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Miyoshi Tokusaburou Papers-Feelings and Memories Traveling through Time

Publication date: 04 Oct 2013
Author: Lee Yi-ling |Staff member of the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

Miyoshi Tokusaburou Papers, one of the figures in Traveling in Time Exhibition, includes personal papers and commercial operating documents. Among these archives, personal papers, which are 96 in total, include memoirs, personal correspondence, photographs taken in Taiwan, and inventories of personal collections. Commercial operating papers are the documents which were created while he was running the branch shop of Tsujirihei in Taiwan from 1899 to 1903. There are 49 commercial operating papers in total. These papers are important sources for the research into Miyoshi Tokusaburou’s commercial activities and public service in Taiwan. In addition, we can also learn Mr. Miyoshi’s turning point in his life and his special relationship with the government at that time. Hence, these historical documents are invaluable. 
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IV. The equipment and technique of photography that John Thomson applied

The photography technique that John Thomson applied was wet-plate collodion, which was invented by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851. The equipment included a wooden camera, a portable tent to be a dark room, glass plate negatives, collodion and silver nitrate used to be sensitizers and developers. However, walking in the old-growth forest with the equipment was not convenient at all. Hence, John Thomson hired several porters assisting him to take photographs. Since the exposing process of wet-plate collodion took several seconds to 2 minutes, the photographer’s expertise and his interaction with the models were both tested. Surprisingly, there were no serious conflicts between the plain aborigines in Taiwan and western people. It was likely that Dr. Maxwell’s introduction already won the trust from Taiwanese plain aborigines. Therefore, they were calm and comfortable when facing John Thomson’s lens. According to what Thomson wrote in Through China: with a Camera, we can know that Taiwanese plain aborigines were very hospitable.


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