James Ricalton (c. 1844–1929), an American schoolteacher from New Jersey, was an intrepid traveler and photographer who spent his summers exploring remote regions like Iceland, Russia, and the Amazon. He often journeyed on foot, carrying his photographic gear in a large, wheelbarrow-like cart that also served as shelter and protection from the elements. In 1891, Ricalton left teaching to pursue photography full-time. As both writer and photographer, he covered key conflicts including the Spanish-American War (1898-1899) in the Philippines, the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900), and the Russo-Japanese War in Manchuria (1904-1905).
His stereographic photographs of China offered American audiences a vivid window into distant events and landscapes they had only read about. In 1901, the stereograph manufacturers Underwood & Underwood published China Through the Stereoscope, a set of 100 stereographs accompanied by a book authored by Ricalton and detailed maps. Viewers could also buy a stereoscope to experience the images in 3D. The book, titled A Journey Through the Dragon Empire at the Time of the Boxer Uprising, personally Conducted by James Ricalton, follows his travels across post-rebellion China. Narrated in the first person, it presents Ricalton as a seasoned guide leading readers through a tumultuous period.
Blending journalism and travel writing, Ricalton's work invites readers to trust both his observations and the visual record presented through the stereoscopic lens.
More information:
![James Ricalton[Cultivated] bamboo a plantation at Nankin[g] China1900 - James Ricalton | - James Ricalton](/img/1afa6c5b63d811f09bbb52540000cfbe/James_Ricalton[Cultivated]_bamboo_-_a_plantation_at_Nankin[g]_China1900.jpg "Enlarge James_Ricalton[Cultivated]_bamboo_-_a_plantation_at_Nankin[g]_China1900.jpg")
_wife_and_daughter_-_Kinkow1900.jpg "Enlarge James_RicaltonA_genial_official_of_interior_China_-_Naval_Mandarin_(Admiral_River_Fleet)_wife_and_daughter_-_Kinkow1900.jpg")
