Snapshot of tobacco production

January 2013

No matter how manifest tobacco-cultivation was on Sumatra when the Delimaatschappij was in charge, the Dutch people hardly knew this culture. Not surprisingly, photo reports were made in which tobacco production from seed to tobacco bale was recorded. That certainly happened more often when photography had well developed. A photo reportage allowed the planters in the Dutch East Indies to inform their family and friends of the proces in the plantations. In addition, such books also served to win investors for the good cause. The photograph shown here is one from a series of 78 that show the culture of the tobacco step by step and that are pasted in an album in chronological order, with handwritten notes. In the photo shown here we see a native who shows how large the tobacco plant is when it is ripe for harvesting. A bit of a misleading picture because the plantation workers were at least a head smaller than the settlers. This photo is halfway through the series because afterwards the fermentation and the processing into export bales are shown. This photo album was created in 1928 and is therefore a wonderful time document of tobacco production in those years and a valuable addition to our collection.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 21.323

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