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Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Andrew and Martha Ruch photographs, EEPA 1991-013, between 1922-1925
Summary
- Collection ID:
- EEPA.1991-013
- Creators:
-
Ruch Family
- Dates:
-
between 1922-1925
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
326 Photographic printsdupe prints8 x 10 in.211 Photographic prints(1 vol.) + papers.black & white8 x 13 cm. or smaller.115 Lantern slideshand colored6 x 9 cm.
- Repository:
- Container:
- 11512212
Photographs taken and lantern slides collected by Andrew and Martha Ruch to document their experiences as missionaries in Africa during the 1920s. The photographs document Andrew and Martha Ruch's missionary work and their activities among the Kikuyu people. Places shown include Cairo, Egypt; the Mediterranean Sea; a beach in Mombasa, Kenya; Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania; Port Said, Egypt and the Suez Canal. Activities depicted include building houses, carrying loads such as grass (for thatching), luggage, water and wood; cooking; drying skins; grinding millet; pounding sugar cane and selling items from boats to ship passagers. Ceremonies included are baptisms and church ceremonies. Portraits of people include Christian converts; chiefs, children; families; Muhia, Ruchs' assistant; the Ruches; and warriors. Many of the portraits document African clothing, ornaments, scarification and weapons. Architectural images include building materials, grain bins, houses (including Ruch's home), mosques, museums in Cairo, pyramids, railroads, temples in Egypt and villages. Boats, motorcycles and ships are also pictured. Nature scenes of landscapes and animals vary greatly and include mountains, trails, rivers, vegetation, waterfalls as well as birds, camels, cattle, donkeys, lizards and a lion.
Arrangement note
Arrangement note
Images indexed by negative number.
Biographical/Historical note
Biographical/Historical note
Andrew H. Ruch, 1899-1966, missionary and pastor; graduate of the Moody Bible Institute, 1921, received ThD from Webster University, 1930. Martha W. Ruch, 1898-1989, wife of Andrew Ruch, graduate of the Moody Bible Institute, 1922.After Martha Ruch graduated from Moody in 1922, they married and left for Africa. They set up a mission in a Kikuyu Reserve in Ruiru, Kenya, and worked there until 1925, when they returned to the United States. Andrew Ruch spent most of his life as a pastor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Administration
Author
Paul Wood
Custodial History note
Photographs and personal papers of Andrew and Martha Ruch donated by their granddaughter, Cynthia G. Cassey, 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
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