Thomson, John

FIRST EDITION, oblong folio (270 x 379mm.), photo-lithograph of a letter in English from the King of Siam to John Thomson, and 16 ALBUMEN PRINTS, including two 3-part panoramas, many of the photographs signed "J. Thomson" in the negative, all mounted on thick card, letterpress text, original black half roan over green cloth boards, upper cover stamped in gilt, gilt edges, some light spotting and dust-soiling, spine worn, waterstain to upper cover, corners rubbed

Dr Alfred Cotterell Tupp (1840-1914), Indian administrator, economist and statistician, signed and dated (1 June 1908) on the preliminary blank leaf. Tupp served 27 years in the Indian Civil Service until his retirement in 1889, his final post being Comptroller-General to the Government of India. He collected a large library dealing with the Himalayas, Tibet, Russian and Chinese Turkestan, and Afghanistan, and was a founder of the Central Asian Society.

Foster, Heiting, and Stuhlman (eds). Imagining Paradise: The Richard and Ronay Menschel Library at George Eastman House, Rochester, (New York, 2007), pp.118-119; not in Gernsheim; not in Parr & Badger The Photobook: A History

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

THESE ARE AMONG THE EARLIEST SURVIVING PHOTOGRAPHS OF ANGKOR WAT.

Thomson (1837-1921) originally went to the Far East in 1862 to join his brother in Singapore as a watch and scientific instrument maker, however having learnt the principles of photography he opened a photographic studio. Thomson was keen to travel and photograph more widely in Asia, and following a visit to Ceylon and India in 1864 he sold his Singapore studio and moved to Siam (modern day Thailand). He arrived in Bangkok in September 1865, where he took a series of photographs of the king, royal court, and government. Thomson had been inspired by the writings of Henri Mouhot to visit Cambodia, and in Bangkok met H.G. Kennedy, a British consular official, who offered to travel with him and who saved Thomson’s life when he contracted jungle fever en route. They arrived in Angkor in March 1866 and Thomson spent two weeks photographing the massive stone ruins, sculptures, galleries, and taking panoramas.

Thomson then travelled to the capital Phnom Penh where he took photographs of the king, and members of the Cambodian royal family, before travelling to Saigon. In May or June 1866 Thomson returned to Britain, where his illustrated lectures on his travels were well received. He was elected a Fellow of both the Ethnological Society of London, and the Royal Geographical Society, and his photographs were praised in the British Journal of Photography. Thomson was encouraged by the architectural historian James Fergusson, to publish an account of his visit to Cambodia, and the result was this publication, Thomson’s first book, illustrated with hand-mounted photographs.

VERY RARE. The last copy we have traced at auction was sold 40 years ago at Sotheby's New York (23 September, 1975, lot 27)