[Filipino American Photographica]: [Acosta Family]:

[Collection of Original Vernacular Photographs Documenting the Life and Family of Rafael and Teresa Acosta, a Filipino-American Family].

[Various locations in the United States, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and others: 1950-1995]. 290 original vernacular photographs, some with manuscript captions, measuring between 2.5 x 1.75 inches and 8 x 10 inches, plus two partially-printed certificates completed in manuscript. Overall general wear. Very good. Item #4981

A unique collection of original vernacular photographs documenting the life and family of Rafael (Ralph) and Teresa (Teresing) Acosta, Filipino immigrants to the United States in the mid-20th century. Ralph Sison Acosta (1917-1996) was born in Mangatarem in the Philippines. He is listed as the Filipino Third Mate on the manifest of a ship arriving in New York in 1940, having engaged the ship in Manila; this may represent Rafael's initial arrival in the United States. Later, as evidenced by the present photographs, he served as a personnel officer in the United States Army in the 1950s and beyond. Little is known about his wife Teresa Acosta (1917-2023). Both are buried at the Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

The present collection of almost 300 photographs capture Rafael and Teresa, their children, relatives, friends, colleagues, and others in a variety of settings in various locations over the course of several decades. Fifty-five of the images are captioned in ink in the front margins or on the verso; along with signage and other clues within the photographs, the images were taken in Colorado, Oregon, Manila, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Camp Atterbury and Fort Benjamin Harrison (both in Indiana), and likely other locations. The photographs seem to emanate from the various locations where Rafael was stationed during his long career in the Army. Interestingly, among the annotated images, a couple of the captions are written in the Filipino mother tongue of Tagalog. One small portrait of Teresa is inscribed by her to Rafael, "Dearest, Just a reminder that I love you and always will." Other annotated images identify people, places, situations, and more important to the Acostas and their larger circle of family and friends.

The other photographs, most of which are not annotated, include portraits of Ralph and his family at various ages, plus images at home, graduations, family vacations, portraits of family friends, funerals, and more. A group of about a dozen photos capture the Acosta family and some colleagues in Puerto Rico in 1956. A great deal of the images picture Ralph at work in the armed forces, showing him as well as his colleagues at work, posed outside barracks and other buildings, and more. A handful of the images from 1967 are stamped on the verso as official photos of the U.S. Army's Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Denver. A vein of Catholicism runs through the photographs, with images of churches, church signs, ceremonies, a group shot with a priest, and the like. One image of a ceremony inside a church is captioned: "Picture taken during the blessing ceremony of Sacred Heart of Jesus with all the spouses holding the ribbons from the crown of Jesus." These images stand to reason, as the Acostas were Catholic themselves.

In addition to the photographs, the collection includes two certificates of appreciation from the Filipino American Community of Colorado -- one each given to Rafael and Teresa in 1995. The certificates acknowledge their "commitment and effort to support" the Filipino-American community in Colorado, apparently where the Acostas retired once Rafael's military career was over. An excellent visual primary source collection memorializing the lives of a Filipino-American immigrant family whose patriarch served in the United States military in the decades following the Second World War.

Price: $1,750