John Thomson was a pioneering Scottish photographer, geographer, and traveler. He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East, documenting the people, landscapes, and artifacts of Eastern cultures. Upon returning home, his work among the street people of London cemented his reputation and is regarded as a classic instance of social documentary which laid the foundations for photojournalism.

He was the first Western photographer to travel widely through the length and breadth of China. This unit introduces his celebrated Illustrations of China and Its People: A Series of Two Hundred Photographs, with Letterpress Descriptive of the Places and People Represented, published in four volumes between 1873 and 1874.

Illustrations of China and Its People comprise the most extensive photographic survey of 19th-century China. Its scenic views illustrate the many places Thomson visited between 1868 and 1872. Its portraits and street scenes document the costumes, customs, and occupations of the people he encountered. Thomson provided extensive captions explaining the scenes and subjects he photographed.