Champion, Paul
Champion's stereoviews were published by Charles Gaudin; B.K. Editeur. Paris[A. Block] as Chine & Japon; Asiatic Views. China; and the Vue De Chine series which appears to be the only numbered set.This view is from the last-named series. Judging by the numbers we have seen, the series consisted of some 100 views.CHAMPION, Paul (1838-1884) was a gifted amateur French photographer who travelled to China and Japan in 1865-1866 on behalf of the Societe zoologique d'Acclimatation. He brought back zoological specimens and many fine large-format and stereoview photographs of several regions in China. His views of Peking are some of the earliest to be published. Champion had to overcome considerable technical difficulties in securing his views, and the photograph here, although otherwise in good condition, shows some slight defects in the negative.