In May of 1870, Thomas Child was hired by the Imperial Maritime Customs Service to be a gas engineer in Peking (Beijing). The 29-year-old Englishman left behind his wife and three children to become one of roughly 100 foreigners living in the late Qing dynasty's capital, taking his camera along with him.
The wedding portrait of Zeng Jifen and Nie Ji Gui, who were only recently identified. The bride is the daughter of Marquis Zeng Guofan, a high-ranking Chinese official during the Qing dynasty. Photo by Thomas Child / Stephan Loewentheil Historical Photography of China Collection / Courtesy of the Sidney Mishkin Gallery. Image sourced from The Atlantic. Available at: https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/3B_DEetQ62S4lEAbbYhEzRbWmpM=/900x692/media/img/photo/2016/09/thomas-child-images/01_t/original.jpg