Island People, Inselmenschen

In 2000 the Trustees of Boston University published a coffee-table book of photographs by German photographer, Ulrich Mack. Titled Island People, Inselmenschen, Mack's book is a bi-lingual photographic study of the similarities between the people and culture of Harkers Island, North Carolina, and Pellworm, an island in the North Sea, in Nordfriesland District of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

I have not been able to contact Ulrick Mack to ask for permission to publish a couple of his photos, but I did find this YouTube video of Herr Mack discussing his book and the pictures.


Even though the audio is in German, you will be able to see the remarkable similarities between Harkers Island and Pellworm. They are striking.

The YouTube description under the video says "From November 17, 2007, in the Grassi Museum for Ethnology in Leipzig, Ulrich Mack will exhibit his study of the similarities between two north Atlantic island cultures: Pellworm (Nordfriesland) and Harkers Island (North Carolina)."

I believe the book is no longer in print, but it can be purchased on-line for about $25.00. One reviewer had this to say about the book: "Powerful imagery. Inspiring photography. A treasure of times past. The similarities of Island People from a German Island and a United States Island is unbelievable."

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an article by island resident, Crystal Canterbury, about her very first visit to Portsmouth Village, on the last day of 2014. You can read Part I here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042115.htm.