#N4-051
Ca. 1940s
Oblong Quarto album (ca. 22x30 cm). 23 card-stock leaves (7 blank). With 74 ca. 8x14 cm, including two panoramas 9x26 cm.Most of the photos with captions, few photos dated. Period full-cloth album fastened with a string; gilt-tooled generic title “Album” on the front board. Some photos are detached, not all the photos from the original album are present, but overall a very good album with strong, interesting photos.
Historically interesting collection of lively vernacular photos illustrating the trip of Russian emigré couple to Beijing.
The first pages document central Beijing, with the new tower being constructed down by Emperor’s Channel, Mei Shan Pavillion, Russian Mission, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, Observatory, Rockefeller Institute, Beihai Park.
After a few photos of Buddhas seen are photographed, Summer palace, Pavilion of fireworks, Empress’ Palace and her marbled boat, bronze cow, camel bridge and Imperial Gates, Jade Spring Hill, Yellow Temple, The Temple of Azure Clouds, Great Wall and Camels close to the Wall, the Ching Lung railway station with the monument to the builder.
Most of the captions state where the place is with occasional notes like ‘this is the favorite wood of the Empress’, few Chinese words are used, but written in Russian, like Пайлоу (Pailou) for 牌楼.
Overall, historically interesting collection of lively vernacular photos illustrating the trip to Russian emigré couple from Shanghai. After the Cultural Revolution all of the Russian population of China had to flee to other countries, their lives and possessions were left behind and were destroyed for the most part - this is why any historical information on the lives of these people are important today
