Photographs

We specialize in early photographs  of Hong Kong, China and South East Asia, especially albumen prints from the late 1850s onwards and gelatin silver prints from the early twentieth century. 

In recent years more research has been done on the development of early photography in China and East Asia. In time this may help to attribute works to  specific photographers.

Many of the early professional photographers in Hong Kong had studios in Queen’s Road and Wellington Street.  On his return to England in 1872, the talented British photographer, John Thomson, reported that the Chinese had “taken kindly” to photography. “In Queen’s Road, the principal street of Victoria, there are a score of photographers,” he wrote, “who do better work than is produced by the herd of obscure dabblers who cast discredit on the art in this country.”

List of Photographs