This image previously appeared in Terry Bennett's "History of Photography in China: Chinese Photographers 1844-1879", published by Bernard Quaritch in 2013, with the caption:
Fig. 6.7. Lai Fong (Afong Studio). ‘Hongkong. 319. – Queen’s Road Central’, 1870s. Private Collection.
See http://gwulo.com/node/31857 for more information.
It is reproduced here with the permission of the author and publisher.
Date picture taken
unknown
Comments
Any idea as to where this was?
I see a tower or tall building at the end and we appear to be facing east.
HK Old Photos on Facebook
Nice collection from HF on facebook as shown here Scroll down to the photo under reference. Queen's Road Central near Pottinger Street facing west is given. I guess Nam Sing Tailor would be at the junction of Queen's Road Central and Cochrane Street.
Sedan Chairs and Bearers
Greetings. The empty streets suggest this was very early in the morning. Were these bearers waiting to take their passengers to work? But only one man is visible by the chair.
Quiet streets
One option is that the street was quiet, eg because it was early in the morning as you suggest.
Another possibility is that there were people in the street, but as they were moving and the camera needed a long exposure, they don't show up clearly on the photo.
Quiet Streets
Thanks David for the camera explanation. These buildings with two levels suggest it was a relatively affluent neighbourhood. The ground level has about 14 feet high ceiling no wonder they could add a half flat in a corner. Regards, Peter
Nam Shing Tailor was at 74
Nam Shing Tailor was at 74 QRC in the 1875 Directory and Chronicle for China, Japan etc
A photo with a higher…
A photo with a higher resolution can be found here: [Queen's Road looking west, Hong Kong] (Getty Museum)
We have the photo on Gwulo…
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.