Last Album of William Pryor Floyd Taken in Hong Kong - Views of the Typhoon of 23rd September 1874

Submitted by Herostratus on Wed, 10/09/2019 - 11:22

I found this album in the University of Michigan Archives, said to be the last album William Pryor Floyd created in Hong Kong before he left. The views are all of the aftermath of the Typhoon of 23rd September 12874. Lai Afong also photographed the same Typhoon - many of his pictures can be seen on Gwulo. Click on the picture for a full view and to zoom in to read the captions

Introduction to Album by William Pryor Floyd
Introduction to Album by William Pryor Floyd, by Herostratus
Dedication Typhoon Album 23 September 1874
Dedication Typhoon Album 23 September 1874, by Herostratus
1. Destruction of HMS Flamer & 2. Destruction Amongst the Shipping
1. Destruction of HMS Flamer & 2. Destruction Amongst the Shipping, by Herostratus
3. Wrecked Junk & 4. Wreck of the Steamers Albay & Leonor
3. Wrecked Junk & 4. Wreck of the Steamers Albay & Leonor, by Herostratus
5. Destruction of the Canton Wharf & 6. Destruction of the Praya
5. Destruction of the Canton Wharf & 6. Destruction of the Praya, by Herostratus
7&8. Stonecutters Island Looking West & North
7&8. Stonecutters Island Looking West & North, by Herostratus
9. Alaska Aground & 10. Another View of the Alaska
9. Alaska Aground & 10. Another View of the Alaska, by Herostratus
11. Ruins of Stanley - Looking North -East & 12. Stanley - Continuation of the Preceding View
11. Ruins of Stanley - Looking North -East & 12. Stanley - Continuation of the Preceding View, by Herostratus
14. Further Destruction at Sowkewan
14. Further Destruction at Sowkewan, by Herostratus
15. Kowloon City - Looking North East
15. Kowloon City - Looking North East, by Herostratus
16. Yowmatee Looking North-East
16. Yowmatee Looking North-East, by Herostratus
17. Yoomatee - Looking North
17. Yoomatee - Looking North, by Herostratus
18. A general View of Yowmatee
18. A general View of Yowmatee, by Herostratus
19. Yowmatee - Showing General Wreck
19. Yowmatee - Showing General Wreck, by Herostratus
20. Yowmatee - Another View
20. Yowmatee - Another View, by Herostratus
21. The Dockyard
21. The Dockyard, by Herostratus
22. Damage to the Sugar Refinery
22. Damage to the Sugar Refinery, by Herostratus

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Some excellent views there, thanks for posting. Don't think I've seen the prison buildings on Stonecutters Island before.

Please do you have a link or reference to the document's listing in the University's Archives? I couldn't find it via Google.

Found this in the internet:

Photography and China by Claire Roberts (2013) on page 42:

Photographic records of newsworthy events created opportunities for sales. A fierce typhoon struck Hong Kong on 22-23 September 1874. William Pryor Floyd, who was then preparing to leave the colony, documented the devastation, as did Henry Everitt of the Hong Kong Photographic Company. Views of the typhoon's destructive force, with English captions, could be purchased singly or assembled in thematic albums. After Floyd left Hong Kong in late 1874 and Everitt in 1877, Chinese studios dominated the market. A notice in an album produced by Afong refers to a collection of 35 views of the effects of the late typhoon, and in another album an unidentified advertisement describes 'the most numerous, the largest, the most complete and the most com-prehensive' set of such photographs, suggesting that the Afong studio either took photographs of the typhoon too or recycled those of Floyd and Everitt.

 

I am confused as to the position of the photographer. In an 1889 map, Causway Bay was still a tidal mud flat. This appears to be the position of the photgrapher but there is grass and shrubs growing, unless it only flooded during spring tides. The direction appears almost due west.

The photographer is standing south of East Point, around the location of Great George Street, looking North towards Kowloon. The building on the far right of the picture is on the bay that became Victoria Park in the 1950s. You can see part of the bay on the far right

Here is a view of the same area looking southwest across the bay from Tin Hau c1880s:

Hotz collection: Hong Kong, Victoria Hills and Causeway Bay, ca. 1870
Hotz collection: Hong Kong, Victoria Hills and Causeway Bay, ca. 1870, by Charles in Shanghai

 

I think I have it now, thank you. In the 1889 Hong Kong historic maps there is a vacant lot due south of the sugar refinery, this being the photographers location. What confused me was one more lot farther south is the distillery. I thought that was the building on the far left, in the 1874 photo, with the chimeny intact. You Sir are absolutely correct he was standing on Great George Street. Still trying to master uploading a screen shot or photo but here is a connection.   Screen Shot 2020-04-08 at 10.21.41 PM.png