Shanghai of Today

Shanghai of Today

Shanghai of Today: A Souvenir Album of Fifty Vandyck Prints of “The Model Settlement” (1928) (Second Edition – Enlarged), Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, Limited.

The album contains 50 plates, each on an individual leaf with a decorative border and a caption on the opposite leaf. The original photographs were probably taken in 1927 but are all definitely late 1920s. There is also an eight-page introduction by O. M. Green, the editor of the North China Daily News, which had offices on the Bund (See Plate 9). This particular album is from the library of Arthur Hacker, the Hong Kong author, artist, historian and collector.

The municipal seal of the Shanghai International Settlement is on the inside covers and title page. It has a Latin motto, “Omnia Juncta In Uno” (All Joined in One), with 12 national flags:

  • top left: Great Britain, United States, France, Germany;
  • top right: Russia, Denmark, Italy, Portugal; and
  • bottom: Norway and Sweden, Austria, Spain, Netherlands.
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