Mannheim 1906-1908 Asia Travel Photography Collection

Author: (Finnish) Mannheim, Yang Shu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: This book is a selection of photographs taken by C.G. Mannheim during his 1906-1908 journey through Asia. The idea of publishing this book was conceived early on while planning the exhibition "China Through the Eyes of a Finnish Photographer." The Mannheim materials preserved in the National Cultural Relics Commission archives by the Finnish-Ugrian Society are both extensive and enlightening. These collections vividly depict a distant and vanished world, as well as the ethnic groups and many things and lifestyles about which we know little. The 10 exhibited works received widespread attention (this exhibition was part of the Victor Balsokovich Photography Center's event themed "150 Years of Finnish Photography History"), partly, no doubt, due to the public's curiosity about these images imbued with historical mystery and exotic charm. However, they were only occasionally reprinted in a paperback edition and mostly appeared as illustrations in Mannheim's travelogue. These circumstances gave rise to the idea of publishing a photographic collection to give these photographs the attention they deserve. The realization of this idea is mainly due to Jukka Kukkonen—the initiator of this book—as well as Harri Helen, who made indispensable contributions with his professional expertise. The current volume includes 87 photographs, most of which have never been published before. Although they appear in chronological order in the book, it is not a detailed account of Mannheim's journey or any travel diary, but merely a selected collection of photographs. The selection criteria were primarily aesthetic, but time also played a role: Mannheim developed his own film during the journey under often poor conditions, and many years later, many fragile nitrate negatives had corroded severely, making it necessary to omit certain parts of the journey—since no well-preserved negatives were available.