The series of photographs contained in this album covers an aspect of the life of the Tedder family in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP) between 1955 – 1974. James L.O. Tedder held various positions in the colonial administration. His family lived and travelled extensively throughout the Protectorate. His spouse, Margaret Tedder, had a firm interest in botany and this particular album is her documentation of Islanders’ horticultural practices of certain root crops, especially yams. In this photographic collection, Margaret documented the cultivation methods, garden layout, harvesting practices and storage of yams in various locations on Makira, Guadalcanal, Malaita and Santa Cruz. Margaret also captured different yam varieties and a ceremonial display at Makaruka on the Weather Coast of Guadalcanal. Besides the focus on yams in this album, there are some images of other crops such as taro, cassava and sweet potato. In its own right, this album is an ethnography of Islanders' cultivation practices of the mid-1950’s to the early 1970’s.

These photographs were taken by Charles S. Powell, an American doctor sent to Tongareva (Penrhyn) around 1942, which is the setting for all the images (except 001 - annotated 'Fiji Islands'). After construction of the airstrip was completed shortly thereafter, the U.S. Army left roughly 10 men, including Powell, behind for a few years. During his stay (2-3 years), Powell delivered many babies, helped to build a church and a boat.

The collection includes digital copies of black and white photographs, many of which have hand-written labels on the back (also digitized). Digital versions were created by a third-party organization for the PMB based in the United States of America.

Charles Powell had access to equipment, and is said to have developed the photographs himself, possibly with an x-ray machine. Several images are duplicates under different exposures and settings, etc.

Robert Dean Frisbie and his daughter Florence “Johnny” Frisbie are pictured in at least one photograph, and Charles Powell is mentioned in Frisbie’s book Miss Ulysses of Puka-Puka (1948:230).

Photographs include portraits of Powell and the other servicemen, including Powell’s “hut-mate” Roger Roper, as well as Dr Ngai Tou, a local doctor and graduate from Fiji Medical School. The collection includes photographs of village scenery, women weaving, an outrigger canoe, the small hospital setup, the Catholic church (Powell calls the Catholic church the the London Missionary Sunday School & Church), a picnic celebration, and processional dances. A few images include the aeroplane “Kangaroo Kate”, as well as a visit from New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser in December 1944.
The large schooner “Tiare Taporo”, built for island trade is featured in several photographs, captained by Viggo Rasmussen, Phillip Woonton, and Andy Thomson between 1918 and 1945. In many of the labels on the photographs, he is referred to as Captain Powell. The home in Penrhyn of “Papa” Viggo Rasmussen, a Danish captain that spent much of his life around the Cook Islands and French Polynesia, is also the subject of a photograph.