Khun Mote, the First Thai Photographer

A Glimpse of his Early Work on Paper

Abstract

Khun Mote Amatayakul (1819-196) is generally acknowledged as the first Thai photographer. There are two sets of his photographs that date from 1862-3, the first listing 100 images, mainly landscapes in Bangkok and portraits,  and the second listing 25, mainly portraits. This article presents the original English-language lists, and examples of the work.