Scope and Content of Collection

The collection documents two significant episodes of the Mexican Revolution: La Decena Trágica of 1913, the ten days of counter-revolutionary insurrections against President Francisco Madero, culminating in Madero's arrest and betrayal by Victoriana Huerta; and the American occupation of Veracruz in 1914, Woodrow Wilson's effort to oust Huerta and thereby correct the Taft administration's collusion in Madero's defeat and assassination. The twenty-nine images taken in Mexico City in February 1913 show cannon-bombed buildings, groups of Maderistas, and scenes at the Ciudadela, which was held by the Felicistas. Sixty-three images of U.S. forces in Veracruz depict battleships and the fieldcamp where American soldiers lived during the occupation. There are also four photographs related to Emilio Zapata's entry into Cuernavaca in 1911 following the resignation of President Porfirio Díaz. The general views of Mexico offer a sample of the pictorialism for which Brehme is known; these include landscapes and local color images, with some photographs related to developments in the Revolution after 1914.

Annotations on versos are in German and Spanish. German annotations are in the hand of Wilhelm Weber, Brehme's partner. Numbers at the beginning of the annotations may refer to negative and/or file numbers.

Arrangement note

Series I. Emilio Zapata in Cuernavaca, 1911
Series II. La Decena Trágica, 1913 Feb 9-18
Series III. American forces in Veracruz, 1914
Series IV. General views, 1913-1920