Thomson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of a tobacco spinner and seller. He was apprenticed to an optician and scientific instrument maker in 1851, and attended evening classes to study science. In April 1862, he set out for Singapore where his older brother William was a watchmaker and photographer. While jointly operating with his brother a business making chronometers and optical and nautical instruments, Thomson began using Singapore as a base from which to travel extensively throughout Asia, taking photographs and recording his observations. In 1868 he moved to Hong Kong and began his project to photograph the people of China. After a decade in Asia, he returned to Britain, where he published the results of his travels and operated a portrait studio in London.
John Thomson
Hong Kong Praya West 1869, 1869
Archival Print
20 x 26 cm
US$250
