American Historical Ephemera & Photography, Featuring Property from the James Milgram, M.D., Collection of Broadsides, Ephemeral Americana & Historical Documents

Horizonal folio  13 3/4 x 10 1/8 in. 28 (mostly) mounted silver gelatin photographs, majority approx. 6 x 8 in. or smaller. (Toning, occasional spotting and soiling, one image with approx. 1 in. tear, one image unattached to page.) String-bound adjustable album with leather boards and "Photographs" in gilt lettering to front cover (surface wear to leather finish, faded string unattached at one end and frayed, some pages unattached).

A remarkable album featuring many photographs related to operations of the USS Philadelphia in the Samoan Islands in 1899. Most album pages feature ink captions beneath photographs. Some images numbered and credited to Pitkin in the negative.

Scenes and subjects include: "Scene on the Mulinu-u Point, near Apia Samoa at seating of Malietoa Tanu, the last King of Samoa. - Lieut. P.V. Lansdale U.S.N., Commanding Battalion." -- "Natives discussing order of Admiral Kautz prohibiting mutilation." -- "Graves of British and American Naval Officers and Men Killed at Apia and Fagalii Samoa. Mulinu-u Point, Apia." -- "The only photograph of a Cannibal Feast ever made. The original snapshot was made by a missionary on the island of Mkau (sic), Fiji." -- Beheading enemies killed in Battle Near Apia, Samoa - 1899." -- "The Rebel Chief Mataafa. Apia, Samoa." -- "King Malietoa & the Princess at home." -- "The German Corvette 'Adler.' wrecked at Apia in the great hurricane of Mar 16 1889." -- "Last photo of Robert Louis Stevenson, showing his family, native servants and friends at Vailima, 3 miles from Apia." -- "The Cruiser 'Philadelphia' during a 'Forced Draft Trial.'" -- And many others, including a photograph of a sailor displaying his extensive patriotic back tattoo. A banner draped in the beak of an eagle at the top of the tattoo reads, "Remember the Maine." Other locations featured include Mexico, Central and South America.

[With:] 2 additional mounted silver gelatin photographs featuring a wedding processional and an outdoor lake scene captioned on verso.

The Samoan throne had been in contest since 1893, when Germany supported a rebellion by Samoan leader, Mataafa, against Samoan King, Malietoa Laupepe. Though Mataafa was eventually talked into surrendering and withdrawing, the death of Malietoa Laupepe in 1898 inspired Mataafa's return and fight for the Samoan throne. American and British interests favored Malietoa Laupepe's son, Malietoa Tanu, and thus violence broke out between the factions, with German, British, and American intervention stepping in to see their interests protected. American and British forces landed near Apia on 1 April 1899, hoping to disperse Mataafa's forces at the German plantation of Vailele. Instead, they were ambushed by a large force of Mata'afa's warriors, who ended up killing and wounding 14 of the combined British and American forces led, in part, by Lieutenant Philip Lansdale, who was killed in the fighting.