Crafts

Hedda Morrison was particularly interested in documenting workshop activity and the making of craft objects. Peking?s tangle of streets and lanes concealed many small businesses, including those of stone carvers, carpenters, builders, metalworkers, silversmiths, lacquer carvers and scroll mounters. Most of this activity was concentrated in the Chinese City, and traders in similar materials tended to group together. Jade was carved and traded in Jade Street; nearby areas specialised in brass and pewter wares, embroideries and furs. In her quest to photograph arts and crafts subjects Morrison hired a Chinese man to assist with introductions. She paid him a fee to arrange her visits to workshops and small businesses.

92/1414-199 Photograph, 'Wood worker', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-221 Photograph, 'Making copper wire', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-206 Photograph, 'Checking the balance of Chinese scales', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-220 Photograph, 'Assembling glass grapes', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-193 Photograph, 'Paper making by the traditional method', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946.
92/1414-202 Photograph, 'Lacquer carving workshop', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-289 Photograph, 'Making a ceramic roof tile', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-46. 92/1414-222 Photograph, 'Furnace in a glass grape making workshop', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-314 Photograph, 'Calligraphy and painting scroll mounting workshop', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-210 Photograph, 'Decorative street signs for a cake shop', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946.
92/1414-191 Photograph, black and white, 'Young apprentice in a papermaking workshop', Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-245 Photograph, 'Jade polishing workshop', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-223 Photograph, 'Roasting Peking duck at the Quanjude Restaurant', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946. 92/1414-293 Photograph, 'Repairing an antique scroll prior to remounting', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-46. 92/1414-197 Photograph, 'Hard wood furniture maker using a traditional drill', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946.
92/1414-281 Photograph, 'Cloisonné enamel workshop', black and white, silver gelatin print, by Hedda Morrison, Peking, China, 1933-1946.