Cleveland Museum of Art

Untitled (General view of Hong Kong from the Scandal Point looking west)

William Pryor Floyd

Date

1866–73

Medium

albumen print

Culture

England, 19th century

Department

Photography

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Hong Kong’s growth, coupled with the heavy traffic of visitors brought by maritime commerce, attracted numerous foreign and Chinese photographers who documented the city’s dramatic and rapid urbanization. The main customers for such views were Westerners—colonists, sailors, merchants, and visitors—rather than Chinese. In this view, the City Hall and St. John’s Cathedral tower over the harbor full of ships in the background. Hong Kong, a relatively barren island when ceded to the British in 1842, rapidly evolved from a free port to a British crown colony and mercantile center.

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