Descriptive Summary
Biographical/Historical Note
Administrative Information
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Tsingtau 1898-1903
Date (inclusive): 1898-1903
Number: 2002.R.37
Creator/Collector:
Behme, Friedrich
Physical Description:
1 album(s)
(90 photographic prints)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The album compiled by Friedrich Behme
contains 90 photographs that record the development of the German colony in the port city of
Tsingtao (Qingdao).
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Language: Collection material is in German
Biographical/Historical Note
Friedrich Behme was a German lawyer appointed to the civil court in Qingdao. He was the
author of numerous books including the guidebook
Führer durch
Tsingtau und Umgebung
(1897-1900).
Located on the south coast of the Shantung Peninsula at the eastern entrance to Jiaozhou
Bay, Qingdao, once a small fishing village, occupied a strategic naval position in the
Yellow Sea by the late-nineteenth century. Following the murder of two German missionaries,
the Germans occupied Qingdao in 1897, and by 1898 had forced the Chinese government to
concede them a 99-year lease on Jiaozhou Bay and the surrounding territory. Qingdao was
declared a free port in 1899, and a branch of the Imperial Maritime Customs was established
there to increase control over the region's extensive coastal trade. Germany controlled the
region until 1914 when Japan declared war on Germany and captured the port.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Tsingtau, 1898-1903, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no.
2002.R.37
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2002r37
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 2002.
Processing History
Processed and cataloged by Beth Ann Guynn. The finding aid was encoded by Holly Larson with
grant funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). Guynn updated
the finding aid in 2021.
Scope and Content of Collection
This album of 90 collodion prints compiled bwtween 1898 and 1903 records the development of
the German colony in the port city of Qingdao (Tsingtao) on the northeast coast of China. It
begins with five panoramic views of the city, with colonial landmarks identified on the
mounts. The many views of streets and individual buildings that follow portray a
Western-style city under construction. All aspects of the German colony are represented:
civil and government buildings, businesses and banks, hotels, schools, and German-founded
industries and railroads. There are views of the port, marineworks, and military
installations. A sense of newness is conveyed throughout these images which show clean, but
unpaved streets and newly erected buildings yet to be landscaped. Several views of buildings
under construction include neat piles of bricks and other building materials. There are two
images of Chinese construction workers.
In addition to city views, several photographs commemorate individuals important in the
history of the German colony. These include a view of the Diedrichstein monument erected in
honor of Admiral von Diedrichs, who secured Jiaozhou Bay (Kiaochou Bay) and Qingdao for the
Germans in 1897, and one of the monument to Paul Jaeschke, the governor-general of Qingdao
from 1899-1901. There is one photograph of Graf Waldersee, who was sent to China in 1901 to
coordinate the foreign resistance to the Boxer Rebellion, with a group of officials. Also
included are one studio portrait of Chinese street vendors and a few views of Chinese
buildings. The album is accompanied by one modern copy photograph of a Chinese man and his
two wives (image attributed to Behme), and a notecard and envelope on Kaiserliches
Gouvernement, Tsingtau letterhead, addressed to Countess Lonsdale from Mrs. Truppel and
dated 1903 April 25.
Title from title page. Some photographs maybe earlier than the date given on the title
page. German captions are written on the mounts; 31 photographs have German captions in the
negative. Titles of the individual photographs are derived from the captions as noted.
Arrangement
In original order.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Topics
Jaeschke, Paul -- Monuments.
Diederichs, Otto von, 1843-1918 -- Monuments
Indigenous peoples -- China
Architecture, Colonial -- China
Waldersee, Alfred, Graf von, 1832-1904
Subjects - Places
Qingdao (China) -- Description and travel
Qingdao (China) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
China -- Colonization
Jiaozhou Bay (China) -- Description and travel
Germany -- Colonies
China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
China -- Description and travel
Genres and Forms of Material
Gelatin silver prints -- China -- 20th century
Collodion prints -- China -- 19th century
Contributors
Behme, Friedrich