Ellen Catleen (Thorbeck), Peking Studies, 1934 with Schiff

A first edition of Ellen Catleen’s Peking Studies (Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1934, 87 pages). Originally from Berlin Catleen, later better known as Ellen Thorbecke, nee Kolban (1902-1973) was the wife of the Dutch ambassador to China, W.J.R. (Willem) Thorbecke. Catleen was her first married name,. This publication is a lovely collaboration between the Dutch photographer and the Austrian illustrator FH Schiff (including on the cover) showing various aspects of everyday life in Peking in the 1930s. Thorbecke took the photos with her Rolleiflex camera. Schiff (1908-1968) was born in Austria and came to China in 1930 where he worked as caricaturist for several newspapers and illustrated book.