[Trio of Annotated Vernacular Photograph Albums Documenting Methodist Missionary Activities in Costa Rica and Panama in the Mid-20th Century]

[Various locations in Costa Rica and Panama, 1955. Very good.. Three photograph albums: [10] leaves, illustrated with thirty photographs, most with manuscript annotations in white pencil; [22] leaves, illustrated with seventy-one photographs, most with manuscript annotations; [20] leaves, illustrated with forty-nine photographs, each with manuscript annotation. Each album oblong octavo, in different colored cloth bindings, string tied. Minor overall wear, with a handful of loose photographs. A collection of three annotated vernacular photograph albums documenting the activities of Methodist missionaries in Costa Rica and Panama in the mid-20th century. The photographs picture the subjects traveling in the two countries, scenes inside and outside the classroom, views of native peoples and dwellings, a mission in Costa Rica, and the associated language school headed by Denton Powell Royster (who is pictured here and identified as "Pastor Royster"). The images capture missionaries on the road, at roadside picnics, enjoying leisure time, at meetings and dinner celebrations, and engaging in similar activities. Many of the subjects are named, providing excellent opportunities for deeper study; individuals here include Stan Sheldon, Jean Spahr (or Spahn), Virginia Miller, Virginia Forkell, Naomi Calkine, Lois Henry, Lorraine Roth, Betty Brown, Gordon and Marilyn Marken, Norm Piersma, Wally DeSmet, John Gilmore, and others. The album was compiled by a female missionary, likely a member of the Benz family, as one image is captioned "Peggy, Daddy, Mom and Steve Benz." Another photograph of a young woman is captioned, "Me enroute to the falls at Catalina." She also identifies herself in other photos, including one of her swimming at Ojo de Agua, but never seems to indicate her name. She appears to have been an instructor at the language school; one image shows her and a few others in "Phonetics" class, and another pictures her with other teachers of the grammar class.

A couple of the image indicate some of the missionaries are part of a "Honduran prayer meeting." Other scenes of interest feature a group photograph of the language school, "scenes from a woodworking shop on our paseo to the Roysters," activities in a coffee processing plant, and views of the Irazu volcano, among others. The indigenous or local peoples pictured here include the Baltadano family of the Central American Church, a woman named Angela de Varga, an oxcart operator in Costa Rica, a young woman identified as "Maria, una buena empleada," a man named Don Antonio, and a few others. Identified South American locations include Cartago Church, "the ruins of the oldest church in Costa Rica," Gatun Locks and other scenes in the Panama Canal, Roble Alto, the countryside near Cartago, and the interior of a church in Cartago. A diverse collection of images memorializing American missionary activities in South American in the Eisenhower years, with excellent potential for further study.