If London Were Like Venice Art Index. This gruesome 1889 biology book outlined the many ways animals will kill us. About This Artwork. John Thomson (photographer) John Thomson, self-portrait with Honan Soldiers, 1871. Children Playing in a Stream, Singapore , circa 1864. John Thomson (14 June 1837 – 29 September 1921) was a pioneering Scottish photographer , geographer and traveller. He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East , documenting the people, landscapes and artifacts of eastern cultures. Upon returning home, his work among the street people of London cemented his reputation, and is regarded as a classic instance of social documentary which laid the foundations for photojournalism . He went on to become a portrait photographer of High Society in Mayfair , gaining the Royal Warrant in 1881. [ edit ] Early life The son of William Thomson, a tobacco spinner and retail trader, and his wife Isabella, Thomson was born the eighth of nine children in Edinburgh in the year of Queen Victoria's accession.
. [ edit ] Early travels [ edit ] Travels in China He went on to visit the island of Formosa with the missionary Dr. . [ edit ] Legacy. Victorian Photocollage, 1860s-1880s. “If London Were Like Venice”, 1899. ‘If London Were Like Venice: Oh! That It Were’ From Harmsworth’s Magazine (The London Magazine) Trafalgar Square. AScentral.jpg (2640×1980)