Title:  Chinatown Seiies/唐人街系列
Category: Collodion Printing/火棉胶照片
Date: 1910
Size: 18x23cm 
 
名称: Chinatown Seiies/唐人街系列
类别: Collodion Printing/火棉胶照片
日期: 1910
尺寸: 18x23cm 

名称: Chinatown Seiies/唐人街系列
类别: Collodion Printing/火棉胶照片
日期: 1910
尺寸: 18x23cm 
 名称: Chinatown Seiies/唐人街系列
类别: Collodion Printing/火棉胶照片
日期: 1910
尺寸: 15x23cm 

Title: Chinatown Seiies/唐人街系列
Category: Collodion Printing/火棉胶照片
Date: 1910
Size: 15x23cm 

Title: Chinatown Seiies/唐人街系列
Category: Collodion Printing/火棉胶照片
Date: 1910
Size: 15x20cm 
 名称: Chinatown Seiies/唐人街系列
类别: Collodion Printing/火棉胶照片
日期: 1910
尺寸: 16x20cm 


In the 1910s and 1920s, Hugo B. Goldsmith and his brother operated a photographic studio under the name “Goldsmith Bros.” at 240 Powell Street, San Francisco. Beyond their daily commercial portrait and studio work, the brothers’ main interest was photographing San Francisco’s Chinatown. Little is known about their personal lives or professional careers, but many surviving prints bear a copyright stamp in the lower right corner reading “Hugo Goldsmith,” which not only authenticates the work but also reflects the branding practices of commercial photography at the time.

 雨果·B·戈德史密斯（Hugo B. Goldsmith）与其兄弟以 “Goldsmith Bros.” 1910年至1920年代在美国旧金山鲍威尔街240号经营一家摄影工作室。除了日常的商业人像与影楼业务外，兄弟二人最大的兴趣是拍摄 旧金山唐人街。关于他们的个人生平与职业经历所知甚少，但在现存作品的右下角常可见标注 “Hugo Goldsmith” 的版权印章，这既是作品的署名标记，也体现了当时商业摄影的品牌意识。

The Goldsmith brothers’ images focused on urban life and community culture. They captured Chinatown festivals, street markets, and group portraits, providing invaluable visual records of Chinese immigrant life in California. One notable example is New Year’s Shoppers, Chinatown, San Francisco (1904), which vividly depicts the festive atmosphere. While they were not considered avant-garde artists, their work combined commercial utility with documentary value, making it historically significant. 

Their achievement lies in merging the clarity and accessibility of commercial photography with the observational qualities of documentary practice. They recorded details of cultural traditions, urban architecture, and everyday life, leaving a rare and valuable visual legacy for future generations.

Today, their works are primarily preserved in the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in the Oakland Museum of California. Many of these photographs have been digitized, allowing the Goldsmith brothers’ contributions to local history and American photography to be studied and appreciated. 

戈德史密斯兄弟的影像多聚焦于都市生活与社区文化。他们拍摄了唐人街的节庆游行、街市场景和群体肖像，为研究华人移民在加州的社会生活提供了宝贵的视觉史料。如《旧金山唐人街农历新年购物人潮》（1904）便展现了鲜活的节日氛围。他们虽未被视为先锋艺术家，但其作品兼具商业实用性与纪实性，具有重要的历史价值。
他们的成就在于将商业摄影的清晰、普及与纪实摄影的直接观察结合起来，记录了文化传统、城市建筑与日常生活的细节，为后世留下了珍贵影像。

如今，他们的作品主要收藏于加州大学伯克利分校班克罗夫特图书馆及加州奥克兰博物馆。部分照片已实现数字化，使戈德史密斯兄弟在地方历史与美国摄影史中的贡献得以延续和研究。 >>返回>>