One of the reference book about Shanghai history French book “Histoire de la Concession Française de Changhai” by Charles Maybon & Jean Fredet. I recently got an original copy during my last trip to France.
Although written in Shanghai, the book was published in Paris in 1929 by Paris publishing house Plon. It covers the history of the French Concession of Shanghai from its origin in 1848 and even before, until 1875. The book is highly detailed and includes many maps of the early French Concession, at a time it was only located around (French) Bund. Other books were planned but was never published as Charles Maybon passed away before publication of this one.
It also includes a number of photographs from the late 19th century, that are very rare. It shows the fast development of the city as none of the Bund building of the time have survived until today.
Another interesting point is the map of the early French Concession. The area then was only a small piece of land between the Chinese city and the early International Settlement. The French Consulate was not even on the river (more about this period in post “former Shanghai French Consulate“).
Like most books of that period, it was sold uncut. Large sheets of printed paper were folded into a book, then a binder would cut the edges as part of the biding process. Alternatively, the reader could cut the sheets while reading, showing how far he or she went in reading the book.
I was fortunate to get an uncut copy, meaning that it was never read before. As it was in great condition, I assume this copy has been sitting of the owner’s bookshelf for decades. As I want to keep it in original stage, I will not cut it either. Fortunately, a scanned copy of the book is available as a download from the site of the French National Library, which is also fully searchable. It is not as charming as my old copy but much more effective for research purposes. Follow this link to get it: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k33623471#
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