First Photography Studio in China

Around 1860, Felix Beato opened the first Photographic studio in China. Beato is an experienced expert on photography. Most of Beato's work in China, however, focused on the wars culminating military campaign, which began in early summer 1860, when British and French forces, Beato among them, sailed north from Hong Kong (Bennett 2013). Through the summer and early fall, as Allied forces advanced toward the Chinese capital, Beato recorded a chronological sequence of views, creating a visual narrative of the campaign as seen from the point of view of the Western powers (Lacoste 2010).

Bennett, Terry, Anthony Payne, and Lindsey Stewart. History of Photography in China Chinese Photographers, 1844-1879. London: Quaritch, 2013.

Lacoste, Anne, and Felice Beato. Felice Beato: A Photographer on the Eastern Road. Los Angeles, Calif: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2010.

Photographs:
Beato, Felice."Prince Kung, Brother of the Emperor of China." Zooming In: Histories of Photography in China. London: Reaktion Books, 2016, p 79.

Beato, Felice. "Shops in Peking, 1860." University of Bristol - Historical Photographs of China reference number: RH02-05. Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum reference: M1526. Access May 10, 2018. https://www.hpcbristol.net/visual/rh02-05