A fascinating pictorial map of Beijing

DORN, Frank.

A Map and History of Peiping; formerly known as Peking; capital of provinces, princedoms and kingdoms since 1121 B.C.; in 1264 A.D. the capital of the Mongol Empire of Kublai Khan; made the capital of the Ming Empire through the Ming and Ching Dynasties; and now a city which will live long in the memory of man as one of the greatest the world has ever known.
Beijing: Peiyang Press, 1936. Colour-printed wood-engraving. Sheet 860 x 755mm.

Original folds reinforced on verso, laid on fine canvas.

Very interesting pictorial map of Beijing, drawn by an American officer who was a military attaché in China during the 1930s and published the year before the official start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It features vignettes of Chinese history from 1100 BC to 1927 as well as modern tourist attractions including golf and race courses.
This is an early state: the flag of the German legation is the short-lived national flag used 1933-5 (black/white/red horizontal stripes), replaced by the Nazi flag with the swastika on most examples of this map.
Frank Dorn (1901-81) was a graduate of West Point (where he picked up the life-long nickname of 'Pinky'), before being posted to Beijing in 1934 to help gather intelligence on Japanese aggression. He immersed himself in the language and culture of the city, researching the Forbidden City and collecting antiquities. When war with Japan broke out Dorn became chief-of-staff to L.t General Joseph Stilwell, with a rank of Colonel. At one point relations between the Americans and the leader of the Chinese Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek, were so bad that Dorn was ordered to prepare a plan to assassinate him. Although Dorn suggested giving Chiang a faulty parachute and sabotaging his plane authorisation was never given.
After his retirement as Brigadier General in 1953 Dorn wrote a number of books including 'The Sino-Japanese War, 1937-41', 1974.

BAGBY: The Eagle-Dragon Alliance, 1992.
Stock ID : 17878