{"product_id":"genthes-photographs-of-san-franciscos-old-chinatown-9780486245928","title":"Genthe's Photographs of San Francisco's Old Chinatown","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1895  a cultured  well-educated young German named Arnold Genthe arrived in San Francisco as a tutor to the son of an aristocratic family. Almost immediately  Genthe was attracted by Chinatown  or \"Tangrenbu\"  a teeming ten-block area of crowded buildings  narrow streets  and exotic sights and sounds in the shadow of Nob Hill. Fascinated by a living culture totally foreign to his experience  Genthe began to photograph Tangrenbu and its inhabitants. Today  these photographs (over 200 are known to exist) are the best visual documentary record of Chinatown at the turn of the century  offering priceless glimpses of the rich street life of the district before it was leveled by the great earthquake and fire of 1906. Rediscover the lost world of old Chinatown in serene and enduring images of cobbled streets and bustling shops  street vendors and merchants  fish and vegetable markets  Devils Kitchen  the Street of the Gamblers  Portsmouth Square and more. But most of all  enjoy distinctive candid portraits of the people of old Chinatown: a pipe-bowl member  a paper gatherer  itinerant peddlers  toy merchants  boys playing shuttlecock  a fortune-teller  a sword dancer  women and children in ornate holiday finery  an aged opium smoker and many other unaffected and revealing images. Rich in detail and atmosphere  the photographs are complemented by historian John Tchens informative and well-researched text  which outlines the turbulent history of Chinese-Americans in California  dispels numerous myths about Chinatown and its residents  and illuminates the role of Genthes photographs in capturing the subtle flavor and texture of everyday life in the district before 1906.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648043606069,"sku":"ByrdShop_0486245926","price":54.54,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780486245928.jpg?v=1781707560","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/genthes-photographs-of-san-franciscos-old-chinatown-9780486245928","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}