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Views from the Iltis in China
2003.R.2
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Views from the Iltis in China
Identifier/Call Number: 2003.R.2
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear Feet
(154 photographs in 1 album)
Date: 1919
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Abstract: An album of 154 collodion and gelatin silver photographs compiled by an unidentified German sailor from photographs collected
during his tour of duty aboard the German gunboat
Iltis. The focus of the album is the German naval presence in China, documenting the
Iltis and its crew in particular, but also including views of other German and foreign naval vessels. It also presents a picture
of Chinese culture during the last days of the Qing dynasty, the revolution of 1911, and the birth of the Chinese Republic,
and documents both domestic struggle and foreign intervention as well as scenes of daily life.
Language of Material: Collection material is in German with some English.
Contact
Library Reproductions and Permissions .
Views from the
Iltis in China, 1919, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2003.R.2.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2003r2
Scope and Content of Collection
The album of 154 collodion and gelatin silver photographs was compiled by an unidentified German sailor from photographs collected
during his tour of duty aboard the German gunboat
Iltis. Its focus is the German naval presence in China, documenting the
Iltis and its crew in particular, but also including views of other German and foreign naval vessels. One photograph depicts the
crew of the
Iltis gathered around a replica of the Prussian Pour le Mérite cross awarded the boat by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1903 for its role
in the Taku Forts rebellion. Another photograph shows the Kaiser boarding the SMS
Carmen. The daily life of the crew is depicted in scenes such as the mess line and sailors gathered around a Chinese vendor selling
souvenirs aboard ship. Also included are two views of the
Iltis Denkmal, the monument commemorating the crew of the first gunboat named
Iltis Denkmal, which was hit by a typhoon off the Shandong coast in 1896.
In addition to recording the German naval presence in China, the album also presents a picture of Chinese culture during the
last days of the Qing dynasty, the revolution of 1911, and the birth of the Chinese Republic. It documents both domestic struggle
and foreign intervention and includes views of burnt cities, battle scenes, and military encampments. Featured are aspects
of war such as the transport of the wounded, burial of the dead, prisoners of war, and executions. Also included are views
of cities and architectural landmarks, urban and rural life, and portraits of local inhabitants. Locations depicted include
Hankow (Hankou), Tsingtao (Qingdao) and Kiaochow Bay (Jiaozhou Bay) Amoy (Xiamen), Shanghai, Nanking (Nanjing), and Foochow
(Fuzhou).
Sprinkled throughout the album are readily available touristic studio photographs corresponding to the ports of call that
the
Iltis stopped at en route to Tsingtao, including Gibraltar, Naples, Colombo (Ceylon), Port Said and the Suez Canal, and Singapore.
One photograph of a crocodile "hunt" in Egypt is by Zangaki. A sailor reporting to the
Iltis for duty at a later date, such as the compiler of the album perhaps, would have also stopped at these ports on his voyage
to China.
A smudged ink inscription on the upper binding of the back flyleaf recto may provide the name of the compiler of the album
and the date: A. Steffenson 1919.
Lacquered wood covers are glued over a leather album; the leather spine is exposed. Depicted on the front cover is a river
scene in gold, red, and white with figures in an open boat poling past a paifang in the foreground; buildings and mountains
are shown in the distance. Tree branches frame the scene which is enclosed by a silver fretwork border with a chrysanthemum
topping each corner.
Captions are written on the mounts in German. Unless otherwise noted these captions have been used for the titles of the individual
photographs.
Arranged in a single series:
Series I. Views from the
Iltis, 1919.
The SMS
Iltis (Polecat) was one of several Iltis-class small and lightly armed gunboats that the Germans operated in Chinese waters in
the early years of the twentieth century as part of Germany's East Asia Squadron. The
Iltis was launched on August 4, 1898 at the Schichau shipyards in Danzig (Gdańsk) and put into service on December 1 of that year.
She left Kiel on February 6, 1899 and never returned to Germany. Her first stop was Falmouth and thence to the Bay of Biscay
where she towed the English steamer
Port Darwin, to La Coruña, Portugal. She then sailed through the Mediterranean via Gibraltar to Port Said, through the Suez Canal, and
on via Aden to Colombo (Ceylon), stopping at Penang, and the island of Pulau Langkawi in Malaysia and in Singapore, before
reaching Tsingtau on May 18, 1899.
Along with the
Iltis, several other gunboats of its class - the
Tiger,
Jaguar, and
Luchs, were all stationed in Tsingtao (Quingdao). During the 1914 siege of Tsingtao (27 August-7 November) in which the German-occupied
port was attacked by unified Japanese and British forces, the
Iltis, along with the cruiser,
Cormoran, and the
Luchs, another gunboat, became trapped in the harbor. On September 28 all three vessels were burned and scuttled, as were the
Tiger,
Jaguar, and
Luchs.
The album was digitized by the repository and the images are available online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/2003r2
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired in 2003.
The collection was processed and cataloged by Beth Ann Guynn in 2003. She wrote the finding aid in 2021.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Collodion prints -- China -- 20th century
Photographs, Original.
Gelatin silver prints -- China -- 20th century
Clothing and dress -- China
Executions and executioners -- China
China -- Description and travel
Photograph albums -- China -- 20th century
Gunboats
Sailors -- Germany
China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
China -- History -- Republic, 1912-1949
China -- History -- Revolution, 1911-1912
Fuzhou Fu (Fujian Sheng, China) -- Description and travel
Hankou (Wuhan, China) -- Description and travel
Jiaozhou Bay (China) -- Description and travel
Nanjing (Jiangsu Sheng, China) -- Description and travel
Qingdao (China) -- Description and travel
Shanghai (China) -- Description and travel
Xiamen (Xiamen Shi, China) -- Description and travel
Orden Pour le Mérite
William, German Emperor, II, 1859-1941
Germany. Kriegesmarine. Kreuzergeschwade
Steffenson, A.