Walter B. Woodbury Photograph Collection

Walter Bentley Woodbury was born in Manchester, England, in 1834 and was raised by his maternal grandfather. In 1857, still in his early twenties, Woodbury traveled to Java where he founded a busy photographic firm with James Page, and between them, they took the majority of the known photographs of Batavia (present day Jakarta) from the latter part of the 19th century. The two men, accompanied by Walter's brother, Henry James Woodbury, traveled extensively through Central and Eastern Java in 1860, relatively soon after which the photographers went their separate ways. Woodbury remained in Batavia.

In 1863, Woodbury and Page offered a list of sixteen topographical photographs of the city for sale in albumen format. These images are considered the first of their sort from Batavia, which was originally established in 1619 as a colonial supply station for the VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie), or the Dutch East Indies Trading Company. Prospering during the 17th and 18th centuries as part of the spice trade, Batavia was a regional center for commerce and colonial administration, but particularly after a wall was erected around the city for security, it gained a reputation as "the Graveyard of Europeans," due to the poor sanitation and the stagnation of the canal system.

Although Woodbury worked initially with the wet-plate collodion negatives and albumen positive prints, he was an avid experimenter in photography, trying his hand at photoceramics, stereoscopic photography, stereoscopic projection, balloon photography, and electromagnetic shutters. He is perhaps most widely known for the photomechanical process he developed in 1866, the Woodburytype. Woodbury died in England in 1885.

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The Woodbury Collection consists of 42 medium-format albumen topographical photographs of Java produced by the firm of Woodbury and Page during the 1860s. The majority of photographs were taken in Batavia (modern day Jakarta), with a few from Surabaya and Buitenzorg (modern day Bogor). While Woodbury focused primarily on landscape, several photographs -- particularly those from Batavia -- depict members of the European community, their homes, clubs, and meeting places. Among the sites represented in the collection are the Harmonie Club House, Monlenvliet canal, Michiels Monument, Welsevreden Palace, Willems Church, the residence of Martinus Petrus Pels, and the Governor's palace at Buitzenborg. Photographs of the Tanah Abang house are annotated as "our" house by a person with the initials S.H.W., and who also locates the house in relation to other landmarks and homes in the area.

The photographs are arranged in alphabetical order by title, as supplied by S.H.W. or (perhaps) the photographer.

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Back View of Gov. Genl's. Palace at Buitenzorg, Java 1865 21 x 27.5 cm.

Batavia Cemetery, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

View of European cemetery located in Tanah Abang from inside cemetery fence. Fresh graves in fore. The cemetery was established in 1795 to provide a burial ground for Christians.

Catholic School, Singapore 1865 31 x 36 cm.

Chinaman's House at Batavia, Java [on Molenvliet] 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Tile roof house with adornment along roof peaks. Exterior of front porch adorned with hanging prints, statues, and sculptural elements. Four people sitting on porch. Believed to have belonged to the Khouw family who were local Chinese landowners. Possibly home of Khouw Kim An chairman of Batavian Chinese Council.

Entrance to town of Batavia 1865 30 x 39 cm.

View of arched gate down road lined with trees. Structure originally marked the south entrance to Batavia's old castle built in the 17th century.

Front View of House at Tanah Abang. Breakfast Table of the Period! 1866 31 x 41 cm.

Garden Scene at Kedring Badak 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Hamlet's Ghost, Sourabaya [Surabaya], Java [Boat with Passengers and Crew] 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Harmonie Club House, Batavia 1865 30 x 39 cm.

View of corner of clubhouse. Social club for European community. This structure was built in 1815.

Horse R.R. Station, Batavia, Java 1865 32 x 40 cm.

Hotel Sumatra 1865 24 x 32 cm.

Annotation on image: "Hotel 'Sumatra' at Padang. I lived in the front room at right of picture about 1 year."

House of a Batavia Merchant 1865 32 x 41.5 cm.

House of Batavia Merchant 1865 32 x 41.5 cm.

House of M. P. Pels, Esq., Kings Plain, Batavia, 1866 1866 35 x 40.5 cm.

This image is believed to have been commissioned by Mr. Pels. It appears in a Woodbury & Page album along with nine other photographs but is not recorded as an available print for sale in the Woodbury & Page inventory.

House of Prince Radheu Saleh, Batavia 1865 24 x 32 cm.

View of residence from front. House is heavily adorned with statues, urns, and stained glass windows. Manicured lawn and developing gardens visible in foreground. This structure was originally built in 1852.

House of the Pels Family Next to Ours at Tanahabay 1865 32 x 41 cm.

View of house from across the road. Four figures stand looking at camera in front of gate. Martinus Petrus Pels served as the honorary vice-counsel for the United States in Batavia. He likely made his living working for a trading firm and in 1866 served as a member of the Batavian Chamber of Commerce.

Kedirie [Kediri] River, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Michiels Monument, Waterloo Plain, Erected in Memory of Genl. Michiels & the Troops Killed During the Three Expeditions toi Bali in 1848 1865 30 x 39 cm.

View of Monument with Roman Catholic Church in right of image. Monument was erected to honor the memory of Major General Andreas Michiel.

Mr. and Mrs. Volz, Kings Plain, Batavia 1865 24 x 32 cm.

Natives Making Sarongs and Saraps 1865 24 x 32 cm.

Padang [Port from water] 1865 22 x 28 cm.

Palace at Buitenzorg, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Palace at Weltevreden, Batavia, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Large private estate, home to numerous governor generals.

Pasangrahan Resting Place for Travelers at Nnangteng, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Private House at Sourabaya [Surabaya], Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

River at Tanah Abang from Bridge in Front of Our House 1865 22 x 28 cm.

River scene at Buitenzorg, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

River Scene in Sourabaya [Surabaya], Java 1865 23.5 x 31 cm.

Road to Town, Batavia (Jangkeh) 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Ryswyk Portion Harmonie, Batavia, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

View from Rijswijk side.

Salak Mountain River, Buitenzorg, Java 1865 32 x 41.5 cm.

Stadhuis [Town Hall] Batavia, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Stream with Bamboo Banks at Sourabaya [Surabaya], Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Tanabang Road, Batavia 1865 32 x 37 cm.

Temple of Tego Wangie at Kedirie [Kediri] 1865 30 x 39 cm.

Turn Verein, Batavia 1865 35 x 41 cm.

View at Buitenzorg, near Batavia 1865 32 x 41.5 cm.

View at Tanah Abang, Batavia 1865 32.5 x 41.5 cm.

Annotation on image: "The two white pillars at the left represent entrance to house where Mr. Fay [Jay] lived in Batavia, S.H.W." on verso "View at Tanah Abang, Batavia N.B. Our House is just at the right after bridge in the background."

View at Tanah Abang, Batavia, Looking Down the River 1866 31 x 41 cm.

View from Front Veranda, House at Tanah Abang 1865 31 x 41 cm.

Waterloo Plain -- Sunrise, Batavia, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.

View of the military square at sunrise. The Waterloo monument is visible in front of Daendal's palace. The monument was originally erected in 1828 to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo.

Willems Church (Dutch Reformed), Batavia, Java 1865 30 x 39 cm.