Rare photos of old Hanoi through the lens of a French photographer
A collection of rare photographs of Hà Nội, Vietnam's capital, from 1890–1895, taken from an album by Raphaël Moreau, a French photographer who ran a studio on Boulevard Đồng Khánh (today's Hàng Bài Street) in colonial-era Hanoi.
Hoàn Kiếm Lake (Hồ Gươm, the Lake of the Restored Sword) in Hanoi in 1890–1895. By this time, a number of Western-style houses already stood along the lakeshore. (Photo: Lyndatrouve.com).
Turtle Tower (Tháp Rùa) on Hoàn Kiếm Lake, topped with a Statue of Liberty replica. The statue stood on the tower from 1891 to 1896 before being moved to Neyret Garden (now Cửa Nam flower garden).
Hàng Chiếu Street and the Quan Chưởng city gate. A cart on the street is loaded with sedge mats, the main goods traded on this street.
Rue Paul Bert (now Tràng Tiền Street), the most fashionable street in colonial Hanoi.
The Thái Hà estate of Viceroy (Kinh lược sứ) Hoàng Cao Khải (1850–1933), located in what was Trung Liệt ward of the former Đống Đa district, Hanoi.
A scene in the "Paper Village" (Village du Papier), as the French called the Kẻ Bưởi area, famous in old Hanoi for its traditional papermaking.
A procession on a Hanoi street.
The bank of the Red River in Hanoi, with a bamboo pontoon bridge serving trade and the river transport of people and goods.
Boats belonging to the Red River boat-dwelling community. The Paul Doumer Bridge (now Long Biên Bridge) would be built in this area shortly afterward, with construction beginning in 1898.
The oldest known photographs of Hải Phòng
Photos of Hải Phòng from 1888, printed in an old French book, are believed to be the oldest known images of the northern Vietnamese port city.
