Wonderful online treasure trove of old photos of China

Duke University has has just put online a collection of 5,000 photos shot in China between 1917 and 1932. They were taken by Sidney D. Gamble, heir to part of the Procter & Gamble fortune, who according to the Duke news release was "a sociologist, China scholar and avid amateur photographer."

The photos (that I've seen) vary in artistic quality, but some are great and all are evocative. The most amazing part is that they're searchable. You enter a place name, like Guangzhou, or a keyword, like temple or rice or funeral, and the relevant pictures immediately come up. I'd use one as an illustration, but I'm not sure of the propriety of doing so. You can check them out for yourself here.

Well done Duke, Sidney Gamble, and P&G. And thanks to Michael Ham of Later On for the tip.