Hocquard, Charles-Edouard - Vietnam - the aftermath of the Sino-French War
16 Woodburytype photographs mounted onto printed card
Estimate: £3,000 - £5,000
Auction: 05 February 2025 from 10:00 GMT
Description
Porters Resting With Luggage In Foreground (23 x 18cm);
Opium Smokers (22 x 16.5cm);
Travelling Performers (23.5 x 17cm);
Main Street Bac-Ninh After Being Taken In Battle (23.5 x 17.5cm);
Armed Soldiers Loyal To The French (21 x 15.5cm);
Pottery Sellers In Hanoi (22 x 17.5cm);
Artillery Being Unloaded (21.5 x 16cm);
Interpreters In The Hanoi Residence (22 x 15.5cm);
River Boat L’Eclair (22 x 16cm);
View Of The Sontay Citadel (23 x 17cm);
Ship Le Pluvier At Anchor (21.5 x 16cm);
Bridge On The Road To Sontay (22 x 16cm);
French Fortress Defending The Left Bank Of The Red River (23 x 16cm);
Gate At Sontay Where Foreign Legion Attacked;
Fortified Gate At Hanoi (20.5 x 15.5cm);
Saigonese and Tonkinese Soldiers At The Buddah Pagoda (15.5 x 10cm); Black Flag Prisoners (15.5 x 10.5cm) [these mounted together]; The Woodburytypes with some slight chipping to mounts and occasional light foxing;
[AND] an albumen photograph of Central Tower In Nam-Dinh, hit By French Artillery 22.5 x 16.5cm, faded with some foxing and staining;
an albumen photograph Inside The Walls Of Sontay 22.5 x 16.5cm, faded with some foxing (18)
Footnote
Charles-Edouard Hocquard was a French medical doctor and explorer who volunteered for the French expedition to Tonkin (now North Vietnam) in 1883. During the Sino-French War of 1884-1885, Tonkin was considered to be a highly strategic foothold in Southeast Asia and was invaded by the French during the Tonkin Campaign. These photographs were published in France by Henry Cremnitz and provide an insight into the aftermath of the war and North Vietnam during the French occupation. Hocquard was an exceptionally fine photographer.