Source: Queen's Road looking west, Hong Kong] (Getty Museum)
We have the photo on Gwulo already, but this one has a much higher resolution so that signs can be read.
The photo shows Queen’s Road Central (QRC) from c.1870. It was taken by Lai Afong (Studio). The direction is (north) west.
A couple of signs help to identify the exact location. The first on the left reads: Nam Cheong from Whampoa, Portrait and Landscape Painter, [QRC] No. 70. Nam Cheong was a famous painter who was active between c.1840 and c.1870 (see e.g. Wattis Fine Arts).
Then Yuen Sing, Printer, Bookbinder and Stationer. I could not find anything about this store.
Next is Nam Sing, Tailor, Draper. His shop was at 74 QRC (source). Just behind no. 74 should be Pottinger Street.
Further down is Weng Cheong, Aping Tailor – again nothing was found. The building should be at 82 or 84 QRC.
The bend in QRC should be about where the Central Market was located.
On the opposite side of the street is See Woo, Tailor and Outfitter. In 1883, the shop was at 55 Queen’s Road Central (China Mail 1883). According to the 1901 map on hkmaps.hk, 55 QRC was at the eastern corner of the junction with Li Yuen Street West.
I think this does not match with the photo. Li Yuen Street West could be in between the first two buildings on the right. The building with the shop of See Woo could have been in 65 QRC at the junction with Pottinger Street. Or, taking into account that in the 1870s, Pottinger Street continued not straight across Queen's Road but a bit to the east (that is towards the photographer) [see the 1866 map on Gwulo], that Pottinger Street was on the right between the two buildings already mentioned.
There is some uncertainty about the location of Pottinger Street in the direction of the praya. Any help would be highly appreciated.
Note: A view in the opposite direction is shown here.
Addendum: A similar view from c. 1890 can be viewed here.
Comments
some alternative findings
With some luck, could come up with two archors from directories.
The smaller shop sign on the right 'Wee Cheong Aping' has the words 均安 on it. This is likely Kwan On Tailor (均安) which is on 74 QRC. 1
See Woo (Tailor) appears not recorded on newspapers in the 1870s, but the shop sign on its right, next door, could be read on maximum zoom.
The pawnshop Lee On (利安押) is on 67 QRC. 2
Maybe the line joining the corners of 'Wee Cheong' and 'See Woo' is a direction cue of Pottinger Street down to the praya in the 1870s era.
Would this help to solve part of the unknown ?
As Klaus' remark, this Pottinger Street portion may be a bit to the east of QRC. For comparison, the gwulo 1866, 1882 maps could be viewed with
the transparency slider function. They look narrower than later maps also.
Btw, above numbering is quite similar to what is in use currently, after 150 years. But no. 67 and 65 are separated by Pottinger Street now.
sources
1. Directory and Chronicle, e.g. 1871, 1870
1872(note the Nam Sing address quoted in 2021 may be incorrect)2. Directory and Chronicle; for 1870-78, it is on 67 QRC; for 1879-80, it is shown as 65 QRC
Re: some alternative findings
Thank you hkspace_wl for digging into the photo. A couple of remarks.
The Directory & chronicle for China, Japan for 1875 refers that Kwan On Tailor was at 86 QRC which fits with my estimates.
I'm quite sure that the building on the left is 70, 72, 74 Queen's Road Central. The sign of Nam Cheong reads no. 70, and Nam Sing Tailor (although written Nam Shing) was at 74 QRC in the same issue of the directory. The store of Yuen Sing Bookbinder (again written Yuen Shing) was at 72 QRC in 1875. And finally, there is a partially visible sign in the dark inside the left side of the building. After brightening the photo, the sign reads ...A Ling, Tailor, Cap and Flag maker. There was a Wa Hing Tailor at 70 QRC in the 1875 Chronicle. [It looks to me that the chronicle was not too precise with the Chinese names].
Therefore, Pottinger Street should start behind this building.
Maybe more Chinese signs and banners can be identified.
An almost identical photo …
An almost identical photo (only the sedan chair bearers have different positions) can be seen here.
See Wo (clothiers and drapers)
Klaus thanks for reminding the possible gaps in spelling. (I guess no standard in such romanisation even in the 20th century)
Agree with your findings for the left side of QRC in the previous post. I did not know the painter Nam Cheong before, and missed this strong support.
For the right side of QRC, the 1901 plan of Victoria shows 65 and 67 are separated by Pottinger Street. Is there some reference from 1870-1890s which may show no change in this numbering ? That may indicate if Pottinger Street to Praya is on the left or right of 'See Woo'.
About address on the right side, below are found, but may not be good for conclusion to draw from them :
Tung Kut 同吉 (money changer) was on 67 QRC c.1874, as China Directory;
Lee On (pawnshop) was on 65 QRC for 1879-80, on 67 QRC for 1870-78 (source 2);
See Wo 時和 (clothiers and drapers) was on 71 QRC (e.g 1876, 1877 directory, possibly until 1880s)
From all data posted in this thread above, it seems this photo was more likely taken in the later half of the 1870s.
Hope these may help.
Bird's eye view
In many cases, a bird's eye view can help with the location of streets and buildings. Here is a cropped part of a panorama from c.1875:
The photo shows Queen's Road (green) and Pottinger Street (red). A good landmark is the First Roman Catholic Cathedral [1843-1886] (inside the blue square). It stood near Pottinger Street and Wellington Street on Inland Lot no. 50. Therefore, Pottinger Street can be identified easily. Inside the red circle should be 70–74 Queen's Road Central. Pottinger Street runs left (west) of this building and crosses Queen's Road. From this bird's eye view, it seems that Pottinger Street continues to the praya close to the southern junction.
The view should help identify houses on the original street view. If we accept the course of Pottinger Street, the building left (west) should be 67-69 Queen's Road Central. This would be the building with Lee On Pawnshop on the right and See Woo Tailor on the left. Comparing this with the bird's eye view doesn't really help: the buildings look similar but not beyond any doubt. Of course, it is difficult to compare the two photos because the street view shows an acute angle towards the buildings, while the bird's eye view shows the front of the building.
The exact location of the junction of Pottinger Street and Queen's Road Central is still unclear; I estimate it to be the gap between the buildings where the second sedan chair is on the right.