Historical Chinese Postcard Project: 1896 - 1920
3.1.
Articles
Changes in Photographic Style between the 19th and the 20th Centuries
Authors: Régine ThiriezDate: May 2004
The photographically illustrated postcard created a new output for photographers. Several of the early publishers were either photographic studios (like Sze Yuen Ming in Shanghai), or already active as publishers or retailers of photographs. Early postcards used the format set by contemporary studios in Shanghai or Hong Kong. Europe or America often recycled images of China that were already there.
However, the postcard appeared when photography was changing character. Previously, it had been documentary and static, a statement of what was there. The new portable camera and fast films allowed an entirely different and more relaxed approach to photography. This was the 'snap' shot, a recording of a fugitive moment.
In China, the move from one type of photography to the other was accelerated by the 1900 Boxer war*. This violently xenophobic 'rebellion' attacked foreigners and Christians, which in turn raised foreign powers against China. Many of the thousands foreign troops who came to the rescue brought cameras with them, a mass arrival which soon altered the nature of Chinese photography in general. The amateur photographers developed their own personal style. Studios, on the other hand, concentrated more than ever on portraits. All classes of photographers found new outlets with newspapers (which now printed photographs) and postcards.
For a number of years, postcards followed the conventions of earlier photography. Was it because many 'old' photographs were used, or because the public liked the older style? Both these reasons, probably. In any case, postcard photography was now different from the new 'amateur' photography, while, earlier, commercial and amateur photographers had displayed a similar style.