Rare original silver gelatin photograph taken in the aftermath of the Siege of Peking (Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion, showing the damaged British Legation House, where British troops and civilians were besieged in the summer of 1900. The image, measuring 5¾" x 7¼" and mounted to a 7" x 8½" board, depicts rubble-strewn ground, blast-damaged walls, and broken windows—grim evidence of the brutal siege and bombardment that took place.

A handwritten note affixed to the verso reads: “British Legation house where English troops were quartered during siege – Taken after siege”. The structure bears signs of extensive shelling and street-level destruction, underscoring the intensity of the 55-day siege in which the foreign legations, including diplomats, missionaries, soldiers, and civilians, held out against Boxers and Qing imperial troops until the relief forces arrived.

Photographs documenting the immediate aftermath of the siege are scarce and highly sought after for their direct connection to one of the most dramatic and widely reported international crises of the late 19th century. This example is especially compelling for its documentary clarity, scale, and unfiltered view of wartime damage inside the foreign legation quarter. A powerful artifact of British imperial presence and survival during a key moment in Qing-dynasty resistance to Western encroachment.