Source: University of Edinburgh- 0066631
The date given for this photo was 1863 but I think its likelier to be be late 1860s early 1870s. The Morrison Hill building has recently been reconstructed - it has a different roofline/arches to the 1860 Beato photos. There also seem to be more buildings/warehouses towards east point. I will date it 1869 unless anyone has a better idea
Date picture taken
1 Jan 1869
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Date of the photo
I think the photo was taken around 1860. It appears in Photograph Album “China”, published by Lord Elgin between 1858-1864, held at the University of Edingurgh. It is likely by Felice Beato. See here.
The date on the University…
The date on the University of Edinburgh Album is incorrect. Most of the photos contained in the album clearly date from the late 1860s to early 1870s. There are many buildings shown that had not been constructed in 1860. Unfortunately I have not found a decent written source for construction dates for that period enabling accurate dating. GRO online is not helpful. The reports must exist somewhere, the question is whether they are online.
Re: Date
Herostratus, you're probably right. I've uploaded two photos today which show buildings that were constructed later (e.g. this one). I searched a bit in the internet about this album. The University of Edinburgh published a short report where they refer:
While this particular album cannot be traced directly to Lord Elgin, the contents open a window into the time which he spent in China.
So they are not sure if it really contains photos from around 1860, but on their website they are (Creator: Elgin, Lord). When one digs deeper, the attribution to Lord Elgin and the date of 1860 vanishes more and more (Further details here).
I've corrected my uploaded photos.