‎"MENNIE, DONALD.‎
‎The Pageant of Peking Comprising Sixty-Six Vandyck Photogravures of Peking and Environs from Photographs by Donald Mennie with an introduction by Putnam Weale Descriptive Notes by S. Couling.‎

‎Shanghai, A.S. Watson, 1922. Folio (390 x 300 mm). In the original blue silke covered binding with gilt lettering and decoration to front board. Spine slightly faded. Internally fine and clean, an overall very nice copy. (8), 40 pp. + 66 photogravures tipped into recto of each page with caption on verso. ‎

Reference : 62283

‎First edition of this fine work with sixty-six fine photogravure plates documenting the twilight of imperial China. It is the most iconic of Donald Mennie's early photobooks and a cornerstone of Western visual records of early 20th-century Beijing Although born and raised in Golspie, Scotland, Donald Mennie (1875–1944) spent the majority of his life in China, arriving around 1899. Trained as a chemist he rose to become Managing Director of the Shanghai branch of A.S. Watson & Co., a firm that by the 1930s was also a dealer in photographic materials. His photographic work, inspired by the Pictorialist style, emphasized mood and composition over mere documentation, making his books highly desirable as both artistic and historical records. From 1914 Mennie traveled widely across China, producing popular photo-books that include ""China by Land and Water"", ""Picturesque China"", and his magnum opus, The Grandeur of the Gorges (1926). The Pageant of Peking remains one of his most sought-after works for its focus on Beijing at a pivotal historical moment - before the empire gave way to modern transformation. This edition is accompanied by an introduction by Putnam Weale (B.L. Simpson) and descriptive notes by S. Couling Tragically Mennie’s life ended in Japanese captivity during WWII, dying in a Shanghai internment center in 1944.‎