Since 2006, Robert Bickers has directed the 'Historical Photographs of China' project, which has published online over 25,000 photographs, mainly from previously unseen family collections, with the earliest dating to the late 1850s. There were large collections and tiny ones; they came from Chinese politicians and missionaries, from policemen and doctors; they were taken by very famous professionals, and from otherwise obscure snapshotters.
In this talk he will outline how this unique and accidental project came about and how it grew, how it has been used, and he will introduce some of the collections. He will also outline plans for the future, with a new focus on Hong Kong supported by the University of Bristol’s Hong Kong History Centre.
The Speaker
Professor Robert Bickers
Professor of History, University of Bristol
Co-Director, Hong Kong History Centre
Robert Bickers, writer and historian, author of China Bound: John Swire & Sons and its World, 1816-1980 (Bloomsbury), Out of China: How the Chinese ended the era of foreign domination (Penguin & Harvard University Press), Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai (Penguin) and The Scramble for China: Foreign devils in the Qing empire, 1832-1914 (Penguin). A Fellow of the British Academy, Robert Bickers was born in Wiltshire, and lived on Royal Air Force bases across England, in Germany and in Hong Kong. He studied in London, and held fellowships in Oxford and Cambridge before taking up a post at the University of Bristol in 1997, where he is now a Professor of History.
PROGRAMME
Time: 7:00 - 8:00 pm, Hong Kong Time (Reception starts at 6:30 pm)
Admission: $175 for members, $220 for guests/non-members
Registration:
Please email <membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk> and provide your membership number, if applicable, at the time of registration. Please kindly complete your registration by advance payment via Stripe's payment links below (using your Credit Card):
Members ($175):
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Non-members / Guests ($220):
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Details about the other payment option will be sent on registration. Upon receipt of payment, your registration will be confirmed by email. Registration will be closed at 12 noon on 6 April 2025.