The collection consists of six albums, that make the work Indianertypen aus dem Amazonasgebiet. Nach seiner eigenen Aufnahmen während Reisen in Brasilien that were published by the German ethnologist Theodor Koch-Grünberg (1872-1924) between 1906 and 1911. The photographs were taken by Koch-Grünberg during a trip to the northwest of Brazil (Upper Amazonas basin), between 1903 and 1905, with the support from Königliches Museum für Völkerkunde. Following suggestions by its director, Adolf Bastian (1826-1905), Koch-Grünberg began a trip exploring the Río Negro and Caqueta Uaupes rivers, with the aim of collecting ethnographic objects, build vocabularies, observe the customs and take photographs of indigenous families Tukano, Aruak and Maku.
The albums are composed of photographs of indigenous groups that Koch-Grünberg visited during his trip. He lived with Aruak group members in the region of rivers Içana and Aiarý (Siusi, Kaua, Karútana, Katapolítani and Huhúteni groups). In Tiquie River, a tributary of Caiary-Uaupes, he visited Tukano family groups, as the Desana, the Tuyuká and Bara. He traveled from São Felipe by rivers Cuduiarý and Caiary-Uaupes studying the Kobéua, also belonging to that family. He also made contact with members of other families from the Aruak (as the Tariana) and Caribbean groups (Hianákota-Umáua), and the Maku. The latter were, from the linguistic point of view, an independent group, and lived in the area covered by rivers Caiary-Uaupes Querarý and Papury. In the Apaporis (another tributary of Yapura basin), he also took contact with the Uitotos and Miranya.
Each album is accompanied by an index of photographs, with descriptions containing the particulars of each individual that were photographed. It also includes the language family each individual belongs, the individual's name, place of residence, the approximate age and height, and the parental relationships between them. Sometimes this also includes brief notes on character and psychological traits, and skin color according to the chromatic scale developed by Ranke for South American indigenous groups. Each plate contains four photographs, mostly portraits of face and profile and, to a lesser extent, full-length portraits and group photographs. The albums are designed so that each plate can be detached and placed next to another belonging to another album, in order to facilitate comparison of physical traits between groups.
The travel narrative, including ethnographic and linguistic data observations, was published in 1909-1910, in two volumes, entitled Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern. Brasilien Reisen in Nord West, 1903-1905, which appeared in a popular abridged version in 1921, under the title Zwei Jahre bei den Nordwest-Brasiliens Indianern.
