Convicts Arriving on Coiba Island
ID: SIA2009-4266 and Wetmore Negative # 6062
Creator: Wetmore, Alexander 1886-
Form/Genre: Photographic print
Date: January 15, 1956
Citation: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Alexander Wetmore Papers, Record Unit 7006, Box: 183, Folder Album: Panama and Coiba, 1956
Usage Conditions Apply
The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact photos@si.edu.Summary
Convicts arriving on Coiba Island on January 15, 1956. The convicts are climbing out of a boat, wading through the surf, and walking onto the beach. The convicts are approaching buildings on the shoreline above the rocks. Palm trees and the shore are visible in the background.
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Notes
- The image was taken by Smithsonian Secretary and ornithologist Alexander Wetmore while on a scientific expedition in Panama and Coiba Island. Wetmore Negative Number 6062
- From 1919 to 1991, Coiba Island was a penal colony. Fear of the prison and its inmates deterred visitors from the island. As such, about 80% of the natural areas on the island remain undisturbed. The island is also host to many endemic species. Both of these factors made the island ideal for Wetmore's scientific expedition. The officers and convicts pictured in Wetmore's images from the expedition were part of the penal colony. Some even worked as laborers for the expedition. Today, the island is no longer a penal colony. Instead, it is one of 38 islands composing Coiba National Park, a World Heritage Site.
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Alexander Wetmore Papers, Record Unit 7006, Box: 183, Folder Album: Panama and Coiba, 1956
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
January 15, 1956
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Scientific expeditions
- Boats and boating
- Architecture
- Beaches
- School field trips
- Islands
- Natural areas
- Penal colonies
- Buildings--Panama
- Field trips
- Panamanians
Place
- Panama
- Coiba Island (Panama)
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Group, candid
- Exterior
ID Number
SIA2009-4266 and Wetmore Negative # 6062
Physical description
Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: 4.75w x 4.5h; Type of Image: Group, Candid, Exterior; Medium: Photographic print