18/09/2025
Throwback Thursday: 📸 Sorsogon City, Bicol Region — 1934 🗺️ Southeast Luzon Island, Philippines 📷 Photographer: Robert Larimore Pendleton (1890–1957). 🗂️ Image: John Tewell Collection
A moment frozen in time. This 1934 photograph by American soil scientist and geographer Robert Larimore Pendleton captures the quiet dignity of Sorsogon City in the early 20th century—before highways, malls, and modern sprawl.
Pendleton, known for his work across Southeast Asia and the Philippines, documented landscapes not just for science, but for posterity. His lens reveals a Bicol that was coastal, agricultural, and deeply rooted in local rhythms.
🌾 Sorsogon, at the southern tip of Luzon, has long been a gateway to heritage—where volcanic soil meets resilient communities. 📚 Pendleton’s work, archived in U.S. and university collections, offers rare glimpses into pre-war Philippine life.
This image reminds us: every province has a story worth preserving. Every frame, a portal to who we were—and who we still are.
