’Picturing China’ images showcased by AHRC

Photographs taken by Jack Ephgrave, a member of the large British expatriate community in Shanghai in the early years of the twentieth century, are featured in the second exhibition on the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)'s new Image Gallery, launched today. The images were collected as part of the 'Historical Photographs of China' project, led by Professor Robert Bickers of the University of Bristol, which has digitised thousands of historical photographs of China taken between the 1860s and 1940s. Born in Shanghai in 1914, Jack Ephgrave began experimenting with photography around the aged of 15 and captured a great deal of Chinese life: work, leisure, politics, technology, street life and much more. His photographs, mostly taken between 1929-34, give a fascinating and at times beautiful insight into a country on the brink of momentous change. They provide wonderful views of the printing and design operation he worked within, which contributed powerfully to the dynamic visual and commercial culture of 1930s Shanghai. They also show Shanghai from the air in 1927, labour struggles, and life on Shanghai's bustling streets. The photos came in two large albums containing almost a thousand prints, which will all be uploaded to the project's website Visualising China over the coming months.