PUNNETT, Edith Agnes.

£2,500 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Two hand-painted souvenir verse collections on the theme of "In Old Peking": Two beautiful and rare momentos of Republican Beijing, written, made, and sold by an influential but elusive antiques dealer who ran galleries in the Wagons-Lits hotel and at 39 Legation Street.Edith Punnett (1867-1938) was born in India and lived the final decade of her life in Beijing. Her verses describe the colourful cast of characters encountered on a typical Beijing street, including fortune tellers, candy sellers, and city dwellers.Alongside its tourist trade, her business sold art, rare books, and antiquities to institutions and collectors including the Nelson Atkins Museum and the American socialite Doris Duke. Many works of Asian art appearing on the market today can be traced back her galleries.

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