Tsingtau 1898-1903, 1898-1903

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Summary

Creators:
Behme, Friedrich
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).
Extent:
1 album(s) (90 photographic prints)
Language:
Collection material is in German.
Preferred citation:

Tsingtau, 1898-1903, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 2002.R.37

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2002r37

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:
Acquired in 2002.
Processing information:

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.

Arrangement:

In original order, arranged in a single series: Series I. Tsingtau, 1898-1903.

Physical location:
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Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers.

Terms of access:

Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.

Preferred citation:

Tsingtau, 1898-1903, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 2002.R.37

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2002r37

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
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