Guanwen 官文, Governor General of Huguang with his suite, Hankou, 1858

Guanwen 官文, Governor General of Huguang with his suite, Hankou, 1858

Collection

Vacher-Hilditch

Identifier

VH01-057

Notes

University of Bristol - Historical Photographs of China reference number: VH01-057. Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution reference: L03826-026a. 'Governor General of Hoo-kwang with his suite'. A Manchu, Guanwen 官文, served as Huguang Governor General (or Viceroy) from 1855-1867. Photograph by William Jocelyn, taken on the deck of HMS Furious. This is probably the first photograph taken in Hankou (Wuhan). Guanwen, the governor general of the provinces of Hubei (Hupeh) and Hunan, is probably the man sitting second from the left. A wood engraving of this image (flipped) was published in 1859 in 'Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan' by Laurence Oliphant. See 'History of Photography in China 1842-1860' by Terry Bennett, pages 136 and 138.

Caption in album or on mount

Chinese Mandarins at Han Kow

Location

Wuhan

Date

Saturday 11 December 1858

Photographer

Jocelyn, William

Material

Paper

Media

Black and white photograph

Repository

Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Bath