China: Shanghai, 1896-1897

Extent:

194 prints

Scope and content:

Another large series, the Shanghai photographs feature places such as Nanjing Road, Longhua Buddhist temple, the Huangpu ("Wong Poo") River and Suzhou Creek ("Soo Chow"), and city parks. There are also photographs of places where Westerners congregated: Astor House, Union Church, and the Bund (waterfront) where the British Yacht Club and German and American consulates were located.

People portrayed include William Pritchard Morgan, his family, and other Western businessmen and engineers whose names are often noted in captions. Also pictured are amahs or female servants, Japanese women, Western missionaries, "Jesuit scientists," Indian guards, Sikh police, and a criminal with a yoke. As with other series, Shockley's captions often mention details that mark an individual's social status or condition. Shockley appears in several photos, including P-590, 591, 603, and 604.

Commercial sites include a snack shop, restaurant, soup kitchen, ironsmith, carpenter shop, photographer, a shop for Westerners, rice shop, and a pharmacy. Vehicles of every kind are depicted. There is also an image of a warship on the river (with "USA?" written in the caption), and an "opium hulk," and photographs of an elaborate funeral procession, an individual wearing traditional opera costume, and other scenes of popular life in Shanghai.

Processing information:

Titles have been transcribed as they appear in original captions on the backs of prints. Descriptive captions and Chinese translations of titles were supplied by library staff. Duplicate prints are indicated by an extension ".2" after the image identifier.

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