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One of the earliest travel photographers in Asia, John Thomson, who travelled extensively across China, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, in the 1860s and early 1870s, is being honoured at a ceremony on Saturday, 13 July 2019 which will celebrate his newly restored grave.
Thomson photographed the people, landscapes and monuments across a large part of south east Asia, resulting in an important series of books describing the places he visited and his own experiences. His grave in Streatham Cemetery which was lost for many years until its rediscovery by Terry Bennett has been restored following a crowdfunded project led by Betty Yao MBE.
Betty Yao commented: “John Thomson’s photographs provide a rich and lasting visual record of the Far East. It is fitting that we restore his grave as a renewed memorial to the man and his work”.
Thomson, was born in Edinburgh in 1837 and died in London in 1921. He is widely acclaimed as one of the best photographers of China of the period. On his return to London in 1872 he ran a successful portrait studio gaining the royal warrant in 1881. He was a member of the Royal Photographic Society from 1879. Thomson also acted as the principal photography teacher for the Royal Geographical Society, training a new generation of travellers and explorers in photography.
His most important publications were Illustrations of China and Its People (1873/4) and Street Life in London (with Adolphe Smith, 1877).
He retired in 1910 and spent most of time in Edinburgh where he continued to write about photography.
The commemoration will take place in Streatham Cemetery, Garratt Lane, Tooting, London, SW17 0LT (lot 545, block F) at 11.00am, Saturday 13th July 2019. Everyone is welcome. The nearest underground station is Tooting Broadway, followed by a 10-15 short walk or buses 44, 77, 270, G1 (Streatham Cemetery stop). Afterwards, there will be celebratory drinks in a nearby pub to which everyone is invited.
Victoria and Albert Museum's photography collection
National Science and Media Museum
RPS Journal 1853-2012 online and searchable
Photographic History Research Centre, Leicester
Birkbeck History and Theory of Photography Research Centre
William Henry Fox Talbot Catalogue Raisonné
British Photography. The Hyman Collection
The Press Photo History Project Mapping the photo agencies and photographers of Fleet Street and the UK
The correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot
Historic England Archive
UAL Photography and Photography and the Archive Research Centre
Royal Photographic Society's Historical Group
www.londonstereo.com London Stereoscopic Company / T. R. Williams
www.earlyphotography.co.uk British camera makers and companies
Fox Talbot Museum, Lacock.
National Portrait Gallery, London
http://www.freewebs.com/jb3d/
Alfred Seaman and the Photographic Convention
Frederick Scott Archer
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