First in our series examining an Image of the Week from the photographic files, by Kevin Warstadt, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow.

This photo comes from the Dartmouth photographic file entitled “Dartmouth in China“. A candid shot, it seems to capture the feel of life on a Chinese street in the early twentieth century with an eerie authenticity. It was likely taken sometime around 1920 in Zhili (now Hebei) province in North China.

Man standing in front of street vendor (circa 1920)

Dartmouth has a long history in China dating back to the late nineteenth century, when missionaries associated with the College began moving there to convert the populace. Charles Daniel Tenney was Dartmouth’s most significant representative from this group. He became a confidant of Li Hongzhang, the influential politician and diplomat of the late Qing Dynasty, and later became the Commissioner of Education for the reformist government of Northern China. Tenney’s papers can be found in the the Dartmouth Digital Collections.