Author Archives: Robert Bickers

D is for …. Duke

The Duke of Connaught, to be precise: Prince Arthur, Queen Victoria’s seventh child (and third son). Connaught served as Commander in Chief of the British Army in Bengal in 1886-90. As was increasingly common in the later nineteenth century, he … Continue reading

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On display in Chongqing

The project sometimes takes legs, and on 14 June at Chongqing Tiandi, British Deputy Consul-General Benedict Mann opened a new exhibition of project photographs, ‘Picturing China 1870-1950: Photographs from British Collections’, “1870—1950:英国收藏的中国影像”. This collaboration with the communications team in Chongqing, … Continue reading

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E is for … ebay (and eouch)

For a change this post is about photographs that have been lost. A recent sale on Ebay of some materials found during a house clearance in southwestern England, left traces online of what seems to be a historically interesting voyage … Continue reading

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Smiles and coracles, 1938

This snapshot of (I think) some boatside begging, was taken or acquired by Edgar Taylor, who served in the British Royal Navy, and was possibly taken at Hankow (Hankou, Wuhan) on the Yangzi. We do not know much about the … Continue reading

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Graduation!

The University of Bristol this week held its first graduation cemeremony in China. Two hundred students attended the ceremony in Beijing, and it is planned that this event will be held every two years. To mark the occasion here is … Continue reading

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Volunteers

It is 170 years ago this week that the Shanghai Volunteer Corps was first established. The SVC, as it was known, became a fixture of life in the International Settlement in the city from 1870-1942, and I have blogged a … Continue reading

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Last years of the comprador/e

The latest Wikileaks release has some interesting China material. My eye was caught by a practical note dated 24 March 1973 from the US Consulate in Hong Kong to the State Department, forwarding practical information about “administrative and other procedures … Continue reading

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'Picturing China' in Beijing

A friend of the project visiting Beijing provides further images of the display at the J.W. Marriott, organised by the British Embassy.The exhibition, ‘Picturing China 1870-1950: Photographs from British collections’, or ‘1870-1950:英国收藏的中国影像’ runs until 7th April. It is the Qingming … Continue reading

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'Picturing China' on display in Beijing

On Thursday 21st March, the British ambassador to China, Sebastian Wood CMG, opened an exhibition of a selection of the project’s photographs, organised by the British Embassy and funded by Research Councils UK. There have been stories in China News … Continue reading

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Revisiting Darwent's Shanghai

Our pop-up exhibition, ‘Darwent Revisited: Shanghai now and then’, is unveiled on Saturday 9th February, at the Bristol City Museum, and then on Sunday 10th February at the city’s new M-Shed museum.  Funded by the AHRC and the British Academy, It … Continue reading

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