Francis Chit

Francis Chit, born Chit (; 1830 – 23 May 1891) and known by the noble titles Khun Sunthonsathitsalak and Luang Akani Naruemitr, was a Thai photographer and the first to practise the craft professionally. He worked as a royal court photographer for kings Mongkut (Rama IV) and Chulalongkorn (Rama V), and also operated out of his studio, known in its later days as Francis Chit and Sons, which occupied a floating house in the Kudi Chin neighbourhood. He contributed significantly to the photographic record of Siam, and the originals of his works now form part of the National Archives' royal collection, which has been inscribed in the UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.

Biography Chit was born c. 1830, a son of a military marksman of the Front Palace named Tueng . Little of his personal life was documented, though he was probably a Catholic member of the Kudi Chin community, with partial Portuguese ancestry; he had the baptismal name Francis.

In his government service, Chit was a royal servant of the Front Palace under Second-King Pinklao until Pinklao's death in 1866, when he transferred to serve the Royal Palace of King Mongkut. He received the noble title Khun Sunthonsathitsalak ('officer for fine likeness images'), and served under the department of the royal armoury.

Chit died of cholera on 23 May 1891. However, he died a few years after his father, and the business fell to his younger brother Sa-at , who would also receive the same title as his brother (later promoted to Phra Chayasathitsakon), as well as the Dushdi Mala Medal. Chit also had at least two other children with other wives.

In addition to portraits, which he produced on commission and had those of royalty and dignitaries for sale, Chit also maintained an inventory of prints of scenic views of palaces, temples and landscapes, though these did not extend beyond the Bangkok region. Over 2,000 of his original glass plates and large format negatives are preserved at the National Archives of Thailand, donated to the Vajirañāṇa Royal Library by his son Sa-at. They form part of the Royal Photographic Glass Plate Negatives and Original Prints Collection, which was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2017.