Old photos of old photos

In China, there is no exact definition of old photos. For example, the famous "Old Photos" series uses photos from 20 years ago as the definition. Of course, it can also be said that all previous photos can be called old photos, but what we are discussing today is basically limited to the founding of the People's Republic of China, that is, photos before 1949.

These photos can basically be divided into two categories:

1. Photos of the late Qing Dynasty from the introduction of photography to China to the establishment of the Republic of China

Photography It was officially invented by the French in 1839 and was introduced to China within a few years. Large-scale photography activities in China officially began in the 1850s, so the photos taken and printed between 1850 and 1911 are the first batch of old photos in China. Although due to the limitations of photography technology, many photos taken during this period were His works are mainly portraits of people, with less landscapes and folk customs. In the early days, many were albumen photos printed on glass wet plates, which were usually colored by hand. The clarity is not high, but because these photos are in small stock, they have become the first treasures sought after by domestic and international collectors. For example, an albumen photo (24X16CM) of the Qianmen around 1870 sold for US$305 on EBAY. The above-mentioned 2004 Jiade Spring Auction, a collection of 36 photos of Shanghai and Wuhan customs, has an estimated price of 8,000-9,000 yuan. The transaction price reached 93,500 yuan, nearly 3,000 yuan each. This is because they are albumen photos and were printed early. In the 2005 Huachen Autumn Auction, a set (five photos) of late Qing Dynasty recorded albumen photos of Shanghai around 1870 (about 25X21CM), taken by the Sentai Photo Studio opened by William Sanders, an Englishman who was in Shanghai at the time (although Huachen Company did not know it and marked it as anonymous), the transaction price reached 41,800 yuan, with an average price per Zhang 8,000 yuan, which can be said to have been rising all the way. In China's antique market, albumen photos are very rare, especially some landscape and folk photos. The photo of Qiying on the right was taken by Jules Eyre, the French customs inspector general, and is considered to be the earliest existing photo in China.

2. Works from the establishment of the Republic of China to the founding of the People's Republic of China

That is, from 1912 to 1949, they can be called works of the Republic of China. Due to the development of technology, the subject matter of photography during this period was enriched, and photographers were more deeply involved in life. The overall number of surviving photos increased, and the overall value was lower than that of the works of the late Qing Dynasty. However, during this period, some new photography forms such as panoramic photos, artistic photos, And photo albums, etc. are still of great value. At the China Guardian Spring Auction in 2004, a set of life photos of Wang Wendian, a great capitalist in Tianjin during the Republic of China, also set a record auction price of 198,000 yuan for a photo in mainland China.

From the overall private stock of these two types of photos, due to the continuous social unrest before the founding of the People's Republic of China and the "Destroying the Four Olds" movement in 1966, photography The preservation of the works has caused a lot of damage, especially the photos from the late Qing Dynasty, which are very few and in poor condition. There are relatively many works from the Republic of China, especially some family photos, which are relatively well preserved. After the Second Opium War, China was forced to open its treaty ports, and Westerners also gained the privilege of traveling freely within China. Before the founding of New China in 1949, a large number of foreigners came to China, and they took them with them when they returned home. There are a large number of photos, and the number of photos that have been preserved in good condition is also quite large. Many photos have begun to return to the public in the past two years.

For Western auction websites, photos auctioned according to collections mostly refer to original photography (ORIGINAL PRINT) that was taken and printed before 1950. Generally speaking, original photography refers to photos that have been taken and printed before 1950. For works that were printed within five years, there are tens of thousands of photos auctioned on eBay every day. There are about 200 photos about China. Sometimes there are also some photos posted in albums. Most of them are Photos from the Republic of China period. Generally speaking, there are few original Chinese photography works in existence, and their prices are relatively high. Especially with China’s economic rise in recent years, more foreigners have begun to pay attention to China’s history. International collectors of old Chinese photos Also increasing.