Chinese Art History
for the Orientalia enthusiast

THE SHOP SIGNS OF PEKING

ILLUSTRATIONS HAND PAINTED

with a preface by
H. K. FUNG, Ph. D.

Issued by the
Chinese Painting Association of Peking
5 TUNG CHANG TAI PING HUTUNG

PEKING, CHINA

1931

DESCRIPTION OF BOOK:

Peking Chinese Painting Association of Peking 1931 First Edition. One of an edition limited to 100 unnumbered copies. With 101 hand-painted illustrations. Oversized oblong format bound in the style of a photo album with cloth covered boards which are decorated with a colorful and intricately printed pattern with a silvery paper label affixed to the front cover bearing the title printed in Chinese calligraphy. With the preface and contents pages entirely in English and the text in both English and Chinese.

An elegant and fascinating combination of everyday life and uncommon artistry with 101 bright hand-colored shop signs from Peking, which as a rule are direct depictions of the item or service for sale (ranging from pawn shops to midwifery to hemp), but some are curiously difficult to comprehend, owing largely to centuries old designs and compositions. As H.K. Fung notes in his preface: “The wine flag can be recognized from a great distance, when one wants to satisfy his thirst, he will not have to strain his optic nerves to get what he wants; they are as conspicuous as the barber poles in Western Countries.” He goes on to comment on the connection between the relative illiteracy of the Chinese population at that time which contributed to the proliferation of these signs and then makes the prediction that as public education in China increases, the signs will become obsolete. Preface by Fung ends with the following: "The only explanation that I can give for the existence of these pictorial signs is that in the former times the percentage of illiteracy among the people was very low. I am sure with the establishment of the new public school system that most of the Chinese people can read the written language of the country. Therefore it is plain to see that these signs will gradually disappear as they are no longer necessary. Eventually they will become nothing but relics of the ancient Chinese Customs. So it is very advisable for those who are interested in things Chinese to add a copy of this album to their collection in Orientalia. October first 1931."

Going through our closets, how surprised was I to find a copy of this book. It is in excellent condition, with the owners name, "Margaret Walbank" in ink on the front page, right underneath the line "Illustrations Hand Painted". Clipped inside the front title page, there are two additional items. One is a page from a book (?) "The Shanghailander" with a portrait of a man sitting with the title "The Chinese Kitchen God" underneath and the Shanghailander Almanac on the back for February 1934 with a listing of things that happened on the days of February in previous years. The other is a small handpainted picture of two birds, inside a Season's Greetings card from Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Burgoine for Christmas 1934 and New Year 1935. They are clipped onto the page with very old round metal clips. I hesitate to remove them.

At one point, the owner of our gallery purchased the library of Margaret Walbank who did have quite an interesting collection of books. (It was quite some time ago, I believe in the 1970's) I have seen many books with her name and handwriting floating around our shelves over the years, so that explains how we came into possession of this volume.

The book is 13 1/2“ wide x 10 1/4“ high.

PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE PHOTOS, OR HAVE ANY QUESTIONS!!

I AM AVAILABLE ALMOST EVERY WEEKDAY AND CHECK MY EMAIL REGULARLY.

SHIPPING AND PAYMENT INFORMATION:

Shipping in the continental United States $15.00

Any other destination $25.00

ANY EXPEDITED OR OVERNIGHT POSTAGE IS THE CUSTOMERS RESPONSIBILITY

Paypal is gladly accepted, and if payment is received before 2:30 ET, all efforts will be made to ship the item on the same day. Personal checks (in US currency) will also be accepted, though there will be a 10 business days wait before the item is shipped. Money orders are accepted in US currency, and the item will be shipped the day the money order is received. Visa and MasterCard are also accepted in house, if you wish to call directly with the information, (email me for the phone number) and the item will be shipped the same day, if possible.

IF THIS IS A GIFT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!
I AM HAPPY TO PROVIDE GIFT CARDS, WRAPPING, EXPEDITED SHIPPING AND SHIP TO RECIPIENT SERVICES!!
Please email me for further details!

RETURNS

Returns are accepted if the customer determines that the item sold is not what was described. I do my best to indicate any damage or repairs or abnormalities in any item, and do my best to determine the origin of works when available. The customer must contact me within three days of receiving the item to discuss the problem to receive a refund.