Herbert Johnson (1877-1960) and his wife, Georgette (1893-1975), settled in Ajijic in December 1939. Georgette returned to live in the UK shortly after Herbert died in Ajijic in 1960.
These photographs come from a photo album that once belonged to Georgette. For the story of its fortuitous rediscovery by historian Dr Kimberly Lamay Licursi in an estate sale in New York, see
- Herbert Johnson’s photos from the 1940s (includes an index to other galleries of Herbert Johnson’s photos)
The photos in the album have no captions or dates, but are believed to date from 1940 to 1945.
This gallery focuses on the building and gardens of Quinta Johnson, the Johnsons’ house in Ajijic.
Other galleries of photos by Herbert Johnson are:
- Archaeological sites: Tenayuca, Teotihuacan and Xochicalco
- Xochimilco
- Horsemanship and bullfights (locations unknown)
- Trips in central and west Mexico
Note
- These photos may not be used elsewhere without prior written permission via email.
- Higher quality scans of the photos are available on request (Terms and conditions will apply to their usage)
For more details about the Johnsons’ many contributions to the village of Ajijic, see Foreign Footprints in Ajijic: decades of change in a Mexican village (2022).
Acknowledgment
My sincere thanks to Dr Kimberly Lamay Licursi for recognizing the importance of this photo album and for kindly entrusting it to my care.
Comments welcomed via email or via comments feature on this post.
Tony Burton’s books include “Lake Chapala: A Postcard History” (2022), “Foreign Footprints in Ajijic” (2022), “If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants” (2020), (available in translation as “Si Las Paredes Hablaran”), “Mexican Kaleidoscope” (2016), and “Lake Chapala Through the Ages” (2008).
wow–what a find—-makes one want more–I have more trouble seeing that Mexico than Mexico of 1900–