Barbarian lens : western photographers of the Qianlong emperor's European palaces / Régine Thiriez.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-183) and index.
Contents: Palaces in the photographers' time -- Early photography in Beijing, 1860-1873 --Foreigners in Beijing, 1860-1925 -- Practicing photography in China, 1860-1925 -- European Palaces in the photographers' time....in the eighteenth century--Rape of the Summer Palace and its aftermath--Maritime customs men in the 1870's--Imperial Chinese Maritime customs--Thomas Child: the photographer of Old Beijing--Ernst Ohlmer: sailor, photographer, customs officer and porcelain collector--Theophile Piry: forty-five years in China through a camera lens--From the Boxer Rebellion to the warlords--Alfons Freiherr Mumm von Schwarzenstein: a German envoy in 1901 China--From the 1911 Revolution to the warlords.

"The latest volume in the prestigious academic book series Documenting the Image, this is a fascinating survey illustrated by extremely rare photographs of the burned architectural and landscape complex known as the Rape of the Summer Palace.
In 1860, Western armies brought ruin to the treasured seat of the Qing emperors near Beijing. One hundred and fifty images have been collected to date as a support for an extensive study of the building of the palaces and their subsequent destruction.
This book is a rigourous analysis of the work and experiences of the European photographers, both amateur and professional, working in Beijing during this period, and, as such, becomes an account of the development of photography itself. Offering a fascinating glimpse into 19th-Century China, the book gives an historical overview of the political situation."--publisher description.

Old Beijing : postcards from the Imperial City / Felicitas Titus ; foreword by Susan Naquin.

Includes bibliographical references (page 141).

This collection of rare and vintage postcards offers a unique look at a vanished China and its storied capital. Comprising 355 black-and-white and hand-tinted Beijing photography postcards that span the period from the last years of Imperial China to the Japanese invasion of 1937, it is a treasure trove for buffs of Beijing history, collectors, Sinophiles, and anyone fascinated by people and cultures from times past. Readers will enjoy the wide selection of images showing different aspects of the life of old Peking--from the arrival of a camel train at a city gate to hand-colored views of the Forbidden City and an array of vendors, street performers, officials, gentry, commoners, and foreign tourists. Several chapters present the city's distinctive Beijing architecture--its walls and gates, towers, fountains, temples, pagodas, memorial arches, and public or imperial buildings, including the Summer and Winter Palaces and the Ming Tombs. Other chapters of Chinese photography look at the Manchu rulers, street life, the Legation Quarter and Western presence, and the Great Wall.

Included are some rare scenes depicting the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion and 1911 revolution; Manchu fashion, colorful means of transportation, and the coming of the railroad. Of particular note are images of the Empress Dowager, the child emperor Puyi, and other personalities at the Manchu Court. The book also includes eight color postcards of paintings by the famous artist Carl Wuttke and rare cards showing etched drawings of the Old Summer Palace--now only a field of ruins. The author, who was born and lived in China before 1949, has written an informative introduction to each chapter as well as a general introduction to classical Beijing. A foreword by historian and Beijing expert Susan Naquin situates this collection at once as a precious record of old Peking and a revealing snapshot of Western views of China in the first golden age of tourism. Old Beijing: Postcards from the Imperial City offers a visual time capsule of both Beijing's history and traditional Chinese culture in a unique and revealing postcard format.

Local access dig.pdf [Titus-Old Beijing.pdf]

***Graphic resource -- high-quality color reproductions of 19th and early 20th century Western (mostly French, some British) prints depicting Beijing during times of peace and conflict (Second Anglo-Chinese War aka Second Opium War 英法聯軍之役, Boxer Rebellion 庚子事變).