The Alcock Album: Scenes of China Consular Life 1843–1853

　　Following the ending of the First Opium War and the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842，Britain opened five treaty ports on the Chinese mainland in the cities now known as Fuzhou，Guangzhou，Ningbo，Shanghai，and Xiamen。 Foreigners were allowed for the first time to live and work normally in these cities under the eyes of their state’s consul。 In establishing this presence，consular staff and their families faced numerous challenges，including unsuitable accommodation，illness，hostile local authorities，attacks from militias and pirates，while at the same time adjusting to an unfamiliar language and culture。

　　Henrietta Alcock (1812–1853)，the first wife of the British Consul，Rutherford Alcock，was little-known until an album of sketches and watercolours depicting her life in China came to light。 Acquired by the Martyn Gregory Gallery，London in the early 1990s，the works in the Alcock Album feature picturesque natural landscapes，traditional Chinese architecture，and scenes of consular life。 Drawing on more than one hundred images，this richly illustrated volume brings her out of the shadows，providing a unique picture of the treaty port world in its very earliest days and of Henrietta as an amateur artist，the wife of a consul and，most importantly，a woman in empire。

 

作者簡介

Andrew Hillier

　　Dr Andrew Hillier is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Bristol. He is the author of Mediating Empire: An English Family in China 1817–1927 (Renaissance Books, 2020) and editor of My Dearest Martha: The Life and Letters of Eliza Hillier (City University of Hong Kong Press, 2021). He has published articles in the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History and Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong. He is an active contributor to the Historical Photographs of China Project (www.hpcbristol.net/), launched by the University of Bristol in 2006, which locates, digitises, and archives historical photographs of China.