Although this book sets out to document photography during the French colonial period (1850s–1950s), the emphasis has been on the early work carried out in the nineteenth century. At the dawn of the twentieth century there was very little that the French could teach the Vietnamese about taking good photographs, and indigenous studios were rapidly increasing in numbers across the country. The best native studios could match the French in quality of work, and they could undoubtedly undercut them on price. It is true that the best cameras and equipment were manufactured in France and the West generally, and some French studios had been able to survive by shifting their focus to importing photographic supplies. Vietnamese photographers would continue to be influenced by new Western photographic trends in fields such as art photography, pictorialism and photojournalism.

In addition, and unlike in other Asian countries such as China and Japan, where apart from a handful of intrepid survivors, foreign studios had succumbed to domestic competition and had largely withdrawn, Vietnam's colonial status meant that the authorities were still able to favour French photographers by granting them occasional photographic assignments, some of which were lucrative. Examples of these were mentioned in Chapter 4. As a result, some French studios not only survived but prospered up until World War II, continuing with portrait and general photography and supplementing their income with the importation and sale of photographic paraphernalia. In sheer numbers, however, Vietnamese photographers and studios dominated.

Very many fine photographers, both Vietnamese and foreign, produced work of exceptional quality during the first half of the twentieth century. Although it would be an impossible task to do justice to them all, some examples are included in the following pages. As this book has a self-imposed dateline linked to the French colonial period, what follows is a summary of some of the foremost photographers who were active up to the early1950s. We start with a selection of images taken by, as yet largely unidentified photographers.

LUDOVIC CRESPIN (1873–?)

In 1900 Ludovic Crespin opened his studio at 136-138 rue Catinat, Saigon, and continued in business until around 1925. For several years he also ran the outlet known as American-Photo from 10, boulevard Charner, Saigon.