Sanshichiro YAMAMOTO, Beijing
- S. Yamamoto, peking
Sanshichiro Yamamoto, (1855 to 1943) Peking was a Japanese photographer, born in Okayama Prefecture. He had a photography studio in Shibahikage-cho (near present day Shimbashi Station) in Tokyo, Japan, from 1882 to about 1897. When news of the Boxer Uprising swept the world, he quickly went to Peking to photograph the historic activities of foreign troops in the capital, including the Japanese. After photographing the aftermath in Peking, he finally settled down in Tientsin (Tianjin) and opened his third photographic studio (Yamamoto Shōzō Kan or Yamamoto Syozo House), from where he sold photographs, souvenir photobooks and coloured post cards, taken in and around Beijing and North China. His photos captured not just tourist scenes, but also scenes of daily life in China. In 1906 he published and edited Peking, an album of photographs, containing photographs of Beijing and its suburbs in the end of Qing period, showing historic places like Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Ming Tombs, along with photos of people at that time.
Source: hpcbristol
Kiyoshi YOSHIMURA,
Yokohama, Japan
Around 1904, Kiyoshi Yoshimura 吉村清 of the well-known Tokyō publisher Kamigataya 上方屋 (qv) started a new venture in Isezakicho, the theatre district of Yokohama. Shops were located at Isezakicho 2-chome # 16 before moving to the more heavily trafficked Motomachi 元町 district at Motomachi 2 chome # 85.
The business was named Tonboya トンボヤ,“Dragonfly Studio.” after the dragonfly (Tonboトンボ) long seen as symbol of courage and strength in Japanese culture, and thus cherished by the Samurai and bestowed with the romantic name of the “Victorious Insect” (kachimushi 勝ち虫).
Tonboya (also rendered Tomboya) shops were easily identifiable because of large signboards made to look like red cylindrical postal boxes (yūbin posuto 郵便ポスト) widely adopted in Japan. They catered to both foreign and domestic travellers.
Tonboya produced black and white and coloured postcards of remarkable quality of Japan and also, to a small extent, of Korea. Emblazoned with the distinctive dragonfly trademark, Tonboya postcards soon became some of the most famous and widely circulated postcards of the time.
Tonboya’s dragonfly mark started in the stamp box but moved to the top left of the address side. In his Period II (1/3 divided back: March 1907 to March 1918 ) cards, Tonboya used the dragonfly logo both in the top left of the address side and as a prefix to the Japanese writing indicating it was a postcard. Later still it moved to the bottom left margin of the photograph.
The cards often carry codes with numbers and letter prefixes including “Y …” for Yokohama, “K …” for Kobe (but also known for Kanazawa), and “Ng …” for Nagasaki. Yoshimura had cards printed in the famous collotype-printing office of Ueda Photo Print.
In May 1906 Yoshimura published A Group of the Senior Admirals with Their Staffs, Taken on Admiral Togo’s Triumphal Return, on the 22 October 1905. This was a group photograph printed by Nishimura Heikichi 西村平吉 of thirty-eight Japanese naval officers, in three rows with Admiral Togo sitting at centre front. The British Museum describe this photograph as published by both Yoshimura 吉村清 and Tombo-ya トンボヤ.
Sources: Tonboya’s Failed Voyeurism of the Daibutsu Peter Romaskiewicz; Meiji Portraits
Ernest Youens
Dartford, Kent, England
- YOUENS DARTFORD
Ernest Christopher Youens, (1856 to 1933) photographer and antiquarian, 17 Tower Road, Dartford. Youens was part of an enterprising and artistic family who lived in Dartford. He worked for the family firm as a basket maker and, in about 1897, decided to seek a living as a photographer. He took portrait photos and also built up a collection of local photos, which he offered for sale. The chance discovery of the old Dartford stocks in March 1906 prompted Mr Youens to write a letter to the Dartford Chronicle stressing the importance of preserving local antiquities and suggesting that a town museum should be established for this purpose, a proposal that resulted in the establishment of a museum open to the public. Youens was the first curator of the museum.
Sources: www.dartford.gov.uk www.nwkfhs.org.uk
Young and Carl
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Young and Carl, Photo.
Young and Carl, 279½ Vine at Seventh Street, Cincinnati, were established in 1893 and closed in 1929. They advertised as exclusive makers of the Tiffanytone photos in Cincinnati and featured Celluloid Finish on their photographs. Their photographs of Cincinnati featured in postcards published by James K Stewart (qv) Helmlinger and Company and, in the divided-back era, the Ohio Post Card Co.
Source: Cincinnati Art Museum
E. Youngman
- E. YOUNGMAN
Youngman was an artist who captured the Kent town of Canterbury in black and white drawings. In 1920 Youngman and Son published 64 Black And White Drawings Of Canterbury by E. Youngman. They also published the artist’s book of Pen and Ink Drawings of Canterbury. Youngman and Son were one of two photographic concerns bearing the name Youngman in Canterbury in the 1920s. In 1920 they published The Black And White Concise Canterbury & Cathedral Guide.
Not to be confused with Canterbury in New Zealand.
undivided-back postcards 