The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society: An Early Photographic Organization Established by Westerners in China

Mennie, Donald, Boat in the River, 1920s, 16 in. x 20 in., gelatin silver print, courtesy of the author.

Introduction

Photographic organizations appeared in China in the 1880s. These early organizations – such as the China Camera Club in Shanghai, the Foochow Camera Club and the Wuhu Camera Club - were initiated by non-nationals living in “concessions” in the newly opened treaty ports. Organizing lectures, exhibitions, and photography outings, they played a major role in spreading photography in China and helping to develop a photographic culture among local Chinese enthusiasts. The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society, active from 1902 to 1925 (during which time it was suspended twice for political reasons), was the most important organization during this period because of its early establishment, large scale, long duration, and frequent activities. Its exhibitions were noted for the high level of their works and had great influence. It was one of the most active organizations in Shanghai at that time.

The society’s development can be divided into three stages: 1902–1909, 1913–17, and 1923–25. The society was originally called the Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society, but it was renamed in 1914, after its first period of suspension (1909-1912). In 1917, due to the impact of World War I, it was suspended for the second time. Two years after its resumption of activities, in 1923, it was suspended again and, because of the turbulent domestic situation in China, the society never resumed its activities. This essay surveys the society’s activities (lectures, exhibitions, outings, competitions, and social evenings) in its three stages in order to trace its rise and fall.

The First Stage: 1902–1909

On February 19, 1902, thirty foreign amateur photographers living in Shanghai’s Western concessions held a meeting in the Union Church Lecture Hall and decided to set up an amateur photographic organization. The meeting elected Rev. C. E. Darwent as president of the Preparatory Committee; F. Dumfries was the secretary; and the remaining committee members were J. Kerfoot and A. Allan. The society’s bylaws and rules would be discussed at the next meeting.[1]

A week later, a meeting was again held in the Union Church Lecture Hall. By this time, the number of people applying for membership had reached forty-five. The articles of association were discussed: Specifically, the organization’s name would be s the Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society and the membership fee was set at five US dollars. Both men and women were eligible, and they could be recommended by other members or apply themselves. There was a five-person Management Committee consisting of the president, vice president, and secretary, along with Allan and Kerfoot. They elected Reverend Darwent as president, D. Reid as vice president, and Dumfries as secretary and treasurer. The society would exchange photographic articles, organize photography activities, hold exhibitions, and make darkrooms available to members.[2]

In the early days, the Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society held regular lectures, annual exhibitions and photography competitions. According to the information released at its 1904 annual meeting, the number of members had reached ninety-six. Reid was elected president and the vice president was J. Hervey Longhurst, who also served as secretary and treasurer.[3]

In 1905, a large photographic exhibition was held. At this time, the number of its members reached 192, and the economic operation was in robust condition. In the election at the annual meeting, President Reid and secretary Longhurst were reelected and the vice president was Edward Wheen. The members of the Management Committee were Mennie, Darwent, R. C. Howlett, and J. Mencarini.[4]

In 1906, another photographic exhibition took place. Although the society achieved a balance of revenue and expenditure throughout the year, the large costs of mounting the exhibition also brought economic pressure. Former president Reid resigned because of his departure from Shanghai. His successor was Mencarini. Longhurst resigned as a secretary due to work pressure, but he was still a member of the Management Committee. His successor was Mennie. At the annual meeting, Darwent was elected vice president. Other members of the Management Committee were Howlett, J. C. Carter, and F. E. Taylor. At this time, the number of members was 194.[5]

In the following years, the society was affected by the political turmoil in China and the number of members decreased significantly. At the annual meeting of 1908, former secretary Mennie resigned, succeeded by H. N. Wienberg; the newly elected president was A. W. U. Pope; Darwent was president; and other committee members were W. S. Sweetingham, J. H. Hinton, P. G Tate, and C. H. Kragh.[6]

In October 1909, due to the reduction in the number of participants, the society convened a special meeting for all members. Reverend Darwent spoke about the history of the society, explained the current situation, and proposed suspending activity for one year. Agreement was unanimous.[7]

Lectures were the most organized events held by the Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society. The locations were mostly in the Union Church Lecture Hall. In addition to the lectures, there were usually slide shows and other activities. During the period from 1902 to 1909, some twenty speakers gave more than thirty lectures. The topics were widely varied, among them basic photographic skills and the latest technologies, and speakers also talked of their own shooting experiences. Table 1 lists some of the speakers and their lecture topics.

During this period, the most frequent speakers were Mennie, Longhurst, Reverend Darwent, and Mencarini, followed by Carter, Howlett, and Reid. All of them had served on the Management Committee, and were the backbone of the society.

The society held exhibitions and awarded prizes every year and often invited nonmembers to participate. For example, the exhibition in 1905 was open to all photographers in the Far East[37] and the exhibition in 1906 added a youth group for children below the age of fifteen.[38]

With the gradual expansion of their scale, the society’s influence in Shanghai’s Western communities also increased. In the exhibition of 1905, the number of works on display exceeded five hundred, and the society was referred to by the media as “one of the most flourishing of local clubs.”[39]

Exhibitions generally had a theme: Landscapes (which was divided into large and small categories according to a work’s size), Genre Studies, Portraits, Flower and Fruit Studies, and Lantern Slides. These classifications were not absolute and would be adjusted according to the number and type of works to be displayed. The Competition Committee usually comprised three or four judges. Three prize-winners could be selected for each category, but a photographer could win only one prize in each category.

The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society also paid great attention to communications with other domestic and regional photography organizations. In 1903, a letter from the US consul in Taiwan, James W. Davidson, solicited works to be shown in an exhibition put on by the Taiwan Photographic Society, and President Darwent encouraged members to participate.[40] In 1905, Wuhu City, in Anhui province, organized a photographic exhibition and borrowed more than thirty works from the society, which helped to improve the quality of the exhibition.[41]

The society showed great vitality at the beginning. In particular during the period from 1904 to 1906, when Reid was president and Longhurst was secretary, several successful large-scale shows expanded the influence of the society beyond the group of foreign photographers in Shanghai, and the annual exhibitions became major events for the wider community in Shanghai’s concessions. This period was the most active in the society’s twenty-year history.

The Second Stage: 1913–17

At the last meeting of 1909, it was decided that the Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society would suspend activities for one year. A special meeting was then convened to decide on follow-up events.[42] However, as the domestic situation in China continued to fluctuate, the activities of the society were not resumed.

In November 1913, the Northern China Daily published an article entitled “A Photographic Organization” in which the author recalled the photographic organization that was active in Shanghai a few years earlier and mentioned the exhibitions it had held and the public darkroom used by its members. The article listed some of the difficulties faced by amateur photographers in Shanghai and called for the society to resume its activities.[43]

This article received responses from readers, and just a week later, Rev. Darwent initiated a meeting to resume the photographic society. He described the group from its creation in 1902 to the suspension of activities in 1909 and then proposed two possible plans: to disband the Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society and establish a new organization or to resume the Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society. By vote, members decided that the society should resume its activities and that its dues would still be five US dollars. Elections were held to determine the Management Committee: Darwent would be president; Longhurst, vice president; and A. E. C. Hindson, secretary. The committee members would be P. Arland, G. S. Averyard, and J. M. P. Hermanns.[44]

At the annual meeting in 1914, it was decided that the Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society would be renamed: The officers of the new Shanghai Photographic Society were Longhurst, president; Darwent and Captain d'Oliveyra, vice presidents; lantern slide projectionist, G. S. Averyard. A. E. C. Hindson was secretary and treasurer and D. B. Verny was assistant secretary. Other committee members were A. G. Cole, Karel Jan Hora, U. Straib, and Mennie.[45]

At the beginning of its restart, the number of members of Shanghai Photographic Society was about fifty.[46] In addition to its lectures, the group organized photography outings around Shanghai and commented on the works photographed. As more activities were held, the number of members rose steadily. By 1915, the number of members had reached 125.[47]

The good times did not last long, however. The commencement of World War I affected the organizations in Shanghai’s concessions. In 1916, the number of members of Shanghai Photographic Society fell to ninety-four,[48] and in April 1917, the number fell to seventy-five. In light of the hostilities and for political reasons, the society announced that it would suspend activities till the war ended[49].

Lectures were also one of the main forms of activities of the society during this period. As earlier, speakers came for the most part from the ranks of members of the Management Committee or frequent participants in the organization’s activities. The topics were diverse.

During this period, the society’s photographic outings were a highlight. Trips were organized to Suzhou, Baoshan, Jiading, Shanghai Old City, Songjiang, Jiangwan, Nanxiang, Kunshan, Wusong, Longhua Tower, Suzhou Creek, and the Pudong shipyards, among other sites. The usual transportation was by train and ship, and these outings became the primary activities in spring and autumn. After each trip, the society organized a contest of photos taken during the trip, and the winners were rewarded[71].

The interest of the society’s members in participating in these kinds of activities was very high, but they sometimes had to be canceled because of bad weather or for political reasons. For example, in 1916, due to the impassability of the railway, the trips planned to Suzhou and Lake Tai were canceled.[72]

In this period, another special activity of the Shanghai Photographic Society was social evenings, which were held at least four times between 1913 and 1917. Participants were not limited to members. There were songs and dances and musical performances at the party and the members’ photographs were made into slides for the participants to enjoy[73]. The social evening was not only a photographic activity but also an effort and attempt by the society to expand its influence in Shanghai’s concessions.

Once the Shanghai Photographic Society resumed its activities in 1913, it quickly recovered. After the society was renamed, it widened its audience. Longhurst served as the president for a long term. The society also gradually formed a pattern of activities: lectures in winter and photography outings in spring and fall. If it were not for the political situation, the society would have been able to fully restore or even exceed the scale and influence it enjoyed in its first stage.

The Third Stage: 1923–25

World War I ended at the end of 1918, but the Shanghai Photographic Society did not resume its activities, as had been planned. In 1922, a reader published a letter in the newspaper calling for its recovery, but few responded.[74]

In 1923, Mencarini, who had actively participated in the society’s activities in the early years, published a letter in the newspaper calling for the old members of the photography society and amateur photographers in Shanghai to restart the society.[75] This touching letter had the desired effect. A few weeks later, the Shanghai Photographic Society resumed its activities. Mencarini was elected president; N. H. Bolton was vice president; Vanderburgh was secretary; on the Management Committee were F. Large, G. Hummel, B. T. Prideaux, and Dent; and A. E. Gutierrez was lantern slide projectionist[76].

Just over a month after the resumption, in order to attract more photographers, the Shanghai Photographic Society organized an open, noncompetitive,exhibition. At this time, it had 115 members, of which fifty were involved in the exhibition. The images were for the most part landscapes, portraits, and interiors. President Mencarini, and Vice President Bolton were among the exhibitors.[77]

That year, lectures were again held, soon followed by an exhibition of photographic works. By 1924, the number of members had grown to one hundred thirty.[78] Yet although the society had resumed its activities during this period, the number of lectures organized and the number of participants could not be compared with the those of the two previous stages. Table 3 lists some of the lecturers and topics. Interestingly, the “Daylight Photography” lecture, in 1923, was sponsored by Kodak. And many photographers asked for the full text of Dent’s 1924 talk on portrait photography; the society printed it in bulk and sold copies.[79]

The society’s activities started out on the right track, but ultimately the turbulent situation of ongoing political strife caused foreign amateur photographers in Shanghai’s concessions to no longer pick up their cameras. The photography outings became dangerous, the number of participants in the lectures became fewer and fewer, and the planned exhibition only received a dozen works in response to solicitations. However, it is worth mentioning that the society had established a workshop for the production of portfolios. The members participating in this section were more active, and Mennie again guided the participants.[85]

In 1925, the society held a meeting to announce its third suspension.[86] Soon after, China underwent the Northern Expedition (1926–27), the Counter-Japanese War (1931–45), and the Civil War (1946–49). Foreign photographers in concessions either left China or died in Shanghai. The Shanghai Photographic Society was no longer.

Discussion

From 1902 to 1925, the society went through its ups and downs. It was once one of the most active organizations in Shanghai’s concessions. However, perhaps because it did not publish anything or print yearbooks, as did other, similar organizations, and information about its activities came only from newspaper listings of its meetings, lectures, and exhibitions, the Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society has not been adequately studied. In fact, it should have its own place in the history of photography in China. The importance of this organization is, I believe, based on the following points.

Founding. The society was established in Shanghai in 1902. Although it was not the earliest photographic organization in China, it was still earlier than others, which were not founded until the 1920s.

Membership. In the three stages of the society’s activities, the largest number of members reached 194, 92, and 130, respectively.

Duration. From its establishment until its end, the society existed for twenty-three years and was active for sixteen.

Activities. It held various forms of activities. In addition to routine exhibitions and regular lectures, the society enjoyed photography outings, members competitions, and social evenings.

Influence. Between 1903 to 1909, the society’s exhibitions became major events in the life of foreigners in Shanghai’s concessions. The scale and influence of the 1905 show was the largest. Images were collected from across the Far East and more than five hundred works were on display.

The local English-language newspaper, the North-China Herald, reported on these shows. In 1902, the newspaper gave only a general introduction to the exhibition: “The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society held their first exhibition on Thursday evening in the Union Church Lecture Hall, when there was an excellent attendance. A most pleasant and instructive evening was spent.”[87]

When the second exhibition was held, in 1903, the newspaper praised the rapid development of the society: “The Shanghai amateur is certainly a good photographer, and there is plenty, but not too much, of him or of her. One consequence is that the Amateur Photographic Society from small beginnings has rapidly ‘developed’ into one of the most successful societies in the Settlement. Its educational meetings are well attended and have been productive of some excellent papers, while what can be done on the social and picturesque side was again seen at Thursday evening’s soirée and exhibition. From the collections of the members it would have been possible certainly to have made a much larger selection, but the pictures shown were all in the front rank for excellence.”[88]

In 1905, the exhibition was the largest, and the North-China Herald gave high marks to the society and the show:

Level of works. The famous landscape photographer Donald Mennie[90] participated in the society’s activities for a long time. J. Mencarini, who had served as president, was also a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain. Looking at the society’s exhibitions, awards, and lectures, we can see that there was no lack of photographers at their same level.

Female photographers. Female photographers were involved in various activities of the society from the beginning. Mrs. Pilcher and Mrs. Ballard participated in the initial preparation meeting.[91] Miss Cardwell attended the first meeting, when the society was formally established. In the articles approved at this meeting, it was written that both men and women were eligible for membership.[92]

In 1924, in order to increase the number of participants, it was decided to alter the subscription rule in order to allow the wife of a member to become a member on her husband's fee.[93]

Female photographers were also involved in society’s events and activities. For example, in 1902, during the first month after its establishment, Mrs. Ivy showed her slides,[94] and in the exhibition held in 1904, her image of a woodland scene won third prize.[95]

In other examples, as early as 1902, Mrs. A. H. Harris earned second prize,[96] and Mrs. Snethlage’s “A Spring Morning” took third place in “Class C: Landscapes and Seascapes” at 1906’s exhibition (the only female who won an award).[97] A year later, she showed again.[98]

Promotion of photographic culture. At the beginning, the society was open to a large number of amateur photography enthusiasts. Its regular lectures were rich in content, and the topics covered not only basic photography knowledge, such as composition, film making, developing, and enlarging, but also the new techniques of the period, such as the carbon process, the platinum process, and coloring. The exhibitions and social evenings gave more people a chance to appreciate photographic works of art at close range.

Early research on the history of photography in China often takes the form of case studies. This study is based on historical data. Although they carried out significant photographic activities in China during the early twentieth century, the work of many of the amateur photographers mentioned here has not yet been seen by the public or by scholars. These photographers are all potential research subjects in the continuing study of Chinese photography. Some of their works may be still in a loft or a shoebox, waiting for their descendants or researchers to find. When that happens, I hope this article will be of help.

Che Liang is an independent photographic historian, with a research focus on Chinese photography before 1949. He worked in the Photography Department at Huachen Auctions from 2014 to 2018, where he appraised several thousand photographs from the 19th century to the 21st century and published articles on Shandong's historical photographers, Donald Mennie(1875-1941) and John Zumbrun(1875-1949). Contact: f234f234@gmail.com

Notes

1. “The New Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 26, 1902), 380.

2. “The Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 5, 1902), 430.

3. North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 11, 1904), 513.

4. “The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 24, 1905), 623.

5. “Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (October 12, 1906), 117.

6. Ibid. (April 24, 1908), 208.

7. “Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (October 2, 1909), 46.

8. “The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 26, 1902), 590.

9. “Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (April 16, 1902), 747.

10. “Readings for the Week,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (November 19, 1902), 1049.

11. “The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (December 3, 1902), 1175.

12. “The Shanghai Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (December 17, 1902), 1279.

13. “The Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (April 30, 1903), 834.

14. “Amateur Photographic in Shanghai,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (May 28, 1903), 1040.

15. “The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (June 4, 1903), 1098.

16. Ibid. (July 3, 1903), 23.

17. Ibid. (November 13, 1903), 1008.

18. Ibid. (December 4, 1903), 1189.

19. Ibid. (December 11, 1903), 1239.

20. North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (May 13, 1904), 980.

21. “The Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (June 3, 1904), 1162.

22. North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (October 7, 1904), 825.

23. “The Chemistry of Photography,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (November 4, 1904), 1037.

24. “Photography in the Field,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (November 25, 1904), 1190.

25. “The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular (December 9, 1904), 1300.

26. Ibid. (February 2, 1905), 241.

27. North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (April 7, 1905), 44.

28. “The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (April 21, 1905), 153.

29. North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (September 8, 1905), 578.

30. “The Shanghai Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (November 10, 1905), 326.

31. “Toning Bromides,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (December 22, 1905), 677.

32. “The Composition of a Picture,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 2, 1906), 472.

33. North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (January 25, 1907), 160.

34. “Readings for This Week,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 8, 1907), 275.

35. North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 22, 1907), 603.

36. “Colour Photography,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 13, 1908), 623.

37. “The Encouragement of Amateur Photography,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (November 11, 1904), 1901.

38. “The Photographic Society’s Exhibition,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 30, 1906),721.

39. “The Photographic Exhibition,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 24, 1905), 385.

40. “Amateur Photography in Shanghai,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (May 28, 1903), 1040.

41. “The Wuhu Photographic Exhibition,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (April 14, 1905), 86.

42. “Amateur Photographic Society” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (October 2, 1909), 46.

43. “A Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (November 29, 1913), 632.

44. “Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (December 6, 1913), 737.

45. “Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (May 9, 1914), 483.

46. “The Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (December 27, 1913), 935.

47. Shanghai Times (April 14, 1916), 6.

48. Ibid. (April 14, 1916), 6.

49. “Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (April 28, 1917), 197.

50. “The Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (December 27, 1913), 935.

51. “Coming Events,” in the Shanghai Times (February 13, 1914), 6.

52. “Shanghai Photographic Society,” in the Shanghai Times (February 13, 1914), 4.

53. “The Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 28, 1914), 631.

54. “Composition of a Picture,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 14, 1914), 786.

55. “Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the Shanghai Times (March 27, 1914), 5.

56. “Photographic Society,” in the Shanghai Times (April 10, 1914), 4.

57. “Shanghai Photographic Society,” in the Shanghai Times (October 30, 1914), 2.

58. Ibid. (November 13, 1914), 2.

59. “Photographic Society,” in the Shanghai Times (December 11, 1914), 2.

60. “The Photographic Society of Shanghai,” in the Shanghai Times (November 21, 1914), 5.

61. “The Art of Portraiture,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 20, 1915), 547.

62. “Local and General News,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (January 23, 1915), 280.

63. Shanghai Times (February 5, 1915), 4.

64. “Photographic Society,” in the Shanghai Times (February 26, 1915), 5.

65. “Coming News,” in the Shanghai Times (February 23, 1915), 8.

66. “Photographic Society,” in the Shanghai Times (March 10, 1916), 7.

67. “The Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (December 2, 1916), 474.

68. “Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 10, 1917), 282.

69. “The Photographic Society,” in the Shanghai Times (February 24, 1917), 7.

70. “Coming News,” in the Shanghai Times (January 20, 1917), 10.

71. “The Photographic Society of Shanghai,” in the Shanghai Times (October 10, 1914), 2.

72. “Local and General,” in the Shanghai Times (1914–21); (April 24, 1916), 6.

73. “Local and General News,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (January 17, 1914), 195.

74. “A Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 18, 1922), 754.

75. Mencarini, Juan, “Photographic Society of Shanghai,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 24, 1923), 805.

76. “The Shanghai Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (April 14, 1923), 114.

77. “Photographic Soc. of Shanghai,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (June 2, 1923), 604.

78. “Shanghai Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (June 7, 1924), 383.

79. “Personal Notes,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 14, 1925), 275.

80. “Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (May 5, 1923), 311.

81. “Photography without a Dark Room,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (May 19, 1923), 460.

82. “Shanghai Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (December 13, 1924), 450.

83. “Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (November 15, 1924), 276.

84. Ibid. (March 7, 1925), 389.

85. “Shanghai Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (June 7, 1924), 383.

86. “Photographic Socy. Suspended,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (May 9, 1925), 240.

87. “North China Daily News,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (June 25, 1902), 1230.

88. “The Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 5, 1904), 238.

89. “The Photographic Exhibition,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 24, 1905), 385.

90. Donald Mennie was a director of A. S. Watson in Shanghai. In Naomi Rosenblum’s A World History of Photography (1989), Mennie is one of the few photographers with connections to China. She writes: “Donald Mennie, also British and the director of a well-established firm of merchants, approached Chinese landscape with the vision and techniques of the Pictorialist, issuing the soft-focus romantic-looking portfolio The Pageant of Peking in gravure prints in 1920.”

    Besides The Pageant of Peking, according to Historical Photographs of China, (https://www.hpcbristol.net/photographer/mennie-donald) Mennie published his photographs in China by Land and Water, Glimpses of China, China, North and South, Picturesque China, and The Grandeur of the Gorges, all during the 1920s. The books are published and printed by A. S. Watson.

    Mennie’s photographs also illustrated My Lady of the Chinese Courtyard, by Elizabeth Cooper (1914), and The Great River: The Story of a Voyage on the Yangtze Kiang, by Gretchen Fitkin (1922).

91. “The New Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 26, 1902), 380.

92. “The Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 5, 1902), 430.

93. “Shanghai Photographic Society: Annual General Meeting,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (June 7, 1924), 383.

94. “The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (March 26, 1902), 590.

95. “The Amateur Photographic Society,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (February 5, 1904), 238.

96. “North China Daily News,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (June 25, 1902), 1230.

97. “Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society: The Exhibition Opened,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (May 18, 1906), 401.

98. “The Shanghai Amateur Photographic Society: Exhibition and Concert,” in the North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (April 12, 1907), 107.