The Grandeur of the Gorges.

Shanghai: A. S. Watson & Company (The Shanghai Pharmacy, Ltd) [and] Kelly & Walsh, Limited, 1932.. Second edition. Large 4to. (31.5 x 25.5 cm). Publisher's original gilt-sprayed half calf over black silk boards with gilt lettering, title-page printed in green and black. 50 full page tipped-in plates of which 38 are photogravures and 12 are hand coloured silver gelatin plates, numerous vignettes throughout. Some light rubbing to extremities, generally an excellent copy of the second edition of this work which was first published in 1926. 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. The present spectacular photographic record of the Upper Yangtze was taken during two excursions in the low-level season, one on a steamer from Ichang to Chungking, the other by native boat through the districts between Ichang and Wan Hsien. Each plate faces a short descriptive note written by Lieut. Comdr. H. Foote Carey, who accompanied Mennie on the second trip. Two variants exist of the binding, the present one being the one with an embroidered scenic view of the Gorges.