The Harrison Brown Collection: Special Collections and Rare Books

Black and white photograph of Harrison Brown wearing a wool coat and fur cap with ear coverings

Harrison Brown was born in England in 1893. He spent five years on active service in the British Army during WWI. Disillusioned and disgusted with the political leadership of the Western Powers, he worked during the post-war years for disarmament and later represented the Outlawry of War movement in Europe.

He lived in France and Germany after WWI, and worked as a freelance broadcaster and journalist for the BBC, the Evening Standard, the New Chronicle, the New Statesman, and the Fortnightly Review. When the Nazi government came to power, he was appalled by their sadistic terrorist acts and left Germany and spent the next few years trying to warn people that a second World War was imminent.

 

"It used to be said that the journalist, like the artist, should have no opinions. In the 'calm' periods of history it was often possible to maintain this illusion, but such periods are now over for our time. The artist must paint Nature as he sees it, his vision aided by experience and prompted by his awareness of the life which surrounds him."

 —Harrison Brown, "The Trail of a Freelance"

 

 In 1936, he set out on a 10-month journey through Scandinavia, the USSR, Japan, Korea, and China (and then-Manchuria) to meet with English-speaking correspondents to find out more about and document the conditions of people living under the rule of fascist and imperialist powers.

Sample of photographs from the journey

Black and white view of the south gate of the city of Taiyuan. People are carrying goods down a dirt road with stone buildings and electrical poles on either side, leading up to the stone city wall and south gate built in the style of Ming Dynasty architecture.

Scene of the market outside the South gate, Taiyuan. 28 November, 1936.

Black and white view of an old person sitting on a dirt road next to a stone gate of Xi'an. They sit between two woven baskets. Above them there is a wooden pole, with their clothing hanging on it.

Scene at the Old gateway, outside of Sian. 7 December, 1936.

Black and white view of people carrying goods and water in barrels down the steep steps and path (Shibati) towards the Yangtze river in Chongqing. There are wooden stilt homes on either side of the stairway.

Chung-king steps. 14 December, 1936.

Black and white view of two junks floating on a body of water carying stacks of long reeds, the size of the boat.

Floating stacks of reeds. December 21, 1936

Black and white view of the Zhapu Road Bridge from the water of Suzhou Creek. There are many passenger and merchant boats on the water on either side of the Creek. There is a bus and people walking across the bridge, which has tall street lamps. Behind the bridge there are large buildings in the distance.

View of the creek, Shanghai, 3 January, 1937.

Black and wite view of three people on a boat in the Pearl River transporting goods underneath the West Bridge which leads to the British and French concession of Shamian island. All three people hold long poles used as paddles.

Shumeen Canton canal scene, 13 January, 1937.

Black and white close-up view of a person carrying two person-sized watering cans in a field.

Outside of Canton, (3) 16 January, 1937.

Black and white view of a person wading into a pond in a field near a large tree and straw building, wearing a large straw hat carrying two person-sized watering cans and is filling them with water.

Outside of Canton, (2) 16 January, 1937.

Black and white view of six people wearing light-coloured uniforms, reading four posters on a stone wall outdoors. One person is holding a flag with Chinese characters.

Girls of a middle school military training corps, Nanning, 17 January, 1937.

Harrison moved to Hornby Island, British Columbia in 1937 and continued to write and lecture in the U.S. and Canada about the period between the world wars until his death in 1977.

About the collection

Harrison's widow, Hilary Brown, donated over 600 of her husband's photographs taken during his photojournalism trip to Special Collections and Rare Books. Three photographic field notebooks, two diaries, an unedited manuscript, "Trail of a Freelance," and other materials including biographical notes regarding Harrison Brown are included in the collection.

To browse the full collection of photographs, textual materials, and more, see the Harrison Brown Digitized Collection.