The copperplate etching "Vaccination" shows a famous French biologist, one of the inventors of the plague vaccine, vaccinating Xiamen residents in 1890. [Photo/ xmnn.cn]
A group of old pictures and copperplate etchings has been brought home from overseas by a Xiamen collector, reproducing the daily lives of the coastal city's residents a hundred years ago.
The seven copperplate etchings and 27 photos purchased by Chen Yayuan, vice-chairman of the Xiamen branch of the Fujian Association of Collectors, were all produced at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Chen embarked on his collection in 1985. It consists of ancient coins, postcards, paper currencies from old-style Chinese private banks and brass hand warmers.
He has preserved more than 500 postcards about the city before China's wars of liberation in plastic film bags.
The collector said he started collecting old photos and copperplate etchings five years ago and each picture has its own story.
