Felice Beato: Photography of Japan, 1863

[Charles]

[SIZE="3"]Felice Beato's Japan
An Album by the Pioneer Foreign Photographer in Yokohama[/SIZE]



I found this interesting online exhibit at MetaFilter, where there are also other interesting links to collections of Felice Beato's work in Japan, China, and other places. The link to the NY Public Library Digital Gallery is particularly good.
I think I've posted some of his pics here before. I know everyone loves girlie pics so I thought I'd post one as an example. The range of portrait and landscape photos is excellent, I particularly liked his studies of coolies.

[Adhesive]

It's a really enjoyable collection. Thanks for posting it.

[Adhesive]

Interesting picture of some Ainu:

[Greji]

I found this interesting online exhibit.....

And a great find it was. Nice post Charles!

[Charles]

I keep going through the pics, some of them are just perfect, like this "Street Stall" pic. I like the little girl nibbling on something, and next to her the stern-looking but totally hot woman. A man gazes in her direction, while the vendors seem occupied serving a coolie.

Oh I would give anything to have a cup of tea and some cookies or whatever they're selling at that stall.

[canman]

If you hadn't said that it was a picture of Ainu, I would have guessed South East Asian, or even Australian Aboriginal, but not Ainu.

[American Oyaji]

If you hadn't said that it was a picture of Ainu, I would have guessed South East Asian, or even Australian Aboriginal, but not Ainu.

I was in the same boat.

[Charles]

I'm going through more pics, I especially like his pictures of laborers, like the guys dragging this cart. The hand coloring is exquisitely detailed, down to the dots on their headbands. The color and texture of the barrels is beautiful, I wonder what they're carrying. Maybe barrels of sake? The guy pushing from behind has rigged his staff with a little rope so he can put his shoulder into it. But every great photo must have an enigma. Look up in the right, on the elaborate tile roof, there seems to be a pair of pants or something.

But I think the best pic I've found so far is this bunch of bad dudes. You do not want to mess with these guys, they will slice you to ribbons.

[GomiGirl]

The Ainu guys really look like Indigenous Australians. But that kinda makes sense as the DNA can be traced back to Asian ancestry.

Great thread. Thanks.