XN000022-1983-07-31 — Page 4

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SUNDAY, JULY 31, 1983

THE PHOTO ARCHIVES ALSO CONTAIN A RICH ALBUM OF CENTRAL DISTRICT DRESSED UP IN CELEBRATION OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES MARKING THE END OF WORLD WAR I.

+WITHIN THE SPACE OF ONE WEEK, PHOTOGRAPHERS TOOK PICTURES OF PRACTICALLY EVERY STREET IN CENTRAL, BY DOING SO THEY PROVIDED A UNIQUE AND DETAILED RECORD OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF DOWNTOWN VICTORIA AT ONE MOMENT IN TIME, MR DIAMOND POINTED OUT.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OLD PHOTOGRAPHS SHOULD BE SET AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE 19TH CENTURY AND THE EARLY DECADES OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

IN 1899, A NOTED PHOTOGRAPHER ACTIVE ON THE CHINA COAST COMMENTED ON WHAT THE PROFESSION WAS LIKE +MY IMPEDIMENTA (CAMERA EQUIPMENT) REQUIRED FOR ITS TRANSPORT A RETINUE OF FROM BETWEEN EIGHT TO 10 BEARERS.+

THE COMPLEXITY OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE OLD DAYS MADE IT ALMOST CERTAIN THAT THE OWNER OF A CAMERA WAS EITHER A PROFESSIONAL OR A KEEN AMATEUR.

MANY OF THE PHOTOS IN THE MAY FAMILY COLLECTION WERE PROBABLY TAKEN BY SIR HENRY'S WIFE.

+MRS JOHNSTON TOLD ME HER MOTHER WAS A KEEN PHOTOGRAPHER,+ MR DIAMOND SAID.

THE MANY MAY PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE INTERIORS OF FORMER FAMOUS BUILDINGS CAPTURE THE DECOR POPULAR IN THE OLD DAYS. AND SUCH PICTURES ARE RARE BECAUSE IN THE DAYS OF MAGNESIUM FLASH, INDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY WAS A CHALLENGING AND OFTEN HIT-OR-MISS PROPÓSITION.

THE PUBLIC RECORDS OFFICE HAS IDENTIFIED VIRTUALLY EVERY PHOTOGRAPH IN ITS CUSTODY. THIS HAS BEEN A DAUNTING TASK AS MANY OF THE OLD PHOTOS CAME WITHOUT ANY INFORMATION.

THROUGH PAINSTAKING RESEARCH, WHICH INVOLVED STUDYING OLD GAZETTES, MAPS, NEWSPAPERS, RATE COLLECTION BOOKS AND BUSINESS DIRECTORIES, PRACTICALLY EVERY LOCATION IN THE PHOTOS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AND DATED, MR DIAMOND EXPLAINED.

THE OFFICE STARTED GATHERING OLD PHOTOS IN A SMALL WAY IN 1972 WHEN THE OFFICE WAS ESTABLISHED.

+THROUGH PURCHASES IN LONDON AND THROUGH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS, WE HAVE BUILT UP OUR PHOTO ARCHIVES AT A COMPOUND RATE SO THAT TODAY HONG KONG IS FAIRLY WELL REPRESENTED THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY, MR DIAMOND SAID.

INEVITABLY, GAPS STILL EXIST AND THE SEARCH CONTINUES.

+WE ARE ALWAYS INTERESTED IN PHOTOS OF HONG KONG FROM ANY QUARTER AND SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT PRIVATE ALBUMS. WE CAN ALWAYS MAKE COPIES OF THESE PICTURES AND RETURN THE ORIGINALS TO THE OWNERS,+ MR DIAMOND SAID.

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