LANTERN SLIDES RELATING TO ISHI, ca. 1911-1916

Ishi
Photographer unknown
[BANC PIC 19xx.318--LAN]

This is one of a group of fourteen lantern slides of Ishi, the last surviving member of the Yano [Yahi] Indians. Ishi was "discovered" in August 1911 and he soon became an irresistible subject for anthropologists such as Alfred Kroeber. He was photographed, tested, examined and studied like few men.

Theodora Kroeber noted, "Ishi was photographed so frequently and so variously that he became an expert on matters of lighting, posing, and exposure . . ." Ishi died on March 25, 1916 and his legacy includes a photographic archive of posed and designed photographs that may tell us more about the photographers than they do about the subject.

Lantern slides were popular precursors to 35 mm slides. A lantern slide image was captured on a heavy glass slide and served to illustrate lectures and for personal use.