Hong Kong as It Was – Hedda Morrison`s Photographs, 1946–47

Hedda Morrison, the highly regarded photographer, was born in Germany in 1908; she died in Australia in 1991. Trained in photography during 1929-31 at Munich, she left for China in 1933. There she found her vocation, as a documentary photographer of great sensitivity and range, thus beginning decades of memorable work. Edward Stokes, an award-winning photographer and writer, was born in Australia. He grew up in Hong Kong and returned there in 1993. A photographer and writer, he has produced more than 10 books which, in different ways, use photographs and text to create memorable, integrated narratives. Stokes' previous works have all been keenly received. He recently established The Photographic Heritage Foundation which will originate books drawing on Asia's rich photographic heritage.

"The story of how Edward Stokes unearthed, and then documented, over 500 extraordinary negatives, still in pristine condition, of Hong Kong from 1946-47 is told in this lavishly produced book. However, that story is merely engrossing background to the real story which is told beautifully by the photographs themselves. Hedda Morrison's photographs document, as never before, a lifestyle largely unchanged from the 1930s to the 1950s." - Asian Art News, 2006"