Chinese Interest c.1880-1910

A group of mixed glass negatives, albumen prints, and silver gelatin prints, related to Chinese social life and landscapes, including:

An albumen print by William Saunders, image size 18 x23cm, pasted down to period card, overall measuring 23.5 x28.5cm, showing a woman with bound feet, captioned in ink lower margin [in Italian]; a group of 12 early silver gelatin prints, depicting street scenes, group portraits, and landscapes; a set of 7 glass negatives, measuring 9.5 x11cm, depicting urban and countryside scenery, such as Hong Kong, Nankou, Beijing; a set of 4 glass negatives, measuring 18 x13cm (or the reverse), depicting Chinese Navy soldiers on board;The vessel depicted is the Hai Chi (海圻), a protected cruiser of the Imperial Chinese Navy launched in 1897. This ship holds notable historical significance as the first Chinese warship to visit American waters in 1911 and was a major vessel in the early 20th-century Chinese navy. It played an important diplomatic role before serving through the transition from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, ultimately being scuttled in 1937. A glass negative, measuring 23 x16.5cm, depicting a rural road in a forest; a glass negative and a silver gelatin print, measuring 8.5 x 16cm, depicting a large group of people gathering; among others.