JOHN THOMSON
(1837-1921)
PHOTOGRAPHS
Westwood Gallery NYC presented the premiere worldwide exhibition for John Thomson 78 years after his death, with photographs not seen by the public in over 100 years.
To inquire regarding prices for vintage photographs or limited edition prints, and to purchase any of the photographs shown below, contact the gallery at info@westwoodgallery.com.
Courtesy Westwood Gallery NYC.
John Thomson, one of the great figures of nineteenth century photography, is known for the unusual and exotic nature of his chosen subject matter. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1837, Thomson took up photography as a profession in his early twenties. For ten years, from 1862, he traveled and explored the Far East, visiting Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang and the Malay Peninsula, Siam, Cambodia, Vietnam, Formosa and especially China.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHINA AND THE FAR EAST
Utilizing a large wooden box-type camera capable of accommodating a glass plate of up to 12 x 16 inches, John Thomson photographed commoners and kings, attempting to capture the individual behind the veneer of social status. His photographic record of the Far East documented a complete panorama of the cultures and people of the Far East at a time when Westerners were a few and curious lot. John Thomson not only created a photographic history, but also wrote numerous articles and books on his travels and views of life in the Far East.
There is no doubt that it was Thomson's sympathetic approach to his subjects, and the dignity with which he embued them, as much as his great technical expertise, which enabled him to produce such an outstanding photographic documentary. It is this marriage between sensitivity, technical expertise and sheer professionalism, not to mention his voluminous literary output and descriptions of the scenes and people that he photographed, which has earned Thomson the title of the 'first of the great photo-journalists'. His work, which has only recently gained full recognition, represents one of the great photo-historical records in the history of documentary photography.
Thomson's negatives survive largely intact and his glass plate negatives have been used to create new printing negatives to help preserve his work for years to come. All photographs are silver gelatin prints, printed on 16 x 20 in. Kodak Ektalure thick fiber-based paper, and have been hand printed and hand-finished. All the photographs have been printed using Thomson's original negatives. In many cases, due to the fact that Thomson did not have a notebook and pen with him at all times, he made notes on the backs of his negatives to remind him of locations or names of subjects. When printed, these notes print in reverse and are clearly inscribed on a number of images. In addition to these marks, other marks of age and some crop marks have been retained to preserve the character of the original negatives, and in most cases the full negative has been printed, without cropping borders.
METHOD AND TECHNIQUE FOR VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS
Thomson used the wet collodion process, whereby single glass plates were sensitized just before exposure, then quickly exposed while still wet. This meant that the photographer could see the results of his work immediately. However, it also required an enormous quantity of equipment; the plates had to be developed on the spot in total darkness and chemicals prepared, in many cases from raw materials available at the photographic location. The processing had to be carried out in a portable tent, large enough to contain weights and measures, chemicals, funnels and instruments. A fresh water supply would also have been necessary, as well as a team of probably about eight to ten bearers to carry all the equipment. It is hard to imagine today the hardships and difficulties of producing photographs in remote regions that were daily realities for Thomson.
Photographic enlargements were unknown at the time of Thomson's work in the Far East. If a large print was required, a large wooden multi-lens camera capable of accommodating a glass plate of up to 12 x 16 inches (sometimes even larger) was used. Throughout his travels, he sometimes used a small stereoscopic camera, making two small images at one time, as well as a number of larger cameras. Of the photographs in this collection, the majority are taken from 10 x 12 glass plates. In addition, several are from stereo negatives, where only one half of the plate has been exposed.
Photographs courtesy Welcome Images.
GALLERY EXHIBITIONS
OFFSITE EXHIBITIONS
John Thomson is one of the greatest figures of nineteenth century photography. From 1862 on, he traveled extensively in the Far East capturing a photographic record of the cultures and people.
ERIE ART MUSEUM, ERIE, PA
2005