Detail from the Williamson Reel No. 02. This reel was shot between 1931 and 1932 around Gyantse and west Tibet.
Frederick W. Williamson was a British Political Officer stationed in Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet in the 1930s. He was also an ardent photographer and amateur movie maker. During his station he shot 23 reels of 16mm cine film while in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet shot from 1930 to 1935. The quality of the footage is variable: the film stock is old, and although it has been in a temperature controlled environment for at least a decade, the joins are coming apart and the stock is deteriorating. Moreover, 16mm film was prohibitively expensive in the 1930s and Williamson was parsimonious with the volume he shot, resulting in rather short bursts of sequential activity. Nevertheless, the footage is fascinating and he succeeded in documenting three Himalayan kingdoms at a historically important time. Total Time: 200+ minutes.
http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/williamson/
Tags: Tibet Gyantse Williamson 1930's film Himalaya Buddhism
