Whampoa, from Dane's Island.

Biography:

Thomas Allom (1804 –1872) 

Artist, illustrator and prominent
architect, Allom designed many buildings in London, including the Church
of St Peters.  Allom is best known for his paintings and engravings of
various exotic countries. Beginning in the 1820’s he travelled
extensively throughout Britain, Europe, Middle East and China. He
published his travel in the following accounts, all of which were
superbly illustrated with fine and detailed engravings; Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor 1838, Character and Costume in Turkey and Italy, 1840. His most notable work was China Illustrated
published in 1845- not long after the First Opium War or The Treaty of
Nanking (1842), which allowed the British greater access to Chinese
ports and ceded Hong Kong to British rule, meaning that the British were
able to gain further insight into the previously unknown mysteries of
China. This engraving from this very popular series played a crucial
role in the growing interest and intrigue that the West developed
towards the Chinese aesthetic. Prior to this series, many topographical
views of China were incomplete.

Allom’s China Illustrated helped
create a clearer image for the Europeans as to what Imperial China was
like by including not just landscapes but also social customs, history,
law and politics.