Letter from Arthur de Carle Sowerby in China to Robert Sterling Clark, which Sowerby begins writing December 30, 1928 while on a houseboat near Pinghu Xian south of Shanghai, and finishes at home in Shanghai on January 7, 1929. In this long letter, Sowerby gives a detailed picture of the area in which he's conducting his scientific expedition, offering information about the landscape, the flora and fauna, agriculture and commercial crops, game, architecture, and the local people. On page 7 he's drawn a small map. In the latter part of the letter, written in Shanghai, Sowerby offers his opinion on the position of foreigners, foreign power, and foreign business in China, focusing primarily on the treaty ports and customs administration.
Preferred Citation
Letter signed from Arthur de Carle Sowerby, Pinghu Xian (China) to Robert Sterling Clark, New York (N.Y.), 1928 December 30. Correspondence Series, Sterling and Francine Clark Papers, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Biographical-Historical Note
Arthur de Carle Sowerby was a naturalist, explorer and writer who accompanied Robert Sterling Clark on his 1908-09 expedition to the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces in northern China. Sowerby remained in China collecting specimens for various museums of natural history and editing the journal he'd founded, The China Journal of Science and Arts. He was interned by the Japanese during World War II and returned to the United States in 1949. RSC funded Sowerby for many years. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1923 through 1930, with letters through 1953, the year before Sowerby's death. Most of the letters are from Sowerby, with some carbon copies of brief notes sent by RSC. The letters concern the often dire state of Sowerby’s finances as well as updates on his scientific pursuits and analyses of the tumultuous political and economic situation in China.
Letter from Arthur de Carle Sowerby in China to Robert Sterling Clark, which Sowerby begins writing December 30, 1928 while on a houseboat near Pinghu Xian south of Shanghai, and finishes at home in Shanghai on January 7, 1929. In this long letter, Sowerby gives a detailed picture of the area in which he's conducting his scientific expedition, offering information about the landscape, the flora and fauna, agriculture and commercial crops, game, architecture, and the local people. On page 7 he's drawn a small map. In the latter part of the letter, written in Shanghai, Sowerby offers his opinion on the position of foreigners, foreign power, and foreign business in China, focusing primarily on the treaty ports and customs administration.
Preferred Citation
Letter signed from Arthur de Carle Sowerby, Pinghu Xian (China) to Robert Sterling Clark, New York (N.Y.), 1928 December 30. Correspondence Series, Sterling and Francine Clark Papers, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Biographical-Historical Note
Arthur de Carle Sowerby was a naturalist, explorer and writer who accompanied Robert Sterling Clark on his 1908-09 expedition to the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces in northern China. Sowerby remained in China collecting specimens for various museums of natural history and editing the journal he'd founded, The China Journal of Science and Arts. He was interned by the Japanese during World War II and returned to the United States in 1949. RSC funded Sowerby for many years. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1923 through 1930, with letters through 1953, the year before Sowerby's death. Most of the letters are from Sowerby, with some carbon copies of brief notes sent by RSC. The letters concern the often dire state of Sowerby’s finances as well as updates on his scientific pursuits and analyses of the tumultuous political and economic situation in China.