Conclusion

Abstract

The conclusion reminds the reader that, by bringing Stevenson’s Pacific nonfiction into close proximity with his family's photographs, this book provides a point of entry for scholars to engage with a generous collection that defies easy methodological, geographical, and generic classifications. The book examines a largely unpublished collection of albums that contain a variety of subject matter including portraits of the Stevensons, Islanders, European and Pacific missionaries, beachcombers, and traders, and unposed snapshots of Islanders performing daily tasks, swimming, or climbing palm trees. Just as the anecdote which opens Chap. 1 highlights, during moments of cross-cultural interaction, photography stages a series of reciprocal performances. The book stresses the fact that photography established and maintained relations with local individuals: well aware of the process and keen to participate, they often sought out the photographer to be photographed.