British and French Forces attacking Chinese Naval Forces at Taku, 21 August, 1860

Since the treaty of Nanking in 1842, relations between the West and the Chinese had been in decline. Following a series of skirmishes, including the sacking of Canton by the British in 1858, which resulted in the treaty of Tientsin, British and French delegates on their way to Beijing were obstructed by the Chinese at the mouth of the Peiho River. This led to a joint expedition led by Lord Elgin to exact ratification. The present lot records the attack on the Chinese at the mouth of the Peiho River in August 1860.

A suite of eight hand-coloured lithographs after drawings by Major Masters, R.M.L.I., recording the military and naval actions on the Peiho River in 1859-60, was published by Day & Son, London, in 1861.