Men on the Shore, Coiba Island, Panama
ID: SIA2010-0513 and Wetmore Neg. # 6117
Creator: Wetmore, Alexander 1886-
Form/Genre: Photographic print
Date: February 2, 1956
Citation: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Alexander Wetmore Papers, Record Unit 7006, Box: 183, 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
On Coiba Island, Panama, a group of men are standing at the shore of the Pacific Ocean waiting to pull in a large fishing net. The caption on the back of the image reads, "What did we catch?" The image was taken by Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore while on a scientific expedition to Coiba Island, Panama, to study birds .
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Notes
From 1919 to 1991, Coiba Island, Panama, was a penal colony. Fear of the prison and its inmates deterred visitors from the island; thus some 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 Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore's scientific expedition to study birds. 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 Island National Park, a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage site. See also Neg. #2009-4288.
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Alexander Wetmore Papers, Record Unit 7006, Box: 183, 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
February 2, 1956
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Correctional institutions
- Fishing nets
- Scientific expeditions
- Landscapes
- Reformatories
- Fishing
- Islands
- Penal colonies
- Panamanians
Place
- Panama
- Coiba Island (Panama)
- Pacific Ocean
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Landscape
- Group, candid
ID Number
SIA2010-0513 and Wetmore Neg. # 6117
Physical description
Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: 4.75 x 4.5; Type of Image: Group, candid; Landscape; Medium: Photographic print