Chief S.O. Alonge Ideal Studio Collection
name: label: Photographer
content: Alonge, Solomon Osagie, 1911-1994
label: Photographer
content: Arasomwen, Samuel Nogieru, 1932 - 2023
note: label: See Also
content: Flora S. Kaplan papers, 1951-2012, National Anthropological Archives, NAA.2015-21
place: label: Place
content: Benin (Kingdom)
topic: label: Topic
content: Portrait photography -- Africa
label: Topic
content: Photography -- Studios and darkrooms -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Fashion
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress -- Africa
label: Topic
content: Weddings -- Africa
label: Topic
content: Royalty -- Africa
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Purchased from Alonge's son, Regie Alonge, 2014.
creator: label: Photographer
content: Alonge, Solomon Osagie, 1911-1994
label: Photographer
content: Arasomwen, Samuel Nogieru, 1932 - 2023
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Chief Solomon Osagie Alonge (1911-1994) was the first indigenous photographer of the Royal Court of Benin. His significance as one of the earliest indigenous photographers in West Africa has been documented in detail by anthropologist Flora Kaplan. Alonge learned the craft of photography as a youth in Lagos during the 1920s and saw his profession as an honorable and distinguished calling. In 1942, Alonge established the Ideal Photography Studio in Benin City and documented colonial society, the establishment of churches and businesses, and the formation of new civic organizations and social groups like the Benin Social Club (1940s). As a commercial photographer, Alonge photographed individual and group portraits, preserving a visual record of the everyday lives and peoples of Benin City. Alonge's studio portraits illustrate how local Bini residents and Nigerians presented themselves and engaged with the practice of photography during the early to mid-twentieth century.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 469 Glass plate negatives (4 x 6 in)
label: Extent
content: 966 Negatives (photographic) (b/w and color, medium format and 4 x 5 in)
label: Extent
content: 2 Photograph albums (Contains 77 prints)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1930s - 1960s
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: EEPA.2014-004
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Glass plate negatives
label: Type
content: Negatives (photographic)
label: Type
content: Photograph albums
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Nitrate negatives
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Glass plate negatives
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 20th century -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
label: Genre/Form
content: Nitrate negatives -- 1930-1940
scopecontent: label: Content Description
content: Collection contains glass plates with film boxes, b/w and color negatives, photographic albums, and a small portable film developer used by Chief S.O. Alonge in his studio in Benin City, between the 1930s and 1960s.