Welcome to Gwulo

Here you'll find over 50,000 pages about old Hong Kong to explore, including over 30,000 photos. The content is added by a friendly community of people who enjoy sharing what we know about Hong Kong's history, and you are very welcome to join us.

Kind regards, David

P.S. To receive more old Hong Kong photos and stories, please sign up for our free weekly newsletter.

The Victorian selfie

Submitted by David on Sat, 02/16/2019 - 16:00

Though "selfie" is a modern word, sending photos of ourselves to friends is almost as old as photography itself. The photos below were taken in the photographic studios of Hong Kong in the mid- to late-1800s, and given to family and friends around the world.

I've added notes to the photos, but I'm hoping your detective skills can add more information. If you can identify military uniforms, I'll be especially interested to hear what you can tell us about the soldiers and sailors in the group. Please leave a comment below if you spot anything interesting.

In date order ...

Subscribe to