Where can I find online images of the China Coast from the first half
of the 19th century - Canton, Shanghai, Amoy -- paintings, sketches,
etchings. 

Hi,

A good place to start is the "Tales of Old China" website.  They have
a postcard section that has a searchable database. Of the 1532 images
there are a few costal paintings from the first half of the 19th
century.
URL:  http://www.talesofoldchina.com/pstd_list.cfm

Also have a look at "Prints Old and Rare" the link to their Chinese
section is here:
URL: http://12.45.93.27/china/

Hope this helps,

THX 1138

Ebay almost always has something to offer when it comes to image of
far away places. Postcards, stereoviews, posters, etc. 19th century
images should be in the public domain, but it's generally good form to
ask the seller or buyer -- depending on what stage the auction is in
-- if it's okay for you to use their scans. Alternatively, get
yourself into the bidding and buy the stuff yourself.

<a href="http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=amoy">Amoy</a>,
<a href="http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=shanghai&x=24&y=23">Shanghai</a>
and <a href="http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=canton&ht=1&itemtimedisp=1&st=2&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&BasicSearch=">Canton</a>
all have multiple items listed.

Narrow your search with terms like postcard, poster, etching,
painting, image, etc.

Alternatively, list the items from highest to lowest prices, or visa
versa. Highest prices will probably yield up original etchings and
paintings, lowest prices will yield up postcards and reprints of
images.