大満州国写真帖. [Dai Manshūkoku shashinchō]. Manchoukuo Seen through the Camera

Dalian: 東京堂. [Tōkyōdō].. Showa 9 [1934]. Profuse black and white photographic illustrations captioned in Japanese and English, [32]pp,16 x 23.2cm, original wrappers with pictorial upper cover, occasional light spotting and marking, ribbon tie torn with loss but still holding, a good copy. Published in 1934, this collection of photos takes the reader on a journey through Manchukuo, from the port of Dairen (Dalian), the main entry point for most Japanese visitors, to the remoter regions of Jehol and Mongolia. The photographs are accompanied by brief titles in English and slightly more detailed descriptions in Japanese.

The black-and-white photographic illustrations are quite small, but varied and interesting in content. They include images of official buildings and historic monuments, but also of street scenes and everyday life. The illustrations of the port of Dairen includes photos of "Chinese coolies carrying soya bean cakes", and of the massive area of soy bean storage on the docks. The photos of Hsinking (Shinkyo - now the city of Chanchung) are of interest because they show the new government buildings rising from an almost empty landscape, as the new capital of the client state of Manchukuo was constructed. The collection also shows the bridge over the Yalu River, rafts of logs on the Sungari River and a train of camels in northern Manchuria. The photos of the city of Harbin present a curious contrast between glamorous images of Russian women (including one of a Russian dancer in a diaphanous outfit) alongside a picture of police rather menacingly confronting a Russian man in the street. The final pages include photos of the Great Wall and of Mongolian herders and their yurts. .