Missionary Gaze: the Social Biography and Archiving of Dr. David Landsborough IV’s Photographic Collections

Abstract

This research showcases the 'social biography' and significance of missionary photographs and the archives in which these images were deposited. I explore the internal and external narratives of the photograph- as-artifact, which was generated within the practice of missionary medicine from the end of the nineteenth century to the early period after the Second World War. In particular I examine the photo collection of Dr. David Landsborough IV (1914-2009, also known as ...), with reference to other visual records produced by medical missionaries and other historical accounts. Drawing upon theories of historical anthropology and engaging the collector by the method of photo elicitation, I show how photographs present researchers with a new window on missionary medicine, one alternative to those of imperial or colonial history. Landsborough's collection reveals the mixed and hybrid material culture of British and Japanese colonialisms and the local folk of Taiwan. It also shows the transformation and localization of missionaries' identities over time. By showcasing the story 'A Skin-Graft with Love,' this paper analyses the process by which a paradigm of missionary medicine was illustrated and projected through photography and other graphic forms. It also attests to the necessity of such projection in the contested medical marketplace of multiple colonial cultures. In addition, by tracing the career history of the Landsboroughs from natural historians to medical missionaries, this paper suggests that photography can be seen not only as a method of documentation, but also as a way to represent cultural and ritual life in the social networking of certain intellectual communities. Lastly, this paper discusses the problems researchers might encounter, including ethical and cultural repatriation issues, when using photographs as resources for historical enquiry.[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] .