{"id":1455,"date":"2020-10-08T11:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T03:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/?p=1455"},"modified":"2025-05-29T15:40:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T07:40:23","slug":"1455","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/?p=1455","title":{"rendered":"EXTENDED – Hong Kong Historical Photos from the Frank Fischbeck Collection Exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"EXTENDED<\/h2>\n

Introducing\u00a0the\u00a0Frank Fischbeck Collection<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

On 19 September 2019, The University of Hong Kong acquired the FormAsia Books photographic collection. A unique collection of rare, historic, original photographs dating from\u00a01860 to the 1997 Hong Kong Handover.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Frank Fischbeck Collection consists of a number of discrete sub-collections that comprise:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Albumen<\/a><\/span>\/Silver\/Gelatin<\/span>\u00a0Original Photographs (1,000) \u2014 Silver gelatin prints became the dominant photographic process from the 1880s until the 1960s;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Rare\u00a0Albumen Prints (125) \u2014 The significance of an albumen print is that it was the first commercial method of producing a photograph from 1855 to the turn of the 20th century. Few have survived, as they tend to be fragile and suffer from exposure to light;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Historic\u00a0Panorama Prints (20) \u2014 Panorama prints are rare. FormAsia invested in out-of-the-ordinary panoramas from a variety of sources including the four prominent HK galleries specialising in historic photographs;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    The Black & White Collection: 8,000 Photographs with\u00a0Original Negatives\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The entire Archive has proved a resource in demand with publishers, museums, universities, and government agencies;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    The Colour Collection: 15,000 Transparencies \u2014 The Colour Collection contains over 15,000 transparencies chronicling not only the evolution of Hong Kong from an entrep\u020ft port to a leading world financial centre but also the broader span of Asia’s history, arts and architecture;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    High-Resolution\u00a0Digital Files (5,000) \u2014 High-resolution digital files form a vital part of the collection. Of the approximately 25,000 photographs comprising the overall Archive, over 5,000 images have already been digitized. This is an enormous cost-saving element, facilitating the building blocks for the print media and online access.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To process the Collection and\u00a0make it\u00a0available to Hong Kong and the world,\u00a0HKU Libraries will:<\/p>\n

    \u2022 \u00a0Store, preserve, catalogue, digitise and maintain the Collection;<\/p>\n

    \u2022 \u00a0Create and update\u00a0the\u00a0Frank Fischbeck Collection in the\u00a0Digital Repository@HKUL<\/a><\/span>;<\/p>\n

    \u2022 \u00a0Utilize the Collection for contributing to society and academia through exhibitions<\/a>, digital access and other means of nurturing interest in Hong Kong\u2019s rich history; and,<\/p>\n

    \u2022 \u00a0Ensure that the Collection remains a cultural asset for Hong Kong and the world for future generations.<\/p>\n

    About FormAsia Books<\/h2>\n

    Having been incorporated in Hong Kong in 1975, the goal of FormAsia Books was to utilise superb photography and eloquent essays to document Asian life for a Western readership, with particular emphasis on Hong Kong.\u00a0\u00a0FormAsia Books Managing Director Frank Fischbeck\u2019s photographs have won him the Overseas Press Club of America citation for his work in China where he covered the Cultural Revolution and the \u2018Ping Pong\u2019 diplomacy prior to President Nixon\u2019s arrival in Beijing.\u00a0\u00a0He has continued to record and preserve Asia\u2019s immense diversity in a range of publications after settling in Hong Kong in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

    As a photojournalist, it came as second nature to chronicle the city\u2019s evolution as it unfolded before him over succeeding decades. Together with his extensive travels throughout the region, this has resulted in a collection of some 24,000 images that have recorded and preserved Hong Kong\u2019s modern history as well as the immense diversity of Asia\u2019s cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

    Extending his career into publishing through FormAsia Books, Frank has also acquired and curated more than 1,200 sepia photographs that form part of the Archive, and which meticulously document Hong Kong\u2019s history from 1860 to the 1960s, resulting in a visual record of the city\u2019s evolution from its earliest years to the present day.\u00a0\u00a0\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n

    This exhibition highlights a small segment of the collection based on Frank\u2019s personal choices with his commentary provided for each image.<\/p>\n

    The exhibition is presented through\u00a0six themes:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n

      The Early Years<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    2. \n

      Occupation and Liberation of Hong Kong<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    3. \n

      1967 Disturbances<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    4. \n

      Air Land and Sea<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    5. \n

      Portraits<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    6. \n

      Path to 1997<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

      \n
      <\/div>\n
      The acquisition of the collection has been made possible through a series of very generous\u00a0donations from benefactors eager to see the\u00a0collection remain in Hong Kong, intact and based\u00a0at HKU.<\/div>\n
      <\/div>\n
      We are deeply indebted to the WYNG\u00a0Foundation for their major donation and unprecedented support and to the\u00a0Kadoorie\u00a0Charitable Foundation.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
      \n

      Additional donors:<\/p>\n

      \u2022 \u00a0The Swire Group Charitable Trust<\/p>\n

      \u2022 \u00a0Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation Limited<\/p>\n

      \u2022 \u00a0Simon K Y Lee Foundation Limited.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      Note: Captions provided by FormAsia Books<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Introducing\u00a0the\u00a0Frank Fischbeck Collection On 19 September 2019, The University of Hong Kong acquired the FormAsia Books photographic collection. A unique collection of rare, historic, original photographs dating from\u00a01860 to the 1997 Hong Kong Handover. The\u00a0Frank Fischbeck Collection consists of a number of discrete sub-collections that comprise: Albumen\/Silver\/Gelatin\u00a0Original Photographs (1,000) \u2014 Silver gelatin prints became […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breaking_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1455"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2117,"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455\/revisions\/2117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lib.hku.hk\/newsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}