A number of disparate primary sources were digitized to make up the Wisconsin Philippines Image Collection, which, along with the accompanying essay Orientalism of the Philippine Photograph: America Discovers the Philippine Islands provide a look into the history of the Philippine Islands. The timespan (late 1800s through 1940s) of the materials in this collection date roughly from the time of the Philippine-American War, through the time of the territorial government by the United States, into the period of the Commonwealth of Philippines as the administrative body of the country, as well as into WWII and Independence in 1946.