[Album of photographs, miniature paintings and ephemera of Lt. Col. Arthur Henry Coney]
Bound volume
[Album of photographs, miniature paintings and ephemera of Lt. Col. Arthur Henry Coney]
ca. 1865
Albumen silver print
Overall: 35 x 30 x 3.5 cm
Purchase
1976.0134.0001-0039
DescriptionPersonal album of photographs, miniature paintings and ephemera of Lt. Col. Arthur Henry Coney (1832-1909), a British army officer who served with the 67th Regiment throughout the campaign of 1860 in North China, including the action of Sinho, taking of Tangku, storm and capture of Taku Fort and surrender of Peking. He also commanded the disciplined Chinese troops employed against the rebels in the province of Pecheli, North China in the winter of 1862-63.
A passport for this officer dated January 15, 1862, handwritten in both Chinese and English is attached to a page in the front of the album.
The now disassembled album consists of 6 large-format albumen silver photographs by Felice Beato of the aftermath of the British victory over the Chinese at the northernmost of the Taku forts. These document the Third Battle of the Taku Forts, an engagement of the Second Opium War. These have been removed from the album pages, which still contain the hand-written captions in ink in an Old English style script. There are also 4 additional unattributed views of China.
Intact in the album are 11 small paintings, rendered in precise, minute detail. The first 4 are various views of the British and French headquarters in Canton. These are followed by 5 small portraits, including the Emperor and Empress and a Tartar General and his wife. Of note is a small painting of Yeh Mingchen, Governor of Canton based on a caricature by Maj. Gen. Henry Hope Crealock. A larger watercolor landscape by a different artist is loose and sleeved separately. Captions for these paintings can be determined by comparison with a separate, hand-written list with the album.
There are 2 albumen silver photographic copies of comic drawings related to the British army. One of these is signed by the artist, Charles Wirgman, an artist in China who worked for the "Illustrated London News" and who is known to have been in business with Felice Beato.
There is other loose material with the album, including photographs of a college or military school in Great Britain and a group of 10 small views of Japan and of Japanese types.
The original album, structurally in poor condition, is covered in green fabric with leather. The front cover has a small gold crest and the motto of Britain's Prince of Wales ("Ich Dien" i.e. "I Serve").
A passport for this officer dated January 15, 1862, handwritten in both Chinese and English is attached to a page in the front of the album.
The now disassembled album consists of 6 large-format albumen silver photographs by Felice Beato of the aftermath of the British victory over the Chinese at the northernmost of the Taku forts. These document the Third Battle of the Taku Forts, an engagement of the Second Opium War. These have been removed from the album pages, which still contain the hand-written captions in ink in an Old English style script. There are also 4 additional unattributed views of China.
Intact in the album are 11 small paintings, rendered in precise, minute detail. The first 4 are various views of the British and French headquarters in Canton. These are followed by 5 small portraits, including the Emperor and Empress and a Tartar General and his wife. Of note is a small painting of Yeh Mingchen, Governor of Canton based on a caricature by Maj. Gen. Henry Hope Crealock. A larger watercolor landscape by a different artist is loose and sleeved separately. Captions for these paintings can be determined by comparison with a separate, hand-written list with the album.
There are 2 albumen silver photographic copies of comic drawings related to the British army. One of these is signed by the artist, Charles Wirgman, an artist in China who worked for the "Illustrated London News" and who is known to have been in business with Felice Beato.
There is other loose material with the album, including photographs of a college or military school in Great Britain and a group of 10 small views of Japan and of Japanese types.
The original album, structurally in poor condition, is covered in green fabric with leather. The front cover has a small gold crest and the motto of Britain's Prince of Wales ("Ich Dien" i.e. "I Serve").
