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 edges, but overall a very good copy. Shanghai, A. S. Watson, n.d. [but ca, 1930.
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.
