Canton (Guangzhou), Kwangtung province, China: street gamblers. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869.

Two men in a makeshift studio. One standing, with his hair in a plait reaching down to his shins, holding a long piece of fabric in a demonstrative attitude, a basket between his feet. The other man is seated, looking at counters and other paraphernalia on a mat before him

Gambling was prevalent in 19th-century China. Although this photograph was obviously posed, it captures the true atmosphere of Chinese street gambling and the character of a gambler: the vitality and the menace. Thomson focused particularly on the face of the standing gambler. According to him, only in the faces of Chinese gamblers can one 'see the signs of emotion, or the sullen determination to carry on at all hazards'

1869

1 photograph : glass photonegative, wet collodion ; glass approximately 21.5 x 16.5 cm (8½ x 6½ in.)

Street gambling, Canton 77 Bears Thomson's negative number: "670"

This is one of a collection of original glass negatives made by John Thomson. The negatives, made between 1868 and 1872, were purchased from Thomson by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1921

China through the lens of John Thomson, 1868-1872, Beijing: Beijing World Art Museum, 2009, p. 136 (reproduced)

Wellcome Collection 19582i