Photos of Vietnam in 19th century

A recently published book featuring 261 monochrome photos taken by French photographer Pierre Dieulefils (1862-1937) sheds light on Vietnam in the late 19th century.

VietNamNet introduces some photos from the book:

Cuốn sách lưu giữ hình ảnh Đông Dương xinh đẹp và kỳ vĩ

French photographer Pierre Dieulefils

Mandarins, eunuch and bodyguards of the Nguyen Dynasty.

The book cover

Outside Hue royal citadel.

Thai Hoa Palace

Ban Gioc waterfall, Cao Bang Province

Binh Loi Bridge, Saigon

Singers in Saigon

Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon more than 100 years ago

Women in the Red River delta.

The Thuong warriors (ethnic minorities in the Central and Southern Vietnam at that time).

Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), Hanoi.

An image of Hoan Kiem Lake taken by Pierre Dieulefils (1862 - 1937) in the newly published book by Đông A Company. Photo courtesy of the company

Notre Dame Cathedral in HCM City, taken by French photographer Pierre Dieulefils (1862 - 1937).

Cover of the book Indochina - Picturesque and Monumental, by Pierre Dieulefils (1862 - 1937), newly published book by Dong A Company.

Dieulefils was born in Malestroit Village in the Bretagne region of France in 1862. He joined the army in 1883 and was later assigned to Indochina in 1885.

Two years later, he was discharged and returned to France. In 1888, he returned to Vietnam and became a professional photographer and postcard publisher.

In 1905, he went to Saigon (now HCM City) and then travelled to Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

In 1909, he gathered a set of photos on Indochina and published a photo book entitled Indochine Pittoresque and Monumentale: Annam – Tonkin featuring the north of Việt Nam.

The work earned him a gold medal at the Brussels International Exposition of 1910. Then he released another book entitled Cochinchine - Saigon et ses Environs featuring the south of Vietnam.

In 1913, he returned to France, spending most of his time composing poetry. He died in his hometown in 1937.

Tinh Le