China, circa 1880

Photographer Unknown

Taken in the city of Canton (currently Guangzhou), this image provides a romanticized view of life on a bustling commercial street in late 19th century China. The ghostly silhouettes, which give an additional sense of mystery to the scene, are a result of movement during the exposure of the collodion wet-plate negative, as it took from 20 seconds to 5 minutes to fix the image on to photosensitive surface of the plate.