Rapa Nui in the Hans Helfritz Collection at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum

Abstract

The ethnographic museum Rautenstrauch-Joest (RJM), Cultures of the World, in Cologne, Germany, has a large number of objects and collections from various parts of the planet. The work of Hans Helfritz, a great traveler and renowned photographer and documentarian of his time, is included in the RJM collection. Thepresentwork focusesontheanalysis, inventory anddescription of thephotographs that he took on his trip to Easter Island in December 1946, from which he obtained hundreds of black & white photographs and color slides as well as 16 mm film footage in both formats. The objective of the research carried out in conjunction with the RJM is to bring to light the legacy of Helfritz, which until now has remained largely unpublished, and to describe the work undertaken to access the collection and make it available to the public.