Peking studies . Sketches by F. H. Schiff

First edition, folio, pp. 87, [1]; photogravure illustrations throughout "taken by the Rolleiflex camera"; original cream cloth with red cloth title label and pictorial pastedown; boards soiled, otherwise a very good, sound and clean copy. Stunning photographs by Catleen, the wife of the former Dutch diplomat, Willem Thorbecke. Born Ellen Kolban (1902-1973) she "occupies a unique and forgotten position in the photography world. In 1931 she left Berlin for Beijing. For this trip she bought her first camera. Thorbecke developed into a compelling photographer who provided her photos with engaged observations about the people and places she visited. She made reports in a lively candid style with an eye for the vitality of street life and has produced several photo books including Peking Studies (1934) and People in China (1935)" (Photography in China). The photographs show various aspects of everyday life in the city. Schiff's thumb-nail sketches relate a narrative in pictures of Mr Pim and Mr Wu as they observe goings-on in Peking. A fine collaboration between the Dutch author-photographer and Friedrich Schiff (1908-1968) who was born in Austria and came to China in 1930 where he worked as caricaturist for several newspapers and illustrated books. Ellen Thorbecke, who is using her first married name here (Catleen), after a messy divorce became the wife of the Dutch ambassador to China, and wrote a few books on Shanghai and other Chinese cities, all splendid book productions.…