China: an old man with his mule. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869.

  • Thomson, J. (John), 1837-1921.
Date:
1869
Reference:
19706i
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About this work

Description

A man standing behind a saddled mule against a plain background in a sunny street. Thomson called him a "Mahometan butcher". As Thomson noted, the mule was a leading means of transportion within and beyond Beijing, and over time he had formed 'a high opinion of the sagacity and patience of Pekingese mules'. They were used not only for carrying goods, but to ferry people up to the Great Wall. Thomson himself was carried up to the Wall by a Beijing-style mule litter

Publication/Creation

1869

Physical description

1 photograph : glass photonegative, wet collodion

Lettering

Mahometan butcher, Peking Bears Thomson's negative number: "726"

Notes

This is one of a collection of original glass negatives made by John Thomson. The negatives, made between 1868 and 1872, were purchased from Thomson by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1921

References note

China through the lens of John Thomson, 1868-1872, Beijing: Beijing World Art Museum, 2009, p. 56 (reproduced)

Reference

Wellcome Collection 19706i

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    Closed stores
    By appointmentManual request

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