A thousand visitors came to China Exchange in November 2015 to see Qing Dynasty Peking, an exhibition of photographs by Thomas Child held during Asian Art in London. More than 30 original photographs from the Stephan Loewentheil Historical Photography of China Collection, the largest holding of historical photographs of China in private hands, were included in the show.
Thomas Child was a British engineer and during two decades as a resident in Beijing, he documented life in the city with his camera. Visitors to the exhibition enjoyed a collector’s talk and the show attracted media attention. The publicity around the exhibition led Thomas Child’s family in the UK to China Exchange to visit the never-before-seen pictures taken by their ancestor.
The exhibition was curated by Stacey Lambrow of The 19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop.