The Snapshots in Time Collection
Gallery: Part 1
A civilian eye on China in the years surrounding the Second World War, these photographs move from crowded junk anchorages and treaty-port rickshaws to bomb-damaged Shanghai streets and the crowded decks of evacuation steamers. Preserved among family negatives, they record the everyday life of Western residents abroad and the moment that world came apart.
Woman on Ship's Promenade Deck, 'China Negatives' Collection, WWII Era
Western Women and Child on Deck Chairs Aboard an Ocean Liner, Likely China Evacuation, Late 1930s
Uniformed Man with Automobile, California, circa 1940-1941
Crowded Deck of Evacuees Aboard a Passenger Steamer, China, Late 1930s
Street Scene with Women and Inscribed Wooden Door, China, circa Late 1930s-1940s
City Street Intersection with Traffic Signal and Handcart, China, Late 1930s-1940s
Laborer Pushing Handcart Loaded with Reeds, China, Mid-20th Century
Rural Compound and Burial Mounds, China, Mid-20th Century
Traffic Policeman Directing Traffic at a Shanghai Street Intersection, China
Navy Chief Petty Officer and Woman Beside a 1941 Chevrolet Sedan
Market Street Scene, China, Republican Era
Shanghai Street Scene with Traffic Policeman and Handcart (Negative Scan)
Chinese Junk at Anchor with Battened Sail
Boatmen Sculling a Sampan, Coastal China
Distant Warship at Sea, Viewed from Shipboard
Wayside Rest Shelter with Porters and Wicker Baskets, Rural China
Rickshaw Puller with Loaded Cart and Western Woman on a Chinese Village Street
Wrecked Warship Aground on a Pacific Coastline
Harbor Anchorage Filled with Junks, Viewed from Shipboard
Portrait of a Western Woman in a Garden, China
Bombed-Out City Ruins, Wartime China
Sailors and Dependents Aboard USS Chaumont (AP-5)
Western Residents in Smoky Courtyard, China, Pre/WWII Era Negative
Three-Funnel Cruiser at Anchor, Chinese Harbor
Women and Children in Life Preservers on Ship's Deck, China Evacuation
Two Western Women Beside a Charcoal Stove, Chinese Village Street
Three-Funnel Cruiser at Anchor, Chinese Harbor (Companion View)
Cargo Steamship at Anchor in Silhouette, Chinese Harbor
U.S. Navy Petty Officer in Dress Whites, China Station, c. 1930s
Three-Stack Cruiser Moored in a Chinese Port, Early-to-Mid 20th Century
Shipboard View of Deck Rigging and Lifeboat Davits Aboard USAT/USS Chaumont
Elderly Man Seated Against a Stone Wall, China, Early-to-Mid 20th Century
Three-Funnel Cruiser at Anchor, Likely U.S. Asiatic Fleet, China Station
Foreign Warship Moored at a Chinese River Wharf, WWII-Era China Negatives Collection
Couple Posing with Wire Fly Swatters in a Garden, Mid-1930s
Refugees Fleeing Bomb-Damaged Street, Shanghai, China, 1930s
Sandbagged Guard Post at Bridge Approach, Shanghai International Settlement, 1930s
Woman on Ship's Deck in Floral Dress with Cigarette Holder, Mid-1930s
Bow of U.S. Navy Vessel with Hull Number, China Station, 1930s
Man Playing Beach Racket Sport with Dog, China Coast, 1930s
Western Tourists with Buddhist Monk at Temple Incense Burner, China, 1930s
Bow of U.S. Navy Vessel with Sailor on Bridge Wing, China Station, 1930s
Reservoir or River Landscape with Eroded Hills, China, 1930s
USS Gilmer (DD-233) and USS Hovey (DD-208) Moored Together, Asiatic Fleet, 1930s
Two Chinese Men in Matching Boater Hats and Tunics, China, 1930s
Young Man Posed Before a Cordwood Stack, Family Album Negative Misfiled with China Series
Western Woman Riding in a Rickshaw with Chinese Puller, Treaty Port China
U.S. Navy Sailors and Civilian Passengers Boarding a Harbor Tender near Vacuum Oil Co. Wharf, China