These two photographs were once part of a larger album of formal and informal photographs. One shows a large group of men and women. The other, of a school group, is inscribed: Taken on the 14th June 1922 at the school house Kapassar Tiong… Soerabaia on the occasion of the graduates’ departure for further studies in China.Peranakans commissioned photographs to document their families and important life events such as births, marriages, and deaths. They also commissioned photographs to record their involvement in business enterprises, and in social causes such as schools, academic societies, religious groups, and in community and cultural associations.With improvements in camera technology, it became possible to take photographs without the assistance of a studio in the first decades of the 20th century. Increasingly, photographs were taken outdoors, or in domestic spaces, rather than in studios. However, amateur photography remained relatively expensive and was limited to the wealthier members of society who could afford to take photographs for pleasure and to document their daily lives.
