Folio. 66 photogravure plates tipped-in. Original blue silk stamped and lettered in gilt (some uneven sunning, a few spots of fraying at corners and ends). Provenance: Carrie Estelle Doheny (1875-1958), renowned American book collector (bookplate); Edward Lawrence Doheny (1856-1935), oil tycoon (bookplate).

THE DOHENY COPY.

Second edition. Donald Mennie, photographer, was active in Shanghai and Peking from 1920 until the late 1930's. He was known for his "soft-toned pictorialist images of the capital and its people show the deep admiration which Mennie felt for the Chinese and their culture. This work includes 66 folio photographs of early 20th century Peking and the surrounding area and includes photos of famous views such as the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and scenes of shopkeepers, merchants, travellers and monks" (Western Travellers in China).