| Title |
China, Hong Kong and Siam [i.e. Thailand] |
| Reference |
GBR/0115/Y30377A |
| Creator |
Unknown |
| Covering Dates |
1860–1889 (The majority of the photographs were probably taken during the 1880s.) |
| Extent and Medium |
59 images in 1 album; the album has been rebound but the cover is slightly water-damaged. The pages are in a sound condition though somewhat brittle and dust stained. The photographs are in fair condition, with some fading and yellowing. |
| Repository |
Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library |
|
| Content and context |
Album of albumen prints, by unknown photographers, with pencilled captions. The majority of the photographs show scenes in China, but there are also some of Hong Kong and, towards the end, Siam, though the different countries are intermixed. |
Access and Use
|
Please cite as Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library, China, Hong Kong and Siam [i.e. Thailand], Y30377A |
| Further information |
|
This volume forms part of a group of albums containing images from many parts of the world. The others in the group can be found at Y302B, Y3022U, Y3039A, Y305D and Y307A. They appear to be the collection of a widely travelled individual, but nothing definite is known about their origin.
Indexed
This item level description was entered by NE and MJC using information from the original typescript catalogue.
This collection is available on microfiche: East Asia, fiche numbers 1-2.
|
| Index Terms |
| Asia |
| China |
| Hong Kong |
| Thailand |
| RCS/Y30377A contains: |
|
1
|
Montage of photographs. 271 x 210 mm. Print composed of a montage of photographs stuck to a board and rephotographed. The majority of the prints show Chinese types and occupations, with a few landscapes. The print at the bottom, just to the right of centre showing a female orchestra, is reproduced in Clark Worswick, 'Imperial China: photographs 1850-1912' (1978), p. 106. |
1880–1889 |
|
2
|
Signal Station, Hong Kong. 269 x 203 mm. View looking eastwards down onto the Hong Kong waterfront, Causeway Bay and the Happy Valley from the summit of the Peak, with the Signal Station in the foreground.
Fair condition, slight fading and yellowing.. |
1880–1889 |
|
3
|
Botanical Gardens, Hong Kong. 267 x 201 mm. View looking along a tree-lined avenue in the Botanical Gardens, situated on the hillside to the south of Government House. |
1880–1889 |
|
4
|
The Harbour, Hong King. 269 x 205 mm. View from above the Botanical Gardens looking northwards across the Harbour, with Causeway Bay in the right background. In the left middleground can be seen Government House and below it to the right, the tower of St John's Cathedral.
Fair condition, some overall yellowing and fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
5
|
Jubilee Procession, Hong Kong 1887. 193 x 157 mm. View looking along an unidentified street, with a Chinese procession in progress, presumably in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. |
1887 |
|
6
|
Chinese School Hong Kong. 70 x 200 mm. View showing a large class of Chinese pupils seated at tables in the open air in front of the unidentified school buildings. These young girls appear to be engaged in some sort of sewing activity. |
1880–1889 |
|
7
|
The Race Course, Happy Valley, Hong Kong. 264 x 105 mm. View looking north across the Happy Valley (or Wognei Chong Valley) which contains Hong Kong's race course. Beyond the track on the left is Morrison Hill, with the Harbour beyond.
Fair condition, some yellowing and fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
8
|
The Cable Tram to the Peak, Hong Kong. 201 x 269 mm. View looking up the cable tramway which runs from the top of the Peak down into the eastern section of Victoria. The Hong Kong High-Level Tramway Company was incorporated in 1885 and trams started running from 1888. The great rain storm of the following year did great damage and nearly put the company out of business and in 1891 it was taken over by John D. Humphreys & Company. |
1880–1889 |
|
9
|
Native Quarters, Hong Kong. 268 x 205 mm View showing Chinese housing on the lower slopes of the Peak at the western end on Victoria. |
1880–1889 |
|
10
|
Chinese Musicians. 269 x 207 mm. Studio portrait of a Chinese band consisting of a man and a woman playing banjo - like instruments and another man playing a flute.
Fair condition, some overall fading and yellowing.. |
1880–1889 |
|
11
|
The Temple of the Five Hundred Genii, Canton. 271 x 204 mm. View looking along the body of the temples, with a row of bronze images on either side. |
1880–1889 |
|
12
|
Macao. 270 x 209 mm. View looking north across the bay at Macao towards the Fort of San Francisco.
Fair condition, slight overall fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
13
|
Chinese river fisherman. 269 x 207 mm. View showing a small wooden fishing boat in the shallows of a river. The net is suspended over the bows of the boat on two curved roads.
Fair condition, slight overall fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
14
|
Chinese funeral procession. 269 x 206 mm. View looking across an open patch of grass towards the funeral procession, consisting of a line of hundreds of men carrying banners and placards. Towards the rear can be seen a group in white, presumably carrying the coffin. |
1880–1889 |
|
15
|
Chinese execution. 268 x 214 mm. View showing a public beheading about to take place. In the centre the executioner stands, his sword held above the neck of the kneeling man, while spectators form a semi-circle in the background. This print is reproduced in Worswick, p. 62 and there attributed to W. Saunders, active in Shanghai from the 1860s-80s.
Fair condition, some overall fading.. |
1860–1889 |
|
16
|
Pour encourager les autres. 269 x 205 mm. Showing the bodies of decapitated men with their heads placed on spikes stuck into the ground in front of their corpses.
Fair condition, some overall fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
17
|
Temple on rock, on river going to Hankow. 268 x 205 mm. View from the bank of the Yangtze River looking towards the monastery on Orphan Island, a sheer-sided outcrop in midstream. |
1880–1889 |
|
18
|
Chinese Pagoda. 268 x 204 mm. View looking towards an unidentified pagoda at the summit of a hill, with a Chinese man seated on a wall in the foreground. The photograph is signed in the negative in Chinese script. |
1880–1889 |
|
19
|
Portion of the Great Wall of China. 257 x 210 mm. View looking along a section of the wall with a watchtower in the distance.
Poor condition, overall fading and yellowing.. |
1880–1889 |
|
20
|
Temple at Pekin. 273 x 211 mm. View looking along an avenue between trees towards the entrance gateway of an unidentified temple. |
1880–1889 |
|
21
|
Approach to Nanking. 268 x 213 mm. Showing the path to the tombs of the Ming emperors outside Nanjing, flanked by 12 foot high statues of soldiers on guard. Nanjing was the capital of China until it was moved to Peking in 1421. |
1880–1889 |
|
22
|
Approach to Nanking. 265 x 212 mm. View showing the statues of kneeling elephants on the path leading to the Ming tombs outside Nanjing. |
1880–1889 |
|
23
|
Road near Peking. 271 x 210 mm. Showing a kind of sedan chair carried by two ponies negotiating a rock-strewn road leading through a valley near Beijing. |
1880–1889 |
|
24
|
In Peking. 272 x 213 mm. View looking across gardens and an ornamental lake towards the tower of a temple. |
1880–1889 |
|
25
|
Peking. 269 x 213 mm. View looking along a street in the Chinese city from the wall. |
1880–1889 |
|
26
|
A gate, Peking. 205 x 157 mm. View from the top of the wall looking down onto one of the city gates, with piles of stone slabs and bricks piled in a yard in the foreground. |
1880–1889 |
|
27
|
Landing stage, Shanghai. 267 x 213 mm. View from the landing stage on the Shanghai Bund looking towards the Nanking Road, with the Central Hotel on the left and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China on the right. |
1880–1889 |
|
28
|
View of Shanghai. 268 x 212 mm. View looking across the Whangpoo River and along the Shanghai Bund. For notes on the buildings along the waterfront, see Y30377C/13-17 and Y30383B.
Fair condition, some overall fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
29
|
Rogues and vagabonds. 153 x 202 mm. (oval print). Study of two criminals wearing the cangue, heavy, square blocks of wood fastened round the neck in a yoke.
Fair condition, some fading along top and bottom edges.. |
1880–1889 |
|
30
|
Foot of Chinese lady. 197 x 262 mm. Close-up view of the foot of a Chinese woman, shrunken and misshapen through binding.
Fair condition, some fading at edges.. |
1880–1889 |
|
31
|
Wuhu, China. 266 x 206 mm. View looking across the River Yangtze towards the waterfront houses of Wuhu, situated 60 miles south-west of Nanjing and opened to foreign trade in 1877.
Fair condition, slight chemical yellowing.. |
1880–1889 |
|
32
|
Chin Kiang, China. 261 x 211 mm. View looking along the waterfront at Chinkiang. Situated on the Yangtze 40 miles east of Nanjing, the city was first opened to foreign trade in 1859. |
1880–1889 |
|
33
|
Hankow. 268 x 210 mm. View looking along the Bund at Hankow, with the Yangtze on the right and European commercial premises lining the street on the left. Situated some 420 miles west of Shanghai, Hankow was one of the first inland cities in China to be opened to foreign trade by the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858. |
1880–1889 |
|
34
|
The Mandarin's Foot, neat Foochow. 287 x 233 mm. Showing an outcrop of rock in the form of a slender outstretched foot.
Fair condition, some yellowing and fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
35
|
Landing steps, Shanghai, with jinrickshas. 268 x 211 mm. View looking down onto the landing stage at Shanghai, with lines of rickshaws in the foreground and boats moored on the River Whangpoo beyond. |
1880–1889 |
|
36
|
The Lottery Street, Hong Kong. 270 x 204 mm. View looking along the street, with rickshaw drivers and shopkeepers posed in the foreground and the signs of lottery ticket sellers over the roadway beyond.
Fair condition, some overall fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
37
|
A theatrical company. 229 x 178 mm. Studio portrait of a troupe of actors in costume. |
1880–1889 |
|
38
|
A family group, China. 208 x 157 mm. Showing a man, woman and three children seated on the stone steps in front of a house. |
1880–1889 |
|
39
|
The Telegraph Station, Sharp Peak, near Foochow (A.S.H. on top of balustrade). 275 x 216 mm. General view of the single storey Telegraph Station buildings at Sharp Peak near Foochow. The figures on the terrace of the building are too distant to be seen clearly, but A.S.H. is presumably the compiler of this album. |
1880–1889 |
|
40
|
The Telegraph Station, Sharp Peak, near Foochow (A.S.H. on right hand of door). 278 x 223 mm. View from a nearby hill looking down onto the Telegraph Station, with small terraced fields on the hillside in the foreground and the Pacific Ocean in the distance.
Fair condition, some overall yellowing.. |
1880–1889 |
|
41
|
The Club, Foochow (A.S.H. on verandah). 272 x 216 mm. General view of the club building at Foochow, a two storey house with wide verandahs. A.S.H. is one of the figures standing on the open first floor balcony over the main entrance. |
1880–1889 |
|
42
|
From the Club, Foochow (A.S.H. on the tombstone). 280 x 219 mm. View looking out over the valley towards distant mountains from the Foochow Club. A.S.H., a heavily bearded figure, is seated among the European group gathered in the foreground among the graves of a Chinese cemetery. |
1880–1889 |
|
43
|
Klong Japaru Haru, or the Canal of the Swinging Bridge, Bangkok, Siam. 289 x 237 mm. View looking along the waterway lined with small boats, and with houses on piles lining the canal on the left hand side. The print itself is uncaptioned: this title is taken from that above Y3077A/47, the print evidently having been pasted to the wrong page. |
1880–1889 |
|
44
|
View of Bangkok. 265 x 214 mm. General view of the centre of the city of Bangkok and the palace area, taken looking across the Chao Phraya River. |
1880–1889 |
|
45
|
Foochow. 195 x 240 mm. View from a hillside looking down onto the River Min which is crowded with small boats at their moorings. |
1880–1889 |
|
46
|
View of the River Chow Phya from Wat Chang, Bangkok, Siam. 287 x 237 mm. View looking down onto the river from a hillside near the temple of Wat Chang. The view in fact appears to show one of the many canals of Bangkok rather than the main river. |
1880–1889 |
|
47
|
Enamel Buddha, Temple Wat Phra Keo, Bangkok. 267 x 218 mm. View looking towards the entrance of the temple whose doors are flanked by massive guardian statues. |
1880–1889 |
|
48
|
The Temple of the Golden Spire and Wat Phra Kroon (the Temple of the Emerald Idol), within the Royal City, Bangkok. 291 x 238 mm. View from a tower looking down onto the temple precincts. There appears to be some confusion in captioning with this and the following prints: this title, which evidently relates to this print, is in fact taken from Y3077A/50. |
1880–1889 |
|
49
|
Giant's Causeway, Wat Chang, Bangkok, Siam. 290 x 234 mm. View looking up the hillside towards the spire and part of the temple at the summit of Wat Chang or the 'Golden Mountain'. The buildings are approached by a wide road that winds around the hill. |
1880–1889 |
|
50
|
Wat Rartchnutdar (Ruined Temple), Bangkok. 284 x 233 mm. View of deserted temple buildings overgrown with vegetation. |
1880–1889 |
|
51
|
Native house, Bangkok, Siam. 243 x 193 mm. (carbon print). View of a wooden house on piles set among jungle vegetation, with a steeply pitched tiled roof. |
1880–1889 |
|
52
|
Kling Maun, canal west of City, Bangkok. 290 x 237 mm. View from the waterside looking across the canal towards houses raised on piles on the further bank. |
1880–1889 |
|
53
|
River scene, Bangkok, Siam. 290 x 237 mm. View looking across a river, presumably the Chao Phraya at Bangkok, with houseboats moored in the foreground. |
1880–1889 |
|
54
|
African group. 278 x 222 mm. Portraits of three African women, probably from the Sudan area. The photograph has evidently been pasted in the wrong album by mistake. It should probably belong in Y302B.
Poor condition, overall fading and yellowing.. |
1880–1889 |
|
55
|
Tibetan musician. 241 x 293 mm. Half-length portrait of a Tibetan musician. This photograph by Sir Benjamin Simpson was exhibited in the 1872 exhibition of the Bengal Photographic Society as 'A wandering minstrel.' It probably belongs to Y3022U and was pasted here by accident.
Poor condition, overall fading and some water staining at edges.. |
1872 |
|
56
|
Canal scene, Bangkok, Siam. 147 x 105 mm. View looking along a canal lined with houses on piles, presumably in Bangkok.
Poor condition, overall fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
57
|
The 'First Queen' of Siam. 98 x 125 mm. Full length seated portrait of the 'First Queen' (half-sister of the King) with two young children. |
1880–1889 |
|
58
|
Chinese street vendor. 179 x 227 mm. Full length portrait of a raggedly dressed street vendor, carrying a tattered umbrella and a basket of foodstuff.
Fair condition, some fading.. |
1880–1889 |
|
59
|
River scene, Bangkok. 176 x 110 mm. View looking across a canal or river, presumably in or near Bangkok, with waterfront houses on the further bank.
Poor condition, fading and yellowing.. |
1880–1889 |
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