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Peak residences on Mt. Gough, Hong Kong, China

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Peak residences on Mt. Gough, Hong Kong, China

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Photograph shows a man being transported in a seat suspended from poles, in the background are dwellings set on the hillsides.
H24472 U.S. Copyright Office.
Copyright by C.H. Graves.
On mount: The Universal Photo Art Co.
No. 110.
Exhibited: Picturing Hong Kong; photos 1850-1910 ; exhibit loan 4121-L.

Stereographs are devices capable of building a three-dimensional​ image out of two photographs that have about two and a half inches difference between them so that it could imitate the two eyes’ real field of view. Combining these images into a single one with the help of stereoscope, a person can experience the illusion of the image’s depth. Stereoscope uses the same principle as in human binocular vision. Our eyes are separated by about two inches, so we see everything from two different angles. When the brain combined those views in a single picture, we get the spatial depth and dimension. Stereographs were extremely popular between 1850 and 1930 all around the world. Millions of stereographs were made during that time. There was a broad range of themes: landscape, travel, historical moments, nature disasters, architecture and many others. Nowadays, simply launch this collection full screen and put your mobile device in Google Cardboard Viewer.

In the 19th century, British trade of Chinese commodities like tea, silk, and porcelain was high but Chinese interest in European manufactured goods was insignificant so that Chinese goods could only be bought with precious metals. To reduce the trade imbalance, the British sold large amounts of Indian opium to China. In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor rejected proposals to legalize and tax opium and ordered imperial commissioner Lin Zexu to eradicate the opium trade. The commissioner destroyed opium stockpiles and halted all foreign trade, triggering a British military response and the First Opium War. The Qing surrendered early in the war and ceded Hong Kong Island to the United Kingdom in 1842. Piracy, disease, and hostile Qing policies initially prevented the government from attracting commerce. Conditions on the island improved during the Taiping Rebellion in the 1850s, when many Chinese refugees, including wealthy merchants, fled mainland turbulence and settled in the colony. Further tensions between the British and Qing over the opium trade escalated into the Second Opium War. The Qing were again defeated, and forced to give up the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter's Island in the Convention of Peking. By the end of this war, Hong Kong had evolved from a transient colonial outpost into a major port. The colony was further expanded in 1898 when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories. Hong Kong was transferred to China on 1 July 1997, after 156 years of British rule.

Was the son of Jesse Albert Graves, an early American photographer who produced nearly 500 views of the western part of Pennsylvania. C. H. Graves studied the art of photography under his father and began to practice it in Philadelphia around 1880. He founded several companies to distribute his prints, the most prominent of which was the Universal Photo Art Company, which operated from 1895 to 1910. It was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a branch in Naperville, Illinois, where F. A. Messerschmidt served as manager. Graves' catalogue contained nearly 1600 original views. He used a platinum printing process and some of the views were labelled The Art Nouveau (Platino) Stereograph.

date_range

Date

01/01/1902
person

Contributors

Graves, C. H. (Carleton H.), -1943.
place

Location

Wo Tong Kong22.31667, 114.26667
Google Map of 22.31667, 114.26667
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Source

Library of Congress
copyright

Copyright info

No known restrictions on publication.

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