Foochow Arsenal, China, 1864-1872.

This photograph is from an album of photographs entitled 'Foochow and the River Min' produced by the profesional photographer John Thomson (1837-1921). Forty-six copies were produced for subscribers, many of whom were probably British merchants and tea planters that Thomson met during his extensive travels in China betwen 1864 and 1872. Thomson's outstanding photography of the scenes and people of China and the Far East earned him recognition as the first of the great photojournalists.