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THOMSON (JOHN) Illustrations of China and its People. A Series of Two Hundred Photographs, With Letterpress Description of the Places and People Represented, 4 vol., FIRST EDITION of volumes 2-4, second edition (with title dated 1874) of volume 1, Sampson, Low, 1873-1874
£25,000 - £35,000
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THOMSON (JOHN)
Footnotes
Between 1870 and 1872 Thomson "undertook four distinct journeys, up the north branch of the Pearl River, up the River Min to the area around Foochow (Fuzhou), to Peking (Beijing), and finally up the great Yangtze (Yangzi) River. The photographs taken on these journeys form one of the most extensive photographic surveys of any region taken in the nineteenth century. The range and depth of his photographic vision mark Thomson out as one of the most important travel photographers" (ODNB). Images include Imperial China, portraits of high government officials, and spectacular architectural and scenic views.
It is thought that only 750 sets were published. Thomson's original photographs are beautifully reproduced by "autotype", a form of collotype patented by the publisher Sampson Low created to maintain the high level of resolution of the original albumen prints.

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