O norte-americano Walter L. Richardson (1872-1956) deu a volta ao mundo entre 1897 e 1903. Uma viagem que demorou seis anos.
Partiu com 25 e regressou com 31 anos. Em 1902 passou por Macau. A sua história está contada numa autobiografia repleta de fotografias intitulada "An Autobiography of Walter L. Richardson". Ficou pronta em 1954 mas nunca chegou a ser publicada. 'Descobri' o feito através do seu neto, William 'Bill' Coyle.
Partiu com 25 e regressou com 31 anos. Em 1902 passou por Macau. A sua história está contada numa autobiografia repleta de fotografias intitulada "An Autobiography of Walter L. Richardson". Ficou pronta em 1954 mas nunca chegou a ser publicada. 'Descobri' o feito através do seu neto, William 'Bill' Coyle.
Desafiei-o a ceder aos leitores do Macau Antigo os excertos desse diário relacionados com Macau bem como as fotografias da época.
É isso que vão poder ver em exclusivo aqui no blog: excertos do diário escrito (e fotografias) em 1902 e o testemunho do seu neto Bill.
Para já fica o testemunho do neto...
My grandfather, Walter L. Richardson, authored the diary below and took the photographs of Macau during a brief visit over 100 years ago. This was one stop on an epic trip around the world in 1897-1903. The photos are reproduced from the original 4” x 5” glass plate negatives. About 600 were found in the basement of his ranch in Porterville, California, The negatives were scanned to create JPG files and were cleaned up in PhotoShop to remove the effects of chemical residue, dust and dirt accumulated over a century.
By present day standards, my grandfather’s journey was ambitious, foot-loose, and courageous. He was a young man of 25 when he embarked on his travels in September 1897, and 30 when he returned to his family in Pasadena in February 1903. His was a long journey, lasting almost 5 and a half years. Most of this time was spent in South Africa, where he worked as an electrical engineer in a gold mine in Roodepoort, just outside Johannesburg. Siemens, the still well known German company, owned the mine and was his employer. He witnessed various parts of the Boer War, including armed engagements, which began and ended during his time there. He spent the last six months traveling from Africa to Europe via the Suez Canal and then back through the Canal to Asia, with stops in Ceylon, India, Singapore, Borneo, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Canton, Shanghai, and Japan.
Perhaps the most interesting part of his journey was a three-month big game trip up the Pungue River in Mozambique. He was accompanied by two companions. Together, they demonstrated great self reliance in setting out on such a trip into unknown country, in their ability to fabricate and outfit two boats, in their skill with firearms, in their capacity to negotiate and work with the natives, and in their surviving in the African bush with primitive equipment. On this trip, they killed a variety of big game, including a hippopotamus. My grandfather contracted a fever, cutting short his hunting trip early; he was forced to spend a month convalescing in a Durban hospital. My grandfather was an aggressive traveler. When he traveled, he wanted to see and experience everything he could: the museums, the architecture, the art, the natural wonders, and the countryside. He cast an observant eye on the world around him including through the lens of a camera. Not war, illness, lack of easy transportation, or foreign language seemed to discourage his relentless curiosity.
I have compiled a photo book of his travels that can be reviewed at: http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/3429529-around-the-world-1897-1903
É isso que vão poder ver em exclusivo aqui no blog: excertos do diário escrito (e fotografias) em 1902 e o testemunho do seu neto Bill.
Para já fica o testemunho do neto...
My grandfather, Walter L. Richardson, authored the diary below and took the photographs of Macau during a brief visit over 100 years ago. This was one stop on an epic trip around the world in 1897-1903. The photos are reproduced from the original 4” x 5” glass plate negatives. About 600 were found in the basement of his ranch in Porterville, California, The negatives were scanned to create JPG files and were cleaned up in PhotoShop to remove the effects of chemical residue, dust and dirt accumulated over a century.
By present day standards, my grandfather’s journey was ambitious, foot-loose, and courageous. He was a young man of 25 when he embarked on his travels in September 1897, and 30 when he returned to his family in Pasadena in February 1903. His was a long journey, lasting almost 5 and a half years. Most of this time was spent in South Africa, where he worked as an electrical engineer in a gold mine in Roodepoort, just outside Johannesburg. Siemens, the still well known German company, owned the mine and was his employer. He witnessed various parts of the Boer War, including armed engagements, which began and ended during his time there. He spent the last six months traveling from Africa to Europe via the Suez Canal and then back through the Canal to Asia, with stops in Ceylon, India, Singapore, Borneo, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Canton, Shanghai, and Japan.
Perhaps the most interesting part of his journey was a three-month big game trip up the Pungue River in Mozambique. He was accompanied by two companions. Together, they demonstrated great self reliance in setting out on such a trip into unknown country, in their ability to fabricate and outfit two boats, in their skill with firearms, in their capacity to negotiate and work with the natives, and in their surviving in the African bush with primitive equipment. On this trip, they killed a variety of big game, including a hippopotamus. My grandfather contracted a fever, cutting short his hunting trip early; he was forced to spend a month convalescing in a Durban hospital. My grandfather was an aggressive traveler. When he traveled, he wanted to see and experience everything he could: the museums, the architecture, the art, the natural wonders, and the countryside. He cast an observant eye on the world around him including through the lens of a camera. Not war, illness, lack of easy transportation, or foreign language seemed to discourage his relentless curiosity.
I have compiled a photo book of his travels that can be reviewed at: http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/3429529-around-the-world-1897-1903
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O Porto Interior em 1902 numa fotografia de Walter Richardson. Walter registou com muito detalhe a sua viagem de seis anos pelo mundo. No final reuniu as memórias em 50 páginas divididas em 7 volumes e ofereceu (em 1954) os exemplares aos 4 filhos pouco antes de morrer (1956). O registo, feito manualmente, foi depois transcrito pelo seu neto e é tornado publico pelo primeira vez aqui no blog Macau Antigo. Mais de 100 anos depois. Espero que gostem!
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Reconheço o formato das casas, creio que algumas dessas ainda estão de pé.
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