Album The Imperial City of Beijing, China

An album with photographs of imperial palaces and other buildings, architectural details and interiors. The photographs were taken by the famous Japanese photographer Ogawa Kazumasa 小川 一眞 (1860–1929) during a 1901 survey conducted by the University of Civil Engineering of the Imperial University of Tokyo (now the University of Tokyo) with the support of the Imperial Museum of Tokyo (now the National Museum of Tokyo).

The set consists of two voluminous notebooks of larger size. In the first volume, Ogawa’s accompanying notes are followed by brief explanations in English, Japanese, and Chinese of the buildings depicted, written by architect Itō Chūta 伊東 忠太 (1867–1954), a member of the expedition. There then follow (unbound) insert sheets with photographs, numbered 1 to 99. The second volume contains insert sheets with photographs numbered 100 to 172. The album was published in Tokyo in May 1906. It was printed in 500 numbered copies. Skušek’s copy is number 234 and is complete.

Both booklets are stored in wooden boxes. The front covers are covered with embroidered brocade. Chrysanthemums (the emperor’s symbol) are depicted on a dark brown background, and on the woven ornament in the centre are two dragons, the sea, and clouds. Each photo sheet is protected with silk paper. On the inside of both front covers and on the base of each box is a handwritten note “von Strauch – Beijing”, probably referring to the original owner of the album. (MV)