MENNIE (Donald).

Picturesque China.

A series of Vandyck Photogravures illustrating the picturesque aspect of Chinese life and surroundings. First edition. 30 photographic plates. Oblong 4to. Original illustrated boards, minor damage to corners, but overall a very good copy. Shanghai, A. S. Watson, n.d. [but ca, 1920.

£1,400.00

Donald Mennie (1899-1944) was trained as a chemist in Scotland. He came to China in 1899 and initially worked for Mactavish & Lehman in Beijing but later moved to Shanghai where he was in the employ of the chemist wine, spirit, & cigar merchants A. S. Watson & Co. Mennie was a gifted amateur photographer of the “pictorialist” school, and many of his images capture the feeling of the end-of-an-era. He published a number of interesting photobooks in the 1920s and 1930s and the present title is particularly rare. It mostly shows rural scenes in the Jiangnan region of Southern China.

Stock No.
225297