Witness to War

Mexico in the Photographs of Walter Elias Hadsell

Susan Toomey Frost, Walter Elias Hadsell, Claudia Canales

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Hardback

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English

Trinity University Press,U.S.
29 May 2024

History of the Americas; Military history

Witness to War

presents a compelling visual record of a young American man's venture in Mexico as the country veered into revolution in the early 1900s. Walter Elias Hadsell, a skilled photographer who had recently graduated as a mining engineer, documented a critical period of foreign investment in Mexico's mining industry and, in the process, captured scenes of Mexican life in other cities.

Susan Toomey Frost draws from an extensive collection of Hadsell's original photographic prints to narrate his ten years in Mexico. The images in Witness to War follow him from his time as a mining engineer in Honduras to his 1917 return to mining in Arizona, his home state.

Planning for a future career in photography, Hadsell soon acquired the Kodak franchise for Veracruz, Mexico's most important port since colonial times. He documented the damage done in Mexico City during a ten-day uprising in 1913 that led to the assassination of Mexican president Francisco Madero.

Veracruz became a vortex for U.S. interference in the Mexican Revolution when President Woodrow Wilson invaded the country in 1914 in an attempt to thwart Mexico's successor president and to favor opposing forces. Hadsell, as a resident American citizen, had immediate access to the military operation as it unfolded. His images are essential historical records of Wilson's intervention in Mexican affairs.

Hadsell's camera recorded images of a defenseless city disrupted by the landing of thousands of American troops. With no exit plan, U.S. forces remained for seven months before abruptly departing. Hadsell's personal life took a tragic turn with the death of his wife, who left him with three young children, all born in Mexico. He endured another tragedy with the loss of his Veracruz studio during a period of anti-Americanism, though he ultimately left a rich legacy documenting U.S.-Mexico relations at a critical time.

By: Susan Toomey Frost
Photographs by: Walter Elias Hadsell
Translated by: Claudia Canales
Imprint: Trinity University Press,U.S.
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 203mm,
ISBN: 9781595349682
ISBN 10: 1595349685
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 29 May 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Susan Toomey Frost is a major collector and authority on Mexican and Mexican American photography and decorative art. She has taught English and linguistics at universities in Mexico and Texas. She is the author ofColors on Clay: The San Jos Tile Workshops of San Antonio,Timeless Mexico: The Photographs of Hugh Brehme,andRoberto de la Selva: Modern Mexican Masterpieces in Wood. She lives in San Antonio.