Recovery and documentary analysis of photographic collections: Medical Captain Bosch Díaz’s pictures of war in Africa

Abstract

The recovery of photographic collections is an important issue pending analysis in general in regard to photographic documentation. Even though they form a part of the cultural heritage, it is also true that socially speaking they do not receive the same consideration as other documents or artistic objects, and so the general laws existing do not suffice and an official protocol should be established for their protection. To provide a model to follow regarding the foregoing, this article endeavors to analyze the recovery and documentary processing of the photographs of the War in Africa taken between 1921 and 1925 by Medical Captain José Bosch Díaz. More than three hundred 10x15 cm photographic plates have been studied, as documents which reflect the everyday life of the soldiers stationed on the Spanish possessions of the Rif, the activity of the army doctors, pictures of the towns and portraits of the inhabitants of the area. The recovery and analysis of this corpus represents a major contribution to the history of the Spanish Army and the War in Africa, as well as the history of Spanish photography.