1936 Frank Dorn Map of Beijing or Peking, China

One of the iconic maps of the golden age of Pictorial Maps.

An attractive broadside example of Frank Dorn's iconic 1936 pictorial map of Beijing or Peking, China. Considered one of the great maps from the Golden Age of Pictorial Cartography, this map covers all of Beijing as contained within the old city walls as well as parts of the surrounding area. Dorn combines cartographic accuracy with a dense array of pictorial vignettes intended to illustrate this history of Beijing. The elaborate border takes the form of a basic chronology of Beijing, with illustrated annotations such as 'Decadent Period under the Ch'ings' and 'Capital of Kublai Khan 1264.' This map was published in Tientsin-Peiping, China by the Peiyang Press.

Cartographer

Frank 'Pinky' Dorn (June 25, 1901 - July 26, 1981) was an American artist,'old China hand,' and military officer active in East Asia during the middle part of the 20th century. Dorn was born in San Francisco, California, and later studied at West Point, after which he was commissioned in the U.S. Army Field Artillery. He served in the Philippines from 1926 to 1929, where he made his first two pictorial maps, of Fort McKinley and Fort Stotsenburg. From 1930 to 1933, he served as an instructor at the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In 1931, Dorn made a map of Fort Sill. Dorn was stationed in Beijing in 1934, where he studied Chinese. It was during this period that Dorn made his greatest contribution to cartography, his iconic pictorial Map and History of Peiping. Dorn's important maps, issued from 1927 to 1936, followed in the artistic-cartographic style of Jo Mora (1876 - 1947), with whom he was acquainted and whose work he admired. During World War II (1939 - 1945), he was assigned as an aide to Brigadier General 'Uncle Joe' Stilwell in the Burma theater under whom he served from 1939 - 1942. There is some indication that Dorn may have served as a field cartographer under Stilwell, but none of these maps are known to have survived. After the war, he was elevated to the rank of Brigadier General and served from 1944 to 1945 as the commander of the China Training and Combat Command. Dorn retired in 1953 and returned to San Francisco, where he devoted the remainder of his life to painting. He became involved with the psychedelic movement and produced a number of paintings in this vein. Dorn died in 1981 and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.   Further Details...

Condition

Good. Has been professionally cleaned and laid down on archival paper. Remargined.

References

Rumsey 7960.004.