the chief s.o. alonge photographic collection: royal court of benin photographer, nigeria, 1926 –...
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Presentation delivered by Amy Staples, Senior Archivist at the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, at the Smithsonian Archives Fair on October 22, 2010 in Washington, DC. The Chief S.O. Alonge Photographic Collection: Royal Court of Benin photographer, Nigeria, 1926 – 1989 Delivered at the Smithsonian Archives Fair by Amy J. Staples, Senior Archivist, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art on October 22, 2010 in Washington, D.C. As Royal photographer to the Oba (king) of Benin, Akenzua II (1933-1978), Chief S.O. Alonge documented the ritual, pageantry, and regalia of the Obas, their wives and retainers for over a half-century. This presentation showcases the Chief S.O. Alonge photographic collection and efforts to preserve the glass plates, large format negatives, photographic albums and hand-colored prints through Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF) in 2009 and 2010. The Chief S.O. Alonge collection will be showcased in a major photographic exhibition at the National Museum of African Art in 2012.TRANSCRIPT
The Eliot Elisofon Photographic ArchivesNational Museum of African Art
Chief Solomon Osagie AlongePhotographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria
S.O. Alonge seated outside his studio wearing formal attire and spats.
Benin City, c. 1942 (self-portrait)
Benin Chief with his traditional (extended) family, celebrates his title taking, n.d.
Visit of Earl of Plymouth (second left) to the Oba of Benin (center) at the Oba’s palace, 1935
Oba Akenzua II with his queens, the Iloi, Benin City, 1956
Oba Akenzua II greets Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on Royal Visit to Benin City, 1956
Ideal Studio portraits
Preliminary survey of the Alonge
collection
Bonsai Fine Art: packing and
shipping the Alonge collection
Packing the glass plates for shipment to the
Elisofon Archives
Phase I: Preservation and duplication
of Alonge glass plate negatives and film negatives
Collections Care and Preservation Fund
Smithsonian Institution, 2009
S.O. Alonge glass plate negatives
Archival four-flap enclosures and slotted boxes
for glass plate negatives
Conservation sink mats for fragile glass plates
Inspection and inventory of glass plate negatives,
NEDCC interpositives and duplicate negatives
NEDCC: Duplication and digitization of 120mm film negatives
Inspection and inventory of original120mm film negatives, NEDCC interpositives and duplicate negatives
Phase IPreservation survey:
Alonge vintage photographs and photo albums
Collections Care and Preservation Fund Smithsonian Institution, 2009
Preservation survey: Alonge artifacts
Collections Care and Preservation Fund Smithsonian Institution, 2009
Phase II:Preservation of photographic albums
and prints
Collections Care and Preservation FundSmithsonian Institution, 2010
Exhibition plans:Chief Solomon Osagie Alonge
Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria
National Museum of African ArtFebruary 2012 – August 2012
S.O. AlongeEarly Years
1930s – 1940s
Ideal Photo Studio, Benin City
Ideal Studio portraits
Picturing a New SocietyBenin Social Life
1930s – 1950s
Prize winner, c. 1939
Royal Court Photography 1933 - 1978
“Interior of the Royal Palace, destroyed in a fire, bronzes on the ground”.
Unknown photographer, Benin City, 1897. Pitt Rivers Museum, U. of Oxford.
PRM 1998.208.15.11
Oba Ovonramwen on way to exile, on board Ship Ivy, J. A. Green, c. 1897Alonge copy negative Himbury allbum 1995-0024-0031
Benin plaque (82-5-3) Benin king (85-19-12)
Commemorative objects:
Photographs in other mediums
Commemorative cloth, Funeral Oba Akenzua II, 1978 (2004-10-4)
In Memory of….Alonge commemorative objects
The End