[Pair of Small Panoramic Photographs Featuring Attendees of Midcentury Japanese American Citizens League Conventions]

Detroit, Mi, 1955. Very good.. Panoramic photographs, 10 x 18.5 inches and 12 x 19.75 inches. Moderate creasing, surface and edge wear. A pair of rare small-format panoramic photographs, at least one of which was produced by a Japanese American photographer, featuring diners at two different Detroit conventions of the Japanese American Citizens League in the mid-20th century. The first photograph pictures hundreds of Japanese American men and women dining at the Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit during the September 1-2, 1951 convention of the JACL. According to the printed title at bottom, this was the organization's "2nd biennial Midwest District Convention." This photo was produced by a photographer named Kawamoto, with his name scratched into the negative at bottom right. The second features the attendees of the "Testimonial Dinner" of the Detroit chapter of the JACL at the International Institute on May 15, 1955. Material from eastern JACL chapters is especially difficult to find in the present market.