China, Thailand, Myanmar, ca. 1888. Oblong folio (32.1 x 40.1 cm). 86 stiff cardboard leaves, each with a large, original photo mounted. Average photo size about 21.5 x 27.0 cm)Most photos oblong landscapes, three are very wide panoramas. Contemporary full morocco binding. Spine with four raised, gilt-rolled floral bands; compartments with gilt floral vignettes. Boards gilt-bordered, with bevelled edges. Marbled endpapers. All edges gilt.

A fine, unique collection of original, good-sized photographs, chiefly of China, and in particular Hong Kong, and of several adjacent countries, notably Myanmar, and Thailand. Included are photos of Peking, Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong made by several of the leading commercial photographers of the period. Captions are in a contemporary hand, written in Dutch. Five plates show street scenes in Peking (Beijing), including rare subjects, such as Legation Street, entrance gates to the city, and the Imperial Observatory; five plates show Ming dynasty tombs, situated near Beijing, and now a World Heritage site; three show northern China, including the Great Wall; 12 show Shanghai (multiple of the Bund, including the Jardine Matheson bank, and, e.g., Foochow Road, a wedding procession, the French Settlement with policemen, and Chinese prisoners). Hong Kong is represented by no fewer than 24 photos, including two extremely wide panoramas, one showing the harbour from a hilltop (22.5 x 110 cm), and the harbour waterfront (20.5 x 83 cm). Other pictures include parades of Indian servicemen, and Highlanders. Also included: a view of the Peak Hotel, and of the funicular railway, both of which started operating in 1888, and look brand new. Also, a view of Queens Road, views taken from the Peak, views focused on the commercial harbour frontage, with, e.g., Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, and Aberdeen village. Five photos show Canton (Guangzhou), including a foreign settlement, and a pagoda. Four photos show Macao; five depict the West River (Xi), including an unusual, rare (if not unique) very wide panorama of the river bank at Wuzhou, a town situated in a strategically important location at the confluence of the Guijiang and Xunjiang rivers, which form the voluminous Xijiang River, here named the West River. This made it the natural "water gateway" connecting the southwestern regions of China with the Pearl River Delta, the low-lying area where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region, "referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, the region is one of the most densely populated and urbanized regions in the world, and is considered a megacity by numerous scholars. It is currently the wealthiest region in Southern China and one of the wealthiest regions in China" (Wikipedia). The Xi River photos are smaller, one just 10.0 x 14.0 cm, but the others still about 14.5 x 19.0 cm or more. Outside China, the following places are represented: Bangkok (six photos), including important temple sites, a collection of elephant tusks, a scene of elephants fighting, two portraits of a Royal Princess - and a superb full-length portrait of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). Rangoon is represented with nine photos, including studies of the imposing Shwe Dagon Buddhist site. Very light wear to spine ends and board edges; an old, inobtrusive repair to one panorama; a few photos mildly faded, but most photos in excellent condition.