Richard SHANNON (c.1829-1871) had served in China in the British army (31st Regiment) before opening one of the first photographic studios in Shanghai, in Canton Road, in January 1863. He offered for sale topographical photographs taken in or near Beijing, as well as undertaking portraiture and commissions to copy artwork. His prints can be identified by the distinctive, but difficult-to-read initials ‘RS’ marked in the negative, usually including a reference number. Some of his prints carry an oval-shaped blind stamp ‘PHOTOGRAPHED BY R. SHANNON & Co.’ Source: Terry Bennett, History of Photography in China: Western Photographers 1861-1879 (London: Quaritch, 2010). See also ‘History of Photography in China: New Discoveries and Research’ by Terry Bennett (The Classic Platform, 20 April 2021).