1388
example, Thomson suggested that, “Here we fi nd none
of the display, none of those desperate efforts to secure
the lion’s share of custom, which competition has fos-
tered in European towns.” Thomson photographed and
wrote about the full spectrum of society from Kings,
politicians, and traders to peasants, street people, beg-
gars, and even criminals. To appreciate the achievement
of Thomson’s Asian work, we should bear in mind that
most of the people who posed for him had never seen
any picture of themselves, much less a European who
brought with him this odd collection of equipment
that somehow produced miraculous images. Thomson
clearly had the ability to put people at ease and gain
their trust, which in turn allowed him to convey a sense
of unforced naturalness in his portraits.
Thomson also made outstanding photographs of the
various terrains that he traveled in Southeast Asia and
China. His photographs of mountains, for example, com-
pare favorably to the Bisson Frere’s studies of the Alps
and Samuel Bourne’s images of the Himalayas, and he
was no less successful in photographing jungles, farm-
lands, rivers, and seacoasts. He also made accomplished
architectural photographs of pagodas, houses, temples,
and other structures. Like many great photographers,
Thomson’s visual versatility allowed him to fi nd unique
solutions to challenging subject matter.
When Thomson married his wife, Isobel, in 1868,
they settled in Hong Kong. When she returned to Eng-
land after the birth of their son, Thomson continued pho-
tographing in Asia, but he fi nally returned to England for
good in 1872. He published four volumes on his travels
in China entitled Illustrations of China and its People
(1872–74). These ambitious books contained over two
hundred photographs, which were published along side
his detailed and entertaining commentaries. In 1875 he
published a lengthy memoir of his travels in Asia, The
Straits of Malacca, Indo-China and China, which were
illustrated with engravings based on his photographs.
Taken together, these books comprise the most complete
photographic and ethnographic record of China and
Southeast Asia made during the 19th century.
Thomson applied the skills he had honed in Asia to
his native culture when he began photographing street
people of London. The resulting book, Street Life ofTHOMSON, JOHN
Thomson, John. A Young Prince.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Gilman Collection, Purchase, Cynthia
Hazen Polsky Gift, 2005 [2005.100.583
(33b)] Image © The Metropolitan
Museum of Art.