔玉贵). The negatives were at one time in the possession of Xunling's sister, Princess Der Ling, who used many of them to illustrate her books on Cixi and the imperial Qing court. The collection includes thirty-five original glass plate negatives by Xunling and nine glass plate negatives copied from various sources, likely made for illustrations in Princess Der Ling's books and articles. Included in the acquisitions file is a 4 page typed essay by Lydia Dan (d. 2005), Xunling's niece, which identifies Xunling as the original photographer and describes the history of the photographs and anecdotes relating to Xunling and his family.
Arrangement:
The photographs are divided into four groups:
1. Twenty-four large negatives, 24.1 x 17.8 cm (SC-GR-243 to SC-GR-265; unnumbered). Original photographs by Xunling taken in the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace .
2. Eleven smaller negatives, 12.7 x 10.2 cm. (SC-GR-270-272; 276-277; 279-284). Mostly informal portraits of Cixi and the court taken with a more portable camera.
3. Nine smaller negatives, 12.7 x 10.2 cm. (SC-GR-266-269; 273-275; 278; 285). These are copies of prints from other sources, possibly taken for Xunling's sister, the Princess Der Ling to illustrate her English language books and magazine articles. SC-GR-275 is a copy from a worn, damaged print of a famous Xunling photograph. SC-GR-285 is copied from a poor print of SC-GR-265. SC-GR-278 is a detail copied from SC-GR-261.
4. SC-GR-285a is a print of a group of Han Chinese women.
1 Glass plate negative (glass plate negative 1, 24.1 x 17.8 cm.(9.5 x 7 in.))
Type:
Archival materials
Glass plate negatives
Photographs
Place:
China
China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
Beijing (China)
Yihe Yuan (Beijing, China)
北京
Date:
1903-1905
Scope and Contents:
From left to right: Lady Yugeng (Louisa Pierson), Princess Der Ling (Deling), unidentified eunuch, Cixi, Rongling. The group is standing before the Fuyinxuan behind Leshoutang on Wanshoushan.
1 Glass plate negative (glass plate negative 1, 24.1 x 17.8 cm.(9.5 x 7 in.))
Type:
Archival materials
Glass plate negatives
Photographs
Place:
China
China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
Beijing (China)
Yihe Yuan (Beijing, China)
北京
Date:
1903-1905
Scope and Contents:
From left to right: Lady Yugeng (Louisa Pierson), Princess Der Ling (Deling), unidentified eunuch, Cixi, Rongling. The group is standing before the Fuyinxuan behind Leshoutang on Wanshoushan.
1 Glass plate negative (glass plate negative 1, 24.1 x 17.8 cm.(9.5 x 7 in.))
Type:
Archival materials
Glass plate negatives
Photographs
Place:
China
China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
Beijing (China)
Yihe Yuan (Beijing, China)
颐和园
Paiyunmen, Yihe Yuan
排云门
Date:
1903-1905
Scope and Contents:
From right to left: Empress Longyu, Junsho, Princess Der Ling (Deling), Cixi, Second Chief Eunuch Cui Yugui, Fourth Princess, Yuanda Nainai, Lily, Lady Yugeng (Louisa Pierson), Rongling.
1 Glass plate negative (glass plate negative 1, 24.1 x 17.8 cm.(9.5 x 7 in.))
Type:
Archival materials
Glass plate negatives
Photographs
Place:
China
China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
Beijing (China)
北京
故宫
Zhonghai (Beijing, China)
中海
中南海
Date:
1903-1905
Scope and Contents:
From left to right: Rongling (蓉龄), unknown eunuch, Cixi (慈禧太后), unknown lady in waiting holding gourd, unidentified eunuch, Fourth Princess (四格格) holding a bamboo pole
1 Glass plate negative (glass plate negative 1, 24.1 x 17.8 cm.(9.5 x 7 in.))
Type:
Archival materials
Glass plate negatives
Photographs
Place:
China
China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
Beijing (China)
北京
故宫
Zhonghai
中海
中南海
Date:
1903-1905
Scope and Contents:
From left to right: Three unidentified eunuchs (Possibly Second Chief Eunuch Cui Yigui in center), Yuanda Nainai, Fourth Princess (daughter of Prince Qing), Empress Longyu, unidentified attendant (possibly Third Princess), Cixi, unidentified attendant, unidentified attendant, First Chief Eunuch Li Lianying, Jinfei, Princess Der Ling (Deling), Lily, Junshou, Lady Yugeng (Louisa Pierson), Rongling
