Photographs of the Philippines during the nineteenth century have increasingly become accessible to the public through exhibits and publications. This present collection was made by P.K.A. Meerkamp van Embden, a Dutch businessman who later served as honorary consul of the Netherlands from 1889 to 1927. The years covered by his photographs witnessed the increasing integration of the Philippines into the world economy, the 1896 Revolution and the violent change of sovereignty from Spanish to American. The photographs are thus significant as a Dutchman's perspective on a watershed period in Philippine history. The subjects are varied: the people, streets and homes of Ermita, where Meerkamp resided; the abaca trade; Romblon and Cebu. An added bonus are photographs of the peoples of the Cordillera by Dr. Alexander Schadenberg.
The text that ties together the ensemble was written by Dr. Otto van den Muijzenberg, a Dutch anthropologist who has spent years doing fieldwork in the Philippines and has a deep knowledge of its culture and history.