Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Wilhelm Schneider photographs, EEPA 1991-011, between 1937-1940

Summary

Collection ID:
EEPA.1991-011
Creators:
Schneider, Wilhelm, 1902-1990
Dates:
between 1937-1940
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
84 Photographic prints
dupe prints (1 box)
black & white
18 x 13 cm. or smaller
158 Negatives (photographic)
black & white
4 x 5 in.
158 Photographic prints
silver gelatin (2 v.)
black & white
18 x 13 cm. or smaller
Repository:
Container:
158
1
2
1
Photographs taken by Wilhelm Schneider (1902-1990) to document his experiences as a missionary for the Swiss Basel Mission in Cameroon, 1937-1940. The photographs document the culture of the Weh people and their neighbors in the Cameroon Grassfields during the 1930s. Activities include a funeral ceremony, hair braiding, house building, bridge crossing, food preparation, drum playing, knife sharpening, cotton spinning, field work, market selling and preaching. Architecture depicted includes chiefs' palaces, compounds, a mission school house, shrines and villages. Portraits include chiefs, kings, members of the secret society, kweifo, with their adornments, and other people showing dress, masks, ornaments and scarification.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Images indexed by negative number.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Wilhelm Schneider, 1902-1990, missionary; trained at the Basel Mission in Switzerland, stationed by the mission in Bali, Weh and the Fungom regions of the Cameroon Grassfields; later a pastor in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany.

Administration

Author
Paul Wood
Custodial History note
Donated by Walter Schneider, son of Wilhelm Schneider, of York, Pennsylvania, and Maria Petzold, daughter of Wilhelm Schneider, of Reutlingen, Germany, 1991.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Conditions Governing Access note
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Agriculture Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marketplaces Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cameroon Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Body marking -- Africa Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rites and ceremonies -- Africa Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cultural landscapes Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Black-and-white photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Africa Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
National Museum of African Art
P.O. Box 37012
MRC 708
Washington, DC 20013-7012
elisofonarchives@si.edu