Burmese Lantern Slides

These hand-colored lantern slides of Burma were taken by Willard E. Graves, an American missionary who served as principal of the Methodist Episcopal School for Boys in Rangoon from 1908-1913. At the time, Burma was under British colonial rule as a province of India. One of the major political changes Britain introduced was the separation of church and state, which resulted in the increase of secular education. However, the colonial government established secular schools while also providing financial support for foreign Christian missions to create schools. Missionaries served as teachers at these mission schools, and their lessons were characterized by criticism of Buddhism and its culture.

You can view all 67 images from this collection here and the catalog record here.

- Rose Love Chou, Reference Volunteer
National Anthropological Archives