Henry Coullaud photograph albums of China, 1900 August 14-1901 September 18

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Summary

Creator:
Coullaud, Henry, 1872-1954
Abstract:
Henry Coullaud (1872-1954) was a French military physician. The two albums contain 120 black-and-white photographs taken by Coullaud during the Boxer Rebellion in China, 1900-1901. Album 1 starts with images of the French naval personnel with whom he travelled, French ships, and the allied fleets, along with scenes taken in the ports of Djibouti, Port Said, Singapore, and Taku (Dagu). The rest of the images offer views of the cities of Tianjin, Baodingfu, Dingzhou, and Zhengdingfu. There are images of many types of buildings, markets and merchants, river life, modes of transportation, entertainments, a public execution, and images of rural life and work. There are a number of group portraits of Chinese and French officials and wealthy Chinese men, as well as a group portrait in a French medical clinic, and officers putting on a theatrical play and celebrating July 14th. There are also some photographs of urban and rural Chinese women. The albums seem to have been a gift from a Chinese family to Coullaud, whose last name, spelled phonetically in Chinese characters, appears on the album covers.
Extent:
2 Linear Feet (2 photograph albums)
Language:
Library staff transcribed the French-language photograph captions and provided English translations of the captions.
Collection ID:
RL.11992

Background

Scope and content:

These two albums contain 120 black-and-white gelatin silver and albumen photographs taken in China by French physician Henry Coullaud during a campaign by European and U.S. allies during the Boxer Rebellion, 1900-1901. The photographs range from 6x8 inches (17x12 cm) and 3x4 inches (6x8 cm). Each photograph is neatly captioned with location and content. The albums seem to have been a gift from a Chinese family to Coullaud, whose last name, spelled phonetically in Chinese characters, appears on the album covers.

Album 1 starts with images of the French military and naval personnel on board the ship Alexandre III, as well as views of the French and allied fleets; on the way from Marseilles to China, Coullaud captured scenes in the ports of Djibouti, Port Said, Singapore, and Taku (Dagu). There are a number of large group portraits of Chinese high-ranking officials and wealthy men, and a group portrait in a large French medical clinic. Coullaud appears many times in this first album.

He then traveled to the cities of Tian-shien (Tianjin), Pao-Ting-Fu (Baodingfu), Ting-Tcheou (Dingzhou), Tcheng-ting-fou (Zhengding fu), and Sou-Kiao (Suqiao zhen, in Jianxi Province), and other places, where he took photographs of official engagements (theater, orchestra, and meetings with the Chinese), as well as Chinese soldiers and police, a public execution of five men, and a display of severed heads in suspended cages.

The bulk of the images in the second album focus on life in interior eastern China: city street life; pagodas, gates, and city walls; merchants and markets; river life; modes of transportation; and street entertainment. There is also a sequence of many images from a funeral. Images of French celebrations on July 14th show officials throwing coins down to Chinese civilians and officers putting on a theatrical play. There are many images of rural life and work. Photographs of women are infrequent: those that are present show women working in fields, resting during a harvest, or sitting for portraits inside homes. Some of the photographs are intimate and informal, as in the shot of an elderly man bathing a child; others show a certain witticism, as in the image of a man who picks up dung, after which the caption says "One needs some fertilizer!"

Biographical / historical:

Henry Coullaud (1872-1954) was a French military physician who traveled to China as part of a French Army Infantry regiment in 1900-1901, during the Boxer Rebellion.

Acquisition information:
The Henry Coullaud photograph albums of China were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2020.
Processing information:

Processed by Laurin Penland, March 2021.

Described and encoded by Paula Jeannet, March 2022.

Accession(s) represented in this collection guide: 2020-0085.

Physical facet:
120 photographs
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Collection is open for research

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Henry Coullaud photograph albums of China, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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