The North China Incident Photographic Album (Boxer Rebellion) - S. Yamamoto, Peking 1901

The North China Incident — A Photographic Album of the Boxer Rebellion

A rare photographic album of the Boxer Uprising and its immediate aftermath in Peking and North China, compiled by Sanshichiro Yamamoto and published in 1901 — a primary eyewitness record from the close of the Qing dynasty.

Historical Context

The Boxer Rebellion of 1900-01 (the Boxer Uprising / Yihetuan Movement) was one of the defining upheavals of late imperial China, culminating in the siege of the foreign legations in Peking and an international intervention that left a lasting imprint on the dying years of the Qing dynasty. Photographs taken in the immediate wake of these events are scarce and historically significant, capturing the streets, architecture and atmosphere of the capital at a pivotal moment.

The Photographer

Sanshichiro Yamamoto (also recorded as Seiyo Yamamoto) maintained a photographic studio on Wangfujing in Peking, from which he documented the late-Qing capital. Published in 1901 by the Tokyo Printing Co. Ltd. for S. Yamamoto, this album stands as a contemporary visual testimony to North China in the year following the Boxer crisis.

Condition

A period photographic album of considerable age. Toning and handling consistent with its date are to be expected, as is normal for albums of this period. Please review all photographs carefully, which form an integral part of this description, and assess condition for yourself before purchase.

From a curated holding of East Asian historical photographic material, offered by an antiquarian dealer specialising in rare Japanese and East Asian books and documents.