Quarto album (ca. 20,4x28,7 cm). 23 paper leaves (9 blank). With 65 mounted original gelatin silver photographs from ca. 9,5x12,1 cm (3 ¾ x 4 ¾ in) to 6x8,5 (2 ¼ x 3 ¼ in). and a real photo postcard ca. 8,4x13,6 cm (3 ¼ x 5 ¼ in).  No captions. Original wrappers with a blind-tooled ornament and generic title “scrap book” on the front wrapper. Chinese Government Railways, Peking-Mukden Line train ticker for 1919 glued on the verso of the front wrapper. Pages fragile, some with tears at the edges, but overall a very good album with strong, interesting photos.

Historically significant collection of original photographs depicting Vladivostok and the Philippines under American control after WWI.

The compiler, “Major Thomas,” was among the 8,000 American troops first stationed in the Philippines (then a U.S. colony) and then deployed to Vladivostok as part of the Siberian Intervention during the Russian Civil War (1918–1920). The U.S. sent forces to Siberia under the pretext of protecting supply lines, assisting the Czechoslovak Legion, and countering Bolshevik influence. However, the intervention failed to alter the course of the war, and American troops withdrew by 1920.

The album features sixty-five rare original photographs, including fifteen excellent images of Vladivostok during the Allied intervention. About seven well-executed aerial views of the occupied city mostly show the Golden Horn Bay, with Allied naval vessels maneuvering along the waterfront and commercial ships with American flags drifting through the harbor. The clearly visible coastline captures numerous Port Steamship buildings, the grand Railway Station on Aleutskaya Street, and the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, used as the vital line of communication for the Czechoslovak Legion and the Allied armies. Especially interesting are three candid urban scenes from Svetlanskaya St., showing pedestrians in a mix of traditional robes and Western-style attire, horse-drawn carriages clattering over cobblestone streets, and a tram line cutting through the bustling city. Other close-up images offer rare views of Vladivostok’s landmarks during intervention, including the Railway Station (on Aleutskaya Street) and the now-demolished Triumphal Arch (near Korabelnaya Naberezhnaya) and the historic Church of the Intercession of the Theotokos (Okeanskiy Prospekt).

“The Philippine series” (22 photos) opens with an interior view of the compiler’s two-story house and a striking portrait of “Major Thomas,” proudly posing beneath an American flag in his quarters. Two candid urban scenes capture half-naked indigenous locals, some carrying loads and others posing with spears and shields. Other highlights include early views of Manila landmarks (Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz, a Buddhist sculpture), candid shots of the compiler and his family (by cars, local sites, etc.), and a striking view of Camp John Hay in Baguio (a real photo postcard with a clearly visible English sign). The series concludes with a poignant scene at the U.S. Quartermaster Corps pier, where American troops, surrounded by military personnel and women in white dresses, bid farewell to the Philippines before their departure to Vladivostok.

The collection also includes about twenty-five photographs taken after the compiler’s return to the United States, capturing candid moments with family and friends.

Overall, historically significant collection of original photographs and a real photo postcard depicting Vladivostok and the Philippines under American control after WWI.