ISABELLA BIRD A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNAL OF TRAVELS THROUGH CHINA 1894–1896


Deborah Ireland Foreword by Dr Rita Gardner CBE


HB 275 x 230 mm 240 pages b/w & full colour throughout ISBN: 9781781450970 £25.00/$35.95


AVAILABLE MARCH 2015


This lavish pictorial record, produced in collaboration with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), chronicles Isabella’s photography and writings in her final expedition to China, using the photographs she took and developed en route. Isabella Bird covers three journeys, beginning in the small port of Chefoo in 1894, where she arrived without money or luggage having been expelled from Korea. The photographic journal ends in 1896 with Isabella’s exploration of the Yangtze River and beyond.


Deborah Ireland has spent seventeen years working in photography, having held the positions of assistant curator of the Royal Photographic Society’s archive, head of the AA World Travel picture library and a judge for Travel Photographer of the Year since its inception in 2003. Deborah’s interest in the history of Travel Photography led her to research and write for The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), leading to the publication of Isabella Bird.


Dr Rita Gardner CBE is Director of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), the learned society and professional body for geography and geographers in the UK.


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The 200 unique photographs and original observations, commented on by travel expert Deborah Ireland, transport readers to 19th century China and the insightful social observations of a passionate, courageous and unstoppable woman. Over a century later, Isabella’s thirst for knowledge and adventure as well as her conviction to break with the conventions and etiquette of the time remains remarkable and inspiring.


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