Cup.409.b.11

Imprint: A. S. Watson and Company (the Shanghai Pharmacy, Ltd.) Kelly and Walsh, Limited, Shanghai, 1926.

Quarto, measuring 320 x 260 mm, decorative silk binding, featuring a view of the Yangtze Gorges and title on upper board; preface; introduction by Marc T. Greene, notes on plates by H. Foote Carey and sketches in the text by Lieutenant-Colonel H. G. Gandy; with 50 tipped-in rotary photogravure prints in various coloured inks, 12 of which are hand-coloured, mounted one to a page, recto only, within a printed decorative border of shells; no 19 of a limited edition of 1000; label of Rare Oriental Book Co., Aptos, California, on rear pastedown. In his short preface to the work Mennie writes: ‘The photographs in the 'Grandeur of the Gorges' were taken during two trips on the Upper Yangtze and show the River at low level season. Although the first journey by steamer from Ichang to Chungking proved not altogether unproductive of results, it was evident that more time, study and luck in weather conditions, would be necessary in any attempt to photograph the Gorges. The second journey occupied nearly four weeks by native boat (Kua Tzu) through the district between Ichang and Wan Hsien, in the company of Lieut. Comdr. H. Foote Carey, R.D., R.N.R., whose knowledge and experience of the river were of invaluable assistance to me. The atmosphere of gloom, mist, and moisture — so often prevailing in these regions — makes photographic records extremely difficult and it must be admitted that, granted even the most favourable actinic conditions, the camera is incapable of conveying an adequate conception of the tremendous scale and magnitude of the scenery. It is hoped, however, that the pictures in this work may depict the Great River in some of its ever-changing moods; reveal perhaps a little of its mysterious fascination and convey an impression of the wild grandeur of those high forbidding Gorges of the Upper Yangtze…’ Ironically, in view of the present construction of massive dams along the Yangtze, Greene’s introduction states that ‘it is inconceivable that the wild beauty of the mighty gorge, awe-inspiring as that of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, can ever be changed by anything man can or will wish to do…’