A Holiday Visit
Shortly after arriving in California from Germany in 1895, Arnold Genthe began wandering the streets of Chinatown with a hidden camera, intent on recording the surviving vestiges of old-world traditions in this thriving ethnic enclave. Over the next ten years, he returned repeatedly to the "Canton of the West," finally publishing the photographs as a book, Pictures of Old Chinatown, in 1908. In his autobiography, Genthe recorded his first impressions of Chinatown with the giddy fascination of a recent immigrant who has accidentally stumbled upon a strange new world: "The smell of the place—it was a mixture of the scent of sandalwood and exotic herbs from the drugstores, the sickly sweetness of opium smoke, the fumes of incense and roast pork … And in the air there was always the sound of temple gongs, the clashing of cymbals and the shrill notes of an orchestra. It was something for me to write home about."
Artwork Details
- Title: A Holiday Visit
- Artist: Arnold Genthe (American (born Germany), Berlin 1869–1942 New Milford, Connecticut)
- Date: 1895–1908
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: Image: 34 x 22.8 cm (13 3/8 x 9 in.)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Eustace Seligman, 1953
- Object Number: 53.680.6
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.