Japan in Early Photographs The Aimé Humbert Collection at the Museum of Ethnography, Neuchâtel

Japan in Early Photographs: The Aimé Humbert Collection by Marc-Olivier Gonseth presents the extraordinary photographic archive assembled by the Swiss diplomat Aimé Humbert during his mission to Japan in the 1860s — the rare and historically invaluable images of a country in the final years of the Edo period, just before the Meiji Restoration transformed it beyond recognition. Humbert’s photographs document a world that was about to disappear: the feudal structures, the traditional crafts and costumes, the landscapes and urban spaces of Edo-period Japan. Published with scholarly commentary examining the historical and photographic context of each image, this is an essential document for historians of Japan, photography scholars, and anyone fascinated by the extraordinary encounter between Japanese culture and the West at one of history’s pivotal moments.