Photographer Page

Eliza R. Scidmore

For the first set of elephant images published in National Geographic, in 1906, Eliza Scidmore photographed captive elephants herding wild ones across a river in what’s now Thailand. In the early 1900s, Scidmore became a household name to readers of the Geographic, producing 15 articles and some of the journal’s first color photography.

Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, a writer, photographer and editor for National Geographic in its early days, visited Japan for the first time in 1885 and was enchanted by the blooming cherry trees like this one in a public garden in Kanazawa. Returning home to Washington, D.C., she petitioned officials to plant those same trees around the Capitol. On March 27, 1912, the first of 3,000 cherry trees—gifts from the Japanese government—were planted around the Tidal Basin. When she died in 1928, her ashes were buried in Yokohama. A cherry tree descended from one given to Washington by Japan overlooks her grave. Its blossoms fall softly in spring and cover the ground with a carpet of pink.

This photograph of young Japanese girls posing with cherry blossom branches was taken sometime before 1918 by Eliza Scidmore. Scidmore was the first woman to sit on the National Geographic Society's board of trustees, and she is also considered to be Nat Geo's first female photographer.

The July 1914 issue featured 11 colorized photographs of young children at work and play in Japan. Here, a baby crawls out from under a net serving as a playpen.

The July 1914 issue featured 11 colourised photographs of young children at work and play in Japan. Here, a baby crawls out from under a net serving as a playpen.

Middle school girls perform calisthenics in Japan.

Varanasi, captured by National Geographic in 1907, has been lived in for at least 3,000 years, making it India’s oldest continuously inhabited city.

A Siamese prince wears a full regalia of jewels, including a headpiece modeled after a chadok, the traditional Thai dancer's headdress.

King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat, the last reigning monarchs of Burma (now known as Myanmar), sit beneath Shwedagon Pagoda's carved teak entrance in Rangoon. After ruling for only seven years, they lost control of the region to British colonisers and were exiled to a small village in India.

A Siamese prince wears a full regalia of jewels, including a headpiece modeled after a 'chadok', the traditional Siamese dancer's headdress.