Genthe's Photographs of San Francisco's Old Chinatown

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, Photography, Pictorials, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Genthe's Photographs of San Francisco's Old Chinatown by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe, Dover Publications
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe ISBN: 9780486140698
Publisher: Dover Publications Publication: January 17, 2013
Imprint: Dover Publications Language: English
Author: John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
ISBN: 9780486140698
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication: January 17, 2013
Imprint: Dover Publications
Language: English

In 1895, a cultured, well-educated young German named Arnold Genthe arrived in San Francisco as a tutor to the son of an aristocratic family. Almost immediately, Genthe was attracted by Chinatown, or "Tangrenbu" — a teeming ten-block area of crowded buildings, narrow streets, and exotic sights and sounds in the shadow of Nob Hill.
Fascinated by a living culture totally foreign to his experience, Genthe began to photograph Tangrenbu and its inhabitants. Today, these photographs (over 200 are known to exist) are the best visual documentary record of Chinatown at the turn of the century, offering priceless glimpses of the rich street life of the district before it was leveled by the great earthquake and fire of 1906.
Rediscover the lost world of old Chinatown in serene and enduring images of cobbled streets and bustling shops, street vendors and merchants, fish and vegetable markets, Devil's Kitchen, the Street of the Gamblers, Portsmouth Square and more. But most of all, enjoy distinctive candid portraits of the people of old Chinatown: a pipe-bowl member, a paper gatherer, itinerant peddlers, toy merchants, boys playing shuttlecock, a fortune-teller, a sword dancer, women and children in ornate holiday finery, an aged opium smoker and many other unaffected and revealing images.
Rich in detail and atmosphere, the photographs are complemented by historian John Tchen's informative and well-researched text, which outlines the turbulent history of Chinese-Americans in California, dispels numerous myths about Chinatown and its residents, and illuminates the role of Genthe's photographs in capturing the subtle flavor and texture of everyday life in the district before 1906.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In 1895, a cultured, well-educated young German named Arnold Genthe arrived in San Francisco as a tutor to the son of an aristocratic family. Almost immediately, Genthe was attracted by Chinatown, or "Tangrenbu" — a teeming ten-block area of crowded buildings, narrow streets, and exotic sights and sounds in the shadow of Nob Hill.
Fascinated by a living culture totally foreign to his experience, Genthe began to photograph Tangrenbu and its inhabitants. Today, these photographs (over 200 are known to exist) are the best visual documentary record of Chinatown at the turn of the century, offering priceless glimpses of the rich street life of the district before it was leveled by the great earthquake and fire of 1906.
Rediscover the lost world of old Chinatown in serene and enduring images of cobbled streets and bustling shops, street vendors and merchants, fish and vegetable markets, Devil's Kitchen, the Street of the Gamblers, Portsmouth Square and more. But most of all, enjoy distinctive candid portraits of the people of old Chinatown: a pipe-bowl member, a paper gatherer, itinerant peddlers, toy merchants, boys playing shuttlecock, a fortune-teller, a sword dancer, women and children in ornate holiday finery, an aged opium smoker and many other unaffected and revealing images.
Rich in detail and atmosphere, the photographs are complemented by historian John Tchen's informative and well-researched text, which outlines the turbulent history of Chinese-Americans in California, dispels numerous myths about Chinatown and its residents, and illuminates the role of Genthe's photographs in capturing the subtle flavor and texture of everyday life in the district before 1906.

More books from Dover Publications

Cover of the book The Way of a Pilgrim by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Viscous Hypersonic Flow by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Just So Stories by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Mathematical Logic by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book The Skeleton Key of Mathematics by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Etudes, Children's Corner, Images Book II by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book African Folk Tales by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Letarouilly on Renaissance Rome by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book On the Principles and Development of the Calculator and Other Seminal Writings by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Los Caprichos by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Jewish Holiday Origami by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Canon of the Five Orders of Architecture by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Demian by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
Cover of the book Strength of Materials by John Kuo Wei Tchen, Arnold Genthe
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy