1284
photographer too and through his wealth and position
could help the development of photography in Japan. As
a president of this society Enomoto Takeaki, an infl u-
ent member of the Meiji government, tried to promote
photography as an artistic medium. Other photographic
societies emerged at the turn of the century, such as the
Tokyo Shayu –kai, founded by Osaki Koyo, or the Toyo
Shashin-kai, by Miyauchi Kotaro.
In south-east Asia, the lead of Thaïland in the adop-
tion of photography must be noted. It is due fi rst and
foremost to the implication of King Rama IV. The
king created a royal department of photography in his
government and had the queen and himself portrayed.
The French bishop Pallegoix, leader of Siam’s Catholic
Church, introduced daguerreotype a mere few years after
its invention. According to a 1905 edition of the Sayam
Prabhet newspaper, the country’s fi rst native photogra-
phers were Pallegoix’s students, Phraya Kasapkijkosol,
Phra Preechakolkarn and Luang Akaneenaruemitr, who
is best known today as Chit Chitrakanee or Francis
Chit.
In other parts of south-east Asia, the British colonial
administration sent various archeological or artistic sur-
veys, often with a photographer, such as the one sent to
Burma in 1855 to document the ancient town of Ava.
Photographers reached Indochina and other French
colonies or protectorates following the progression of
troops in Cochinchina. Emile Gsell was the fi rst to settle
in Saigon and have his studio there from 1866 to 1879.
The progression of the troops in the north—Annam and
Tonkin—allowed photography there too. Hocquart, a
military doctor, illustrated through his photographs the
progress of French colonization. But no real organiza-
tion dedicated to photography was established before
the beginnings of twentieth century. The EFEO—French
school of far-eastern studies—established in Hanoi in
1900, was the fi rst body to launch extensive photo-
graphic campaigns.
Documentation about societies, groups and exhibi-
tions of photography in far-east Asia is very scarce and
few historians have so far had either the ability or the
will to search through the subject. The broad outline
as it appears today is that of a parallel progression of
photography, trade, military conquests, religious mis-
sions and industry. The countries where a strong political
system, and the social elites, were willing to adopt the
new technologies brought from the west, such as Siam
and Japan, were the ones where amateur and profes-
sional photographers fi rst got organized in societies or
government bodies. Many foreigners were also prob-
ably members of photographic societies in their home
countries. Elsewhere the societies seem to appear only
in the twentieth century. It is likely that the exhibitions
or fairs dedicated to industry and trade also played a
role in the diffusion of photography but they are yet to
be studied. It would be interesting to compare the case
of far-east Asia to that of India, where photography rose
fast and strong in the nineteenth century.
Jérôme Ghesquière
See also: Lambert & Co., G.R.; Beato, Felice; von
Stillfried und Ratenitz, Baron Raimund; Chit, Francis;
and Gsell, Emile.Further Reading
Falconer John, A vision of the past, a history of early photography
in Singapore and Malaya, the photographs of G.R. Lambert &
Co., 1880–1910, Singapore, ed. Times Editions, 1987.SOCIETIES, GROUPS, INSTITUTIONS,
AND EXHIBITIONS IN AUSTRALASIA
(INCLUDING NEW ZEALAND AND
PACIFIC)
Nineteenth-century Immigrants from Great Britain who
chose to settle in Australasia may have been surprised to
fi nd that once they’d settled into their new homes, they
had on their doorstep some refi nements which hitherto
may have been denied them because of their status in so-
ciety. These were learned institutions which went under
a multiplicity of names like the Philosophical Society or
the Mechanics Institute. Some of these may have been
fostered by those who were responsible for organising
their passage in the fi rst place. For instance, the New
Zealand Company, largely responsible for the settlement
of Port Nicholson, saw to it that a consignment of books
was dispatched to the colony. For an annual membership
fee, immigrants could join these groups and participate
in the exchange of information on a myriad of topics,
especially the arts and sciences.
Wellingtonians for instance, were able to boast a
Mechanics Institute in a temporary dwelling which was
purchased for £30 in 1842, barely two years after the
settlement was established. This housed a library and a
selection of (unspecifi ed) scientifi c instruments which had
been purchased in London prior to the departure of the fi rst
immigrant ships that left England in September 1839.
Institutions like this became a conduit which saw the
dissemination of knowledge including the virtues of the
daguerreotype and other photographic improvements
which followed at a rapid pace. It may come as a surprise
to known that Australians and New Zealanders were
more than familiar with the theoretical workings of the
daguerreotype and the calotype well before a decade had
elapsed after their discovery. Wellington’s Mechanics
Institute represents just one of many fl edgling institu-
tions that developed throughout Australasia.
Of course anyone involved in the arts and sciences
in mid-Victorian times was eagerly sought to give ad-