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)