[Rarebooks] For Sale: Siam & Southeast Asia--5 photo albums

[Bob Petrilla]

Siam & Southeast Asia. ARCHIVE OF FIVE (5) PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS WITH 438
VERNACULAR PHOTOS BY PERCY WILLIAM MAY: SIAM, MALAYSIA, INDONESIA &
SINGAPORE, 1910-1921. Original photograph albums. The five cloth photograph
albums measure approx. 9 ¾” x 11 ¼”, and each contains ten leaves of heavy
stock, with four spaces for photos on both sides. The photographs measure
approx. 3” x 4” and are mounted neatly behind the window mounts. Pasted to
the inside front cover of each album is a detailed typed/mimeographed
description of each photo, most noting the date when taken. These
descriptions were prepared by Mr. May’s wife, Emma Amelia (nee Burgess),
who also added her manuscript additions to most sheets, written in a tiny
hand. The edges of several of the album covers show mottling, but the
photographs are in very good to fine condition, apart from some mild
age-toning on some of them.
May represented the photographic-paper trade for a British company in Siam.
His regular business circuit from 1910-1921 includes time in Siam,
Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, with most of these photographs taken in
Bangkok, Batavia, Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Medan, plus additional
views made at less well-known locations, e.g. Soerbaia, Semarang, Garoet,
etc. The photos of Siam in particular illustrate an important period in
that country’s history. They begin during the final days of the rule of the
modernizing, Western-educated (by Anna Leonowens) King Chulalongkorn and
continue into the rule of his son Rama VI. Although in 1917 Siam declared
war on Germany and Austro-Hungary and played a token role in WWI—enough to
earn a place at the Versailles Peace Conference--this continued to be a
time of modernization and relative prosperity in the country. The
photographs, for example, depict the “new railway” from Bangkok to Penang
as well as the new railway station (Album 4) and the bustling Wat Poh Fair
which took place in Bangkok April 3-7, 1919 (which occupies 43 photos in
Album 4). Other noteworthy events include the elaborate cremation of King
Chulalongkorn (March 16-19, 1911) and a few shots of Bangkok’s first
aviation show (both in Album 1).~~ In addition to the striking vistas of
beaches, jungles, waterways, and natural wonders including volcanoes, the
albums also contain many scenes of street- and canal-life as well as views
of prominent buildings of the day (e.g., temples in various countries, the
Mosque at Medan-Deli in Sumatra, Bangkok’s Old Russian Legation building
and its tennis courts, the “mess hall” at Hong Kong Bank Lane, etc. There
are also many interior and exterior shots of the hotels in the countries
where Percy & Emma regularly stayed, including the Raffles Hotel (Penang),
Oriental Hotel (Bangkok), Empire Hotel (Kuala Lumpur), Grand Hotel (Ipoh),
the Grand Hotel at Djocjakarta, and the Hotel der Nederlanden (Batavia). A
number of shots include other Europeans as well as the Mays, most of them
apparently fellow-employees. The final album has scenes on the ocean-voyage
home (Colombo, the Suez Canal, etc.), and scenes “back home” in England,
including London and views in rural Devon. ~~ Album #1: 10 leaves (20
pages) 80 photographs + small envelope containing 8 more, labeled on verso.
September, 1910-November, 1911. Includes stays in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur,
Port Swettenham—now Port Klang--, Ipoh, Penang), Sept-Oct. 1910 and
July-August, 1911; Siam (Bangkok), October 1910-June, 1911; Singapore, June
1911; and Indonesia (Medan in Sumatra, Batavia in Java), August-Sept.,
1911; also a few in envelope, taken near Bangkok, Nov.-Dec., 1911. The most
noteworthy events recorded in this album are the cremation of King
Chulalongkorn of Siam at “Premaine Ground” in Bangkok (March 16-19, 1911),
including 5 crowd scenes and 6 shots “taken after the Cremation and before
start of demolition of building erected for the Cremation”; a celebration
in Singapore of the Coronation of King George V of England (June, 1911);
the celebration of Queen Wilhelmina (of the Netherlands)’s birthday (Aug.,
1911) in Medan, Sumatra; and 2 photos of “Bangkok’s first aviation show” at
the Sports Club in Bangkok (Jan., 1911), featuring a “Farman Biplane”.
There are also several candids of the photographer’s friends and
fellow-employees, photographed “at the mess” at Hong Kong Bank Lane,
Bangkok, including “Mr. and Mrs. King, Lonsdale, Davy, Hertzka, Pagden and
self”. Also here are several Bangkok street scenes of buildings and canals
with boatmen, taken “outside” the same “mess” hall.  In addition to views
taken from shipboard and jungle scenes, there are interior and exterior
photos of hotels where the Mays stayed, including the Raffles Hotel
(Penang), Empire Hotel (Kuala Lumpur), Grand Hotel (Ipoh), Hotel Beau
Sejour in Lembang; the Hotel Villa Dolce and its grounds in Garoet, Hotel
Beau Sejour in Lembang, the Oranje Hotel at Soerbaia, and the Hotel der
Nederlanden (Batavia). ~~ Album #2: 74 photographs,
Spring 1914 to early 1915. Includes stays in Siam (Bangkok), spring 1914
and “end 1914-early 1915”; Malaysia (Penang, May-June, 1914, and Kuala
Lumpur and Ipoh, Sept. 1914); Indonesia (Batavia, Buitenzorg, Soekaboemi,
Soerkarta, Boroboedoer, and Tosari with Tengger Village (June-July, 1914);
and Singapore (Oct. 1914). Included are views of: Penang’s St. George
Church, Ayer Etam Temple, Post Office, Council Chamber, and Javasche Bank;
the Chenderiang Falls in Kuala Lumpur, including shots with a group of
European men and women; Batavia’s Hotel des Indes and Dutch Protestant
Church; Botanical Garden scenes at Buitenzorg, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore;
views of Javanese towns with rice field, temple, mountains, buildings,
horse-drawn carriage, volcanoes including Bromo, Monegal Pass, etc., many
shots including one or two European women in white hats and men in topees;
and 2 views of Ipoh’s “white ‘marble’ roads” complete with auto, and one of
the Grand Hotel there. Bangkok photographs include several taken at the Old
Russian Legation, including the tennis courts and other buildings, the
canals and local boatmen, and various European men and women posed in
Bangkok. ~~ Album #3: 79 photographs, August-September 1916. Opens with 6
photos of Bangkok’s Wat Chen Temple; then all but one of the remaining
photos depict scenes in Indonesia, most taken in various parts of Java.
These include 6 photos of the Hotel der Nederlanden in Batavia; the Hotel
Beau Sejour in Lembang; the Hotel Villa Dolce and its grounds in Garoet;
plus 8 views of the volcano Papandajan and 12 more of Lake Bagendet and the
“new South coast road” near that town; 3 views of Soekaboemi; shots at
Djocjakarta including the Grand Hotel, three street scenes with horse-drawn
carriages and eight shots of the “water castle”; three scenes including a
smoking volcano at Soerakarta and the Oranje Hotel at Soerbaia; views,
including European woman on horseback, at Tosari, with two shots of a visit
to the nearby village of Ngadiwono; then several street/building scenes in
Semarang, as well as views taken on the town’s outskirts, and jungle and
water views in Cheribor. The last pages include 6 shots of the Mosque at
Medan-Deli, Sumatra. The final photo from 1917 is a scene “at the foot of
the Taipeng Hills, Perak (Malaysia). ~~ Album #4. 79 photographs,
December,1918 to August, 1919. The majority of photographs in this album
were taken in Bangkok, including a picture of the British Red Cross Fair at
Saranom Gardens (December 1918). There are fully 43 photos of the Wat Poh
Fair, April 3-7, 1919. Resembling a street fair, the pictures show booths
and tents, many Siamese customers and passersby of both sexes, children,
and even a few soldiers. There are also several views of Bangkok temples or
wats, a klong with an inhabited houseboat, and interior and exterior views
of the Oriental Hotel. By May, the photographer and his wife are on the
move, and there are several views taken during their journey “over the new
railway Bangkok-Penang”, including a shot of the new railway station and
several views of Ipoh’s “marble cliffs” and the city’s Railway Hotel. The
album ends with views of Lembang, Java, and the nearby volcano Tangkoeban
Prahoe, as well as several interior and exterior shots of the Hotel der
Nederlanden in Batavia (Sept. 1919). ~~ Album #5. 74 photos in toto.
August, 1920-July, 1921. This album opens with the arrival in Bangkok of
“H.M.S. Phra Ruang (scout cruiser)” in August, 1920. The remaining Bangkok
views are interiors of the Oriental Hotel, with several of parrots and
parakeets perched on hotel furniture. From January, 1921 through March, the
photographs record the journey via Southern railway to Penang, including
views of flooded areas passed on the train, the Tung Song Rest House, and
views of Medan and Penang, mostly taken from shipboard “on way through,
homeward bound." Next come scenes taken on the April, 1921, ocean voyage to
England, including views of Colombo (beaches, street scene, ships at sea),
Suez (including several during passage through the Suez Canal) and a street
scene at Port Said, the Straits of Messina, a street scene at Marseilles,
and the Rock of Gibraltar viewed from the ship.
The Percy & Emma arrive in London on April 28, 1921, and we see views
(April-June) of the Kenilworth Hotel, the “S.B. Ltd. H. offices” and
Ludgate Circus. The album concludes with outdoor views “round Lynton and
Lynmouth," two villages on the north coast of Devon, now within Exmoor
National Park, and Clovelly, a scenic village also in Devon.  $6,500.00

Trade terms, postpaid in US



    *  R & A  Petrilla*



*          Antiquarian Booksellers                     PO Box 306
   Roosevelt, NJ 08555                   (609) 426-4999
<%28609%29%20426-4999>*


*Sign up for New Arrival Notifications:**      www.petrillabooks.com
<http://www.petrillabooks.com>*

*      Member:  ABAA, ILAB, IOBA*