Drew, Edward Bangs Collection

The Edward Bangs Drew Collection complements our existing collections, notably the Bowra albums, as it contains 366 photographs from the 1870s-1900s collected by Drew (1843-1921), an 1863 Harvard graduate who served as a Commissioner in the Imperial Maritime Customs for most of his career in the service between 1865-1908. Drew worked for the Customs in various cities, including Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Ningbo, Jiujiang, Yantai (Chefoo) and Tianjin, as well as at the Inspectorate in Peking (as Chief Secretary) and as Statistical Secretary at Shanghai. The photographs, which are held in the Harvard-Yenching Library, provide a varied and rich record of the life and contacts of a prominent member of the Customs Service. See Papers of Edward Bang Drew 1865-1908, at the Harvard-Yenching Library.