Photographs Between Two Worlds

Reblogged from the Centre for Public History, Queen’s University Belfast. Photographs Between Two Worlds: the Hart Photographic Collection Emma Reisz In 1854, a nineteen-year-old from Portadown set sail for Hong Kong. His name was Robert Hart, and he was a recent graduate of the newly established Queen’s College Belfast. He had been nominated by Queen’s to join Britain’s Chinese Consular Service as a trainee interpreter, though he had no connections in China, and spoke no Chinese. The son of a distillery manager, Hart had no experience of politics or foreign affairs either. On his way east, he stopped off in…

China’s Imperial Eye photo book

Aglaia De Angeli and Emma Reisz, China’s Imperial Eye: Photographs of Qing China and Tibet from the Sir Robert Hart Collection, Queen’s University Belfast (Belfast, 2017). Purchase here. The accompanying exhibition of photographs from the Hart Photographic Collection is also on display in The McClay Library, Ground Floor.

Robert Hart on Flickr

Robert Hart was fascinated by photography and communications. So it is only fitting that you can now find Sir Robert Hart on Flickr. The Flickr selection includes this delightful 1907 snap of Robert Hart with his band, along with over a hundred other photographs from late 19th and early 20th century China. These are just a small selection from the full Robert Hart photography collection, which includes over 2,000 images.