Images associated with politics are the hardest ones to capture. Experience taught me to dress appropriately for the occasion. I had to place myself in the shoes of the attendees, that I don’t stand out as a journalist or photographer but blend into the audience and that I am, as far as possible, unobtrusive.

Mr Frank Fischbeck

FormAsia Books Managing Director Frank Fischbeck’s photographs have won him the Overseas Press Club of America citation for his work in China. As a photojournalist, it came as second nature to chronicle the city’s evolution as it unfolded before him over succeeding decades. Together with his extensive travels throughout the region, this has resulted in a collection of some 24,000 images that have recorded and preserved Hong Kong’s modern history as well as the immense diversity of Asia’s cultural heritage.

The Frank Fischbeck Collection consists of:

  1. Albumen/Silver/Gelatin Original Photographs (1,000)
  2. Rare Albumen Prints (125)
  3. Historic Panorama Prints (20) 
  4. The Black & White Collection: 8,000 
  5. Photographs with Original Negatives 
  6. The Colour Collection: 15,000 Transparencies 
  7. High-Resolution Digital Files (5,000)

HKU Libraries will store, preserve, catalogue, digitise and maintain the Collection for contributing to society and academia through exhibitions, digital access and other means of nurturing interest in Hong Kong’s rich history.

The acquisition of the collection is made possible by the generous donations from benefactors eager to see the collection remain in Hong Kong, intact and based at The University of Hong Kong:

Principal donor : WYNG Foundation

Additional donors: Kadoorie Charitable Foundation
and 
The Swire Group Charitable Trust 
Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation Limited
Simon K Y Lee Foundation Limited

An online exhibition highlights a small segment of the collection based on Frank’s personal choices and is presented through six themes:

  1. The Early Years
  2. Occupation and Liberation of Hong Kong
  3. 1967 Disturbances 
  4. Air, Land and Sea 
  5. Portraits 
  6. Path to 1997

The Early Years

Occupation and Liberation of Hong Kong

1967 Disturbances

Air, Land and Sea

Portraits

Path to 1997

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