Two photograph albums of views from Shantung and Shanghai, and from Jehol and Beijing, to Yunnan
- Reference:GB 237 Coll-1879
- Dates of Creation:late 1920s- early 1930s
- Name of Creator:
- Language of Material:English
- Physical Description:0.30 linear metre 2 boxesApproximately 250 gelatin silver prints (119, Shantung album + 136, Jehol album), approximately 10.1 x 14.6 cm, printed with thin white borders, mounted on per page (1 missing) each with accompanying short text labels with plain printed border, approximately 6.6 x 8.7 cm, pasted alongside; a little tarnishing in places but overall very clean; in two matching black albums, cloth-covered boards with Chinese decoration and characters in blind on upper board, tied with black cord, barely rubbed, excellent condition, in modern slipcases, oblong 4to.
Scope and Content
Two albums containing black and white photographs of landscapes in a variety of locations, as well as portraits and street scenes, each with accompanying text. First album is entitled 'China 1920-1930 - From Shantung and Shanghai to Yunan [sic]' (119 pages), and the second album is entitled 'China 1920-1930 - From Jehol and Peking to Yunnan' (136 pages)". Many of the photos are grouped into sets of up to ten images on a particular province or theme, such as: Futoshan/Putuoshan, near Shanghai; Changsha, Hunan province; Kiangsi/Jiangxi province; Hankow/Wuchang; Shantung/Shandong province; whaling etc. off Manchuria; and Shanghai.
The albums have been carefully compiled, possibly to the instruction of a purchaser with a particular interest in these locations. The presentation is very neat and there has been thorough attention paid to the addition of the informative texts. From internal evidence, this particular collection is believed to date from around the late 1920s/early 1930s.
It is believed that these photos were amongst many of China taken by the Ato Printing Association, a Japanese photography company based in Dalian between the 1922 and 1944. The company was owned by Ato Inga Kyokai. It is understand that some or all of these photographs appeared in the journal published by the same company.
Access Information
Open.
Acquisition Information
Purchased in May 2017. Accession no SC-Acc-2018-0144.
Archivist's Note
Catalogued in August 2018 by Aline Brodin, using information from the seller. Description revised in May 2019, to add some additional historical information kindly provided by Graham Thompson.
Subjects
Geographical Names