Japan, circa 1895, attributed to Sashichi Ogawa

Used as a source of light since the 11th century, Japanese paper lanterns also served a prominent place in Japanese history as decoration, in festivals and as a votive offering to Buddha. This studio image, with coloration hand painted on the original albumen print, shows three generations of lantern makers preparing for one of the great festivals. Credited to Sashichi Ogawa, this image was sold out of his studio in Yokohama to 19th century travelers who collected photographic albums as souvenirs of their voyages.