山本 讃七郎 YAMAMOTO, Sanshichiro.
Views of the North China Affair 北清事變寫真. Tokyo, S. Yamamoto, February 1901.
Oblong folio, ff. [3, title page and introduction in Japanese], 57; with 106 photogravures, ranging from c. 203 x 260 mm (8 x 10¼ inches) to c. 83 x 127 mm (3¼ x 5 inches), captioned in English and Japanese, colophon in Japanese; a beautiful copy, remarkably well preserved; bound in the original pictorial wrappers, blue ribbon ties, in publisher’s grey cloth portfolio with ‘Viws [sic]…’ and Japanese title on upper board, bone clasps; some minor wear to portfolio, spine repaired, one clasp renewed.
First and only edition, rare, of this ambitious photographic project published in the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, with portraits of troops and soldiers, as well as architectural and landscape views in areas which were affected by the warfare.
The various military groups fighting against the Boxers are depicted, including Russian, American, German and Japanese. Several images, such as ‘Russian Red Cross Hospital’ and ‘American Soldiers’ Tents in Tien-Tsin’, give insight into their activities. The damage inflicted on Beijing and its surrounding areas is also shown (‘The Chon-Yan Gate at Peking destroyed by bullets’ and ‘The dining room of the Japanese Legation destroyed by bullets’). The Boxer Rebellion swiftly gained worldwide interest, which explains why the captions are in both English and Japanese.
Sanshichiro Yamamoto (1855–1943) had a studio in Tokyo from 1882 to 1897. When news of the Boxer Uprising swept the world, he travelled to Beijing to photograph the foreign troops in the capital. In or around 1902 he opened a photographic studio in Tientsin (‘Yamamoto Shōzō Kan’ or ‘Yamamoto Syozo House’) where he sold photographs, souvenir photobooks and coloured postcards.
Library Hub records one copy only (Tate Library).