Inventory of the Tess Johnston papers

Finding aid prepared by The Hoover Institution Library and Archives staff
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2015, 2016
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu


Title: Tess Johnston papers
Date (inclusive): 1929-2014
Collection Number: 2015C32
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 32 manuscript boxes, 14 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder (17.9 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, writings, printed matter, and photographs relating to Western communities and architecture in Shanghai and elsewhere in China. Mainly collected research material for publications by Tess Johnston.
Creator: Johnston, Tess
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Access

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Use

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Acquisition Information

Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2015.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Tess Johnston papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Biographical Note

American writer and former Foreign Service Officer.

Chronology

1953 Joined the foreign service as an office secretary and was promoted to secretary to the consulate general in Dusseldorf, Germany
1949 Graduated from Harrisonburg High School in Charlottesville, Viriginia
1958-1967 Received Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in German from the University of Virginia
1978 Transferred to New Delhi, India
1967 Joined the Agency for International Development in Vietnam
1986 Named Foreign Service Secretary of the Year for her work coordinating the visit of President Ronald Reagan to Shanghai
1986-1989 Acted as secretary to the administrative counselor at the United States Embassy in Paris, France
1989 Second tour of duty in Shanghai
1996 Retired from the American Foreign Service
1993 Co-founded Old China Hand Press with Er Dongqiang (also known as Deke Ehr)
1981-1986 First tour of duty in Shanghai
1994 Published Near to Heaven : Western Architecture in China's Old Summer Resorts with Dongqiang Er
1993 Published A Last Look : Western Architecture in Old China with Dongqiang Er
1996 Published Far From Home : Western Architecture in China's Northern Treaty Ports with Dongqiang Er
1996 Published God And Country : Western Religious Architecture in Old China with Dongqiang Er
2000 Published Frenchtown Shanghai : Western Architecture in Shanghai's Old French Concession with Dongqiang Er
1997 Published Welcome to Shanghai : A Guide for New Expatriate Residents To Help Them Make The Most of Their Shanghai Experience and The Last Colonies : Western Architecture in China's Southern Treaty Ports with Dongqiang Er
1962-1967 Taught at the University of Virginia and at the College of William and Mary in Virginia
1975 Rejoined Foreign Service, assigned to Consulate General in Frankfurt, Germany
1976 Transferred to Embassy in East Berlin, Germany

Scope and Content of Collection

The Jess Johnston papers contain correspondence, writings, printed matter, and photographs relating to Western communities and architecture in Shanghai and elsewhere in China, mainly collected as research material for publications by Johnston.
The Personal Materials primarily contains correspondence and articles regarding Johnston's writings and research materials, including inquiries regarding various topics, as well as press and promotional materials for Johnston's various writings. The Shanghai History File includes books, articles, newsletters, clippings, expatriate association membership directories, printed matter, and various publications from the Old China Hand Press. Of note are the various memoirs written by family members detailing their experiences living as expatriates in China. The Photographs includes photographs of architecture and buildings taken by Johnston in various cities around China in preparation for her books regarding European architecture in China.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Architecture -- China
Europeans -- China
China -- History
Shanghai (China) -- History

 

Personal Materials 1930-2010

Scope and Contents note

Correspondence and biographical materials.
box 1

Correspondence 1986-2010

box 2

Correspondence 1986-2010 (contd.)

box 3, folder 1

Case audit files 1930

box 3, folder 2-5

Membership directories and name lists 1995-1999

box 3, folder 6-7

Clippings, book reviews and articles 1994-2000

box 3, folder 8

Press and promotional materials 2009-2010

box 4, folder 1-3

Press and promotional materials 1995-2005

box 4, folder 4

Faxes and articles written by Tess Johnston 1997-1999

box 4, folder 5

"President Bill Clinton's Visit" 1998

box 4, folder 6

Articles written by and regarding Tess Johnston 1994-2001

box 4, folder 7

Shanghai Art Deco manuscript undated

 

Shanghai History File 1929-2012

Scope and Contents note

Maps, books, newspapers, manuscripts, memoirs, bank records, and correspondence regarding expatriate history in Shanghai.
box 4, folder 8

Photocopies of street maps, sections 1-118 undated

box 5

Two bound volumes of the North-China Herald 1929-1931

box 6

Two bound volumes of the North-China Herald 1932-1933

box 7

Two bound volumes of the North-China Herald 1933-1934

box 8

Two bound volumes of the North-China Herald April-September 1934

box 9

Photocopy of 1947 Shanghai Street Directory circa 1990s

box 10, folder 1

Cosmopolitan Club of Wuhan bylaws undated

box 10, folder 2

Reprints on China: An annotated Catalog of Western language Reprints on China circa 1990s

box 10, folder 3

Map of the Western Hills : Including a detailed description of the spots of interest and of the roads leading to same 1935

box 10, folder 4

Travelers' Guide : Kiaochow-Tsinan Railway 1931

box 10, folder 5

City Guides and Descriptions of Theater Historian circa 1920s

box 10, folder 6

The China Magazine November - December 1946

box 10, folder 7-9

Three books in Chinese 1973-1977

box 11, folder 1

Two books in Chinese 1990

box 11, folder 2

Directory of the China-America Council of Commerce and Industry 1946

box 11, folder 3

The China Weekly Review 1931

box 11, folder 4

The China Critic 1931

box 11, folder 5

"Consular List" 1956

box 11, folder 6

"Cultural Cautions for U.S. Personnel Going to Southeast Asia" by John F. Embree 1950

box 11, folder 7

"Psychological Aspects of Foreign Aid and Development Programs" 1949

box 11, folder 8

"The Concept of Pao as a Basis for Social Relations in China" by Lien-Sheng Yang undated

box 11, folder 9

"The Administration of Foreign Affairs" by Arthur W. Macmahon 1951

box 11, folder 10

"Destination Shanghai: Refuge for Stateless Jews" 1996

box 11, folder 11

Copy of "The Chinese Jews" by Oliver Baimbridge undated

Scope and Contents note

Photocopy from the National Geographic Magazine Volume XVIII, Number 10
box 11, folder 12

Needham Research Institute newsletter 2012

box 11, folder 13

Betwixt and Between by Margaret Sun circa 1990s-2000s

box 12, folder 1

Shanghai maps undated

box 12, folder 2

The Shanghai Links Executive Community correspondence 1998

box 12, folder 3

"Waiting for the Glue Pot" by Kenneth R Peacock 2011

box 12, folder 4-7

Copy of dissertation by Eduard Kögel titled "Zwei Poelzigschüler in der Emigration: Rudolf Hamburger und Richard Paulick zwischen Shanghai und Ost-Berlin" 2007

Scope and Contents note

Materials in German
box 12, folder 8

Photographs undated

box 12, folder 9

"History of Wuhu Hospital" by Elsie Hayes Landstrom 1995

box 12, folder 10

Photocopy of East Asian History journal 1990

box 12, folder 11

Copies of photos labeled "Angulo Pictures (social society)" undated

box 13, folder 1-4

The China Connection newsletter, issues 3-58 1994-2001

box 13, folder 5-6

China Gunboatman newsletter 1991-2001

box 13, folder 8

Articles, bibliographies, and lists regarding Shanghai history 1993-1998

box 13, folder 9

Photocopies of photo album of Mukden and Harbin Treaty Ports undated

box 13, folder 10

Consular General staff list and address list 1998

box 13, folder 11

Sasa News newsletter 1993-1999

box 14, folder 1

Information regarding missions in China 2002

box 14, folder 3-11

Bank records 1934-1941

box 15, folder 1-8

Bank records 1934-1941

box 16, folder 1-2

Bank records 1939

box 16, folder 3

Street sections with old names undated

box 16, folder 4

Rui Jin Guest House pamphlet circa 2000s

box 16, folder 5

Pamphlets undated

box 16, folder 7

Reproductions of maps of Shanghai circa 2000s

box 16, folder 8

Various magazines, including Shanghai Pictorial, one copy of Eastern Air, and one copy of China Review. 1992-1997

box 16, folder 9

Kuliang Materials from Joan Jackson undated

box 16, folder 11

Book manuscript with Malcolm Rasholt undated

box 17, folder 1-4

Book manuscript with photographs by Malcolm Rosholt undated

box 20, folder 3-4

Various expatriate association membership directories 1994-2008

box 20, folder 5

Correspondence with Reginald C. L. Van and photocopy of China Doctor by Raymond S. Moore 1998

box 20, folder 6

American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai Membership Directory 2014

box 20, folder 7

American Women's Club of Shanghai Directory 1998-2001

box 21, folder 1-2

Far From Home: Western Architecture in China's Northern Treaty Ports manuscript by Tess Johnston and Deke Erh undated

box 21, folder 3

StuDeO Studienwerk Deutsches Leben in Ostasien e.V. 2000-2014

Scope and Contents note

Materials in German.
box 21, folder 4

Clipping from the Shanghai Star 1994

box 21, folder 5

Sheet music undated

box 21, folder 6

Shanghai Library's English-language holdings undated

box 21, folder 7

Newsletter in Russian from the Association of Former Residents of China 2014

box 21, folder 8

Old China Hands Reunion 2000

box 21, folder 9

Book agreement and travel itinerary 1992-1994

box 21, folder 10

Various newsletters 2002

box 21, folder 11

Pamphlets undated

box 21, folder 12

Copy of China Daily newspaper 13 September 1991

box 21, folder 13

Embassy Court apartments materials undated

box 21, folder 14

Various materials regarding Shanghai architecture 2002

box 22, folder 1

Expo 2010 Shanghai China 2010

box 22, folder 3-6

American Women's Club of Shanghai Directories 2001-2013

box 22, folder 7

Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts 1996

box 22, folder 8

The Old China Hand Gazette 1995-2004

box 22, folder 9

Expatriate organizations membership directories 1988-2006

box 22, folder 10

Tips for Consular Personnel Living in Shanghai undated

box 22, folder 11

Asia and the Pacific, McBlain books catalog 138 Circa 1990s

box 23

Various printed matter, including, History of Relations Between China and United States, Chinese Women's Club of Shanghai Annual Benefit Ball, The American Chamber of Commerce Bulletin, and Chinese Cities: a Geographical Reader 1928-1936

box 24

One bound volume of Finance and Commerce 1941

box 25

Includes four maps of Shanghai, photocopy of book in Chinese, manuscript of book titled Frenchtown Shanghai: Western Architecture in Shanghai's Old French Concession, Shanghai Talk newspaper, City documents from Harbin with translations from Russian Circa 1990s

Scope and Contents note

Materials in Russian, and Chinese
box 26

Chinese Weekly Review 1948

box 27

Black photo album undated

box 28, folder 1-42

Photographs from balck photo album 1928-1934

box 28, folder 43

Two newspaper clippings from black photo album undated

 

Correspondence 1937-2001

box 13, folder 7

Correspondence from Joan Munday 1987-2001

box 14, folder 2

Correspondence from Jacqueline "Jackie" Tanner 1998

box 16, folder 6

Various emails 1992-2001

box 16, folder 10

Correspondence and clippings regarding Rosholt 1937-1997

box 22, folder 2

Shanghai postcards undated

 

Memoirs 1998-2011

Scope and Contents note

Published and unpublished memoirs of expatriates in China.
box 17, folder 5

Materials regarding Daisy Kwok Circa 1990s

box 17, folder 6-7

Only Trees Need Roots? by J.H. Jessen undated

box 18, folder 1

Only Trees Need Roots? by J.H. Jessen undated

box 18, folder 2

"Rambling Rose: The Life of Wilfred John Hubert Twilley" undated

box 18, folder 3

Charles Campbell memoir 1998

box 18, folder 4-5

"The Life and Times of Oliver Cary Lockhart" undated

box 18, folder 6

China Doctor: the Life Story of Harry Willis Miller by Raymond S. Moore 1998

box 18, folder 7

"The Celestial City" undated

box 18, folder 8

"The China Letters" undated

box 19, folder 1-2

"Betwixt and Between" by Margaret Sun undated

box 19, folder 3

"Selling Souls in Sin City: Shanghai Singing and Dancing Girls in Print, Film, and Politics, 1920-1949" by Andrew D. Field undated

box 19, folder 4

Interview with Joyce Mayne 1999

box 19, folder 5-6

Growing Up In Shanghai by Wolfgang Troeger undated

box 19, folder 7

"Highlights of a Life" by Mary Malcolm-Kluge undated

box 19, folder 8

John R. Rawlinson correspondence 2002

box 19, folder 9

Photocopies from Margaret Sun's book undated

box 19, folder 10

Memoir regarding Cuba by Liliane Willens 2003

box 19, folder 11

"Russian Prostitution in Shanghai, 1920-1949" by Marcia R. Ristaino and various articles 1998

box 20, folder 1-2

One Hard Boiled Egg! The Stories of Walter Palmer by Mike Palmer, manuscript and correspondence with author 2011

 

Photographs 1990s

Scope and Contents note

Photographs of buildings from albums labeled "Former Treaty Ports."
box 29, folder 1-8

Anhui Circa 1990s

box 29, folder 9-19

Dalian undated

box 29, folder 20-31

Harbin Circa 1990s

box 30, folder 1-3

Harbin undated

box 30, folder 4-5

Ningbo undated

box 30, folder 6-17

Tianjin Circa 1990s

box 30, folder 18-26

Qingdao Circa 1990s

box 30, folder 27-30

Wuhan undated

box 31, folder 1-11

Wuhan undated

box 31, folder 12-27

Xiamen undated

drawer I03

Contains one copy of The Leader newspaper dated 1929 August 2, one map titled "Nanking-Shanghai and Shanghai-Hongchow-Ningpo Railways", and two newspaper clippings from Black Photo Album 1929-1932

 

Digital Media undated

Scope and Contents note

Includes a hard drive and CDs. Remainder of collection not yet described.
box 32

Material not yet described

box 33

Material not yet described

box 34

Material not yet described

box 35

Material not yet described

box 36

Material not yet described

box 37

Material not yet described

box 38

Material not yet described

box 39

Material not yet described

box 40

Material not yet described

box 41

Material not yet described

box 42

Material not yet described

box 43

Material not yet described

box 44

Material not yet described

box 45

Material not yet described

box 46

Material not yet described