White people in native costumes

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While I have a handful of images in my collection that I won’t post because they might be considered too offensive (nudity, performers in blackface, etc.), I thought I’d take a chance on this one because I find it so interesting. It’s a real photo post card printed on Defender paper, date-stamped January 30, 1929. The photography studio’s name is embossed in the lower right corner, though it’s faint enough I almost didn’t notice it. I struggled to figure out where this picture was taken, but after some time trying to decipher the handwriting on the back, and trying to read the faint embossing, I figured out that this is Mountain Studio in Baguio, in the Philippines. The handwriting on the back says “Mother, Junior + myself. Taken up in Baguio in the native Igorote [sic] costumes. Jr. wanted to send this to Sonny.” and it’s signed by what looks like Selma Croft or Craft. The correct spelling should be Igorot, an indigenous people in the northern mountains of the Philippines. Baguio is apparently a popular summer vacation spot because of its cooler mountain climate. When Selma casually writes that they were “up in Baguio”, it makes me wonder if they actually live in the Philippines, or at least were writing to somebody who is familiar with the country. I’m particular intrigued by how respectful they appear to be, posing politely, thoroughly committed to their extensive costuming. They aren’t, say, tacky tourists in Chinatown mugging for the camera in coolie hats, or drunken frat boys in Tijuana goofing around in ponchos and sombreros. It’s a beautiful studio portrait, though, of course, there’s no getting around how dated it is.