Beijing, 1902. Blind-tooled burgundy half calf over silken dark green boards. Album, and portfolio with litters. Marbled endpapers, marbled edges.

The diary of a German officer at the German Mission in Beijing, China, starting in January 1902, and ending on 13 June. He must have been a member of the staff of Philipp Alfons Freiherr Mumm von Schwarzenstein (1859-1924) (also known as Alfons von Mumm) who was a diplomat of the German Empire and succeeded the murdered Baron Clemens von Ketteler (assasinated during the Boxer Rebellion) as ambassador in Beijing in 1900. The diary deals with daily life in the Chinese capital, and in particular with the interaction between diplomats and the local authorities in the wake of the Boxer Rebellion. "The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists (Yìhéquán). The group was known as "Boxers" in English because many of its members practised Chinese martial arts, which at the time were referred to as "Chinese boxing". It was defeated by the Eight-Nation Alliance of foreign powers" (Wikipedia). The German Empire was one of these foreign powers. The diary is larded with original Chinese invitations, menu cards, some photographs, news paper clippings, a programme of the Theatre Militaire de Tien-Tsin, etc. Another set of loose leaves with further observations in the same hand is loosely inserted. Boards a bit abraded at corners; perhaps one or two photos removed, or now loose, otherwise a very good, unique item.