The history of Japan, giving an account of the ancient and present state and government of that empire [...] Together with a description of the kingdom of Siam: giving an account of the ancient and present state and government of that empire; of its te...

Collection History

Photographic albums, photographically illustrated books, and archival photographs have been in the Library's collections and predecessor collections since the mid- to late-19th century. They therefore came to their present location in the Photography Collection of the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs through various means, including purchase, gift, and transfer from other divisions. Important early albums of photographs of East Asia are still entering the Library's collections, and their contents will eventually be added to this digital presentation.

Background

The technology of photography was introduced into Asian countries soon after its invention in various forms in Europe. The first daguerreotype camera was imported into Japan in 1848 (the patent dates to 1839). Wet and dry plate photographic processes were introduced into Japan by Dutch photographers stationed on the island of Dejima, in Nagasaki Bay, beginning in the 1850s. Felice Beato accompanied the British expeditionary army into China in 1860, and photographed the first military campaign. Beato set up his photographic studio with Charles Wirgman in Yokohama in 1863. The peripatetic Beato opened a photography studio and curio shop in Mandalay, Burma (now Myanmar) in 1885. English photographers such as John MacCosh and Captain Linnaeus Tripe were photographing in Burma from the 1850s. These two photographers were also active in British India, and the introduction of photography into India follows the same patterns as for the other Asian countries. As was the case in Japan, Indian photographers were active at a very early stage, and made major contributions to the genre.

A major Japanese photographer whose work is represented in these digital images is Kimbei (Kusakabe Kimbei), thought to have been a pupil of Beato. He assisted Beato in the hand-coloring of photographs until 1863. He set up his own large and flourishing studio in Yokohama in 1881.

The digital images in this presentation provide a rich resource for the understanding of the political, social, economic, and artistic history of Asia from the 1870s to the early 20th century. Japan was first opened to foreigners following the entry of Admiral Perry into Tokyo Bay in 1853 (a daguerreotype photographer accompanied Perry's expedition). We thus have an extensive photographic documentation of Japan, and of interaction between the Japanese and foreigners, from this period on. In the broadest sense, photography entered Asia from Europe and America as part of the process of colonialism, but soon took root in those regions with local photographers, who learned the craft from European and American photographers, along with travelers, military people, and merchants.

Related Resources

Advent of Photography in Japan = Shashin torai no koro (1997).

Harris, David. Of Battle and Beauty: Felice Beato's Photographs of China (1999).

Imperial China: Photographs 1850-1912, historical texts by Clark Worswick and Jonathan Spence, with a foreword by Harrison Salisbury (1978).

India: Pioneering Photographers:1850-1900 (2001).

India Through the Lens:Photography 1840-1911 (2000).

Japanische Photographie 1860-1929 (1993).

Nihon shashin zenshu = The Complete History of Japanese Photography. 12 volumes (1985-).

Singer, Noel F., Burmah: A Photographic Journey, 1855-1925 (1993).

Winkel, Margarita. Souvenirs from Japan: Japanese Photography at the Turn of the Century (1991).

Collection Data

Names
Kaempfer, Engelbert, 1651-1716 (Author)
Scheuchzer, John Gaspar, 1702-1729 (Translator)
Dates / Origin
Date Issued: 1772
Place: London
Publisher: The translator
Library locations
General Research Division
Shelf locator: *OSL+ 86-849
Topics
Japan
Japan -- History -- 17th century
Thailand -- Description and travel
Genres
Books
Illustrations
Botanical illustrations
Scientific illustrations
Maps
Notes
Content: Includes index.
Content: Translation of De beschryving van Japan. Added engraved t.p. in v. 1: Historia imperii Japonici, Germanice scripta ab Engelberto Kaempfero...Londini, Impensis editoris, MDCCXXVII. [1727]
Statement of responsibility: Written in High Dutch by Engelbertus Kaempfer ... ; and translated from his original manuscript, never before printed, by J.G. Scheuchzer ... With the life of the author and an introduction...
Physical Description
Extent: 2 v. (iii, 612, 75 p., 45 leaves of plates) illus., maps. 35 cm.
Type of Resource
Still image
Text
Cartographic
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: NYPG86-B38154
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b11023213
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): f463f3e0-c6da-012f-8744-58d385a7bc34
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x The history of Japan, giving an account of the ancient and present state and government of that empire [...] Together with a description of the kingdom of Siam: giving an account of the ancient and present state and government of that empire; of its temples, palaces, castles, and other buildings; of its metals, minerals, trees, plants, animals, birds and fishes; of the chronology and succession of the emperors ... of the original descent, religions, customs, and manufactures of the natives, and of their trade and commerce with the Dutch and Chinese. Together with a description of the kingdom of Siam
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