Treasures of the Collection: Calls, Sounds and Merchandise of the Peking Street Peddler

Treasures of the Collection: Calls, Sounds and Merchandise of the Peking Street Peddler

A most unusual book found in the Monmouth College Special Collections is the book “Calls, sounds and merchandise of the Peking street peddler.” This is an amazing little book in its form, contents and author’s history.  Published in 1936 as part of an M.A. thesis, the book is bound in decorated fabric and paper and contains both colored drawings and tipped-in photographs.   The author begins the book with a discussion of the Chinese language and attempts to depict the sounds made by Chinese street vendors in words, since at the time the book was written incorporating videos and sound on CD’s or DVD’s was not possible. 

The book discusses the different types of street vendors found in Peking (Beijing) and describes not only the distinctive calls and sounds used by the vendors but also what type of items they sell, with full page illustrations of the vendor and the instrument he used to announce his presence in an area.  The Chinese characters used to describe the type of ware sold by each are incorporated into the text.  (See the top of the description of the toy peddler for an example).  In addition, there are photos of actual vendors and their wares found in the book.  The book is a wonderful snapshot in time of a culture and way of life long past, as street vendors of the type described in the book are not found in modern Beijing.  

The author of this work, Samuel Victor Constant also had an interesting life and was neither an artist, anthropologist, nor cultural traveller, but was a career Army Officer.  Born in New York in 1894, he attended Colombia University and then joined the military in 1917 probably when the United States entered World War I.  His frequent passport applications show that he travelled most often to the Far East, going to China and Japan in 1920 and to China in 1923.  He seems to have returned to the U.S. around 1936. He continued to serve through World War II and retired as a colonel.  He died at the age of 95 in 1989 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

In addition to pursuing his M.A. while in China, he also wrote a dictionary of Chinese military terms in 1927.  This was probably with the real reason he went to China.  He served as part of America’s engagement with the young Chinese Republic which was established in 1920.  His time in China coincides with one of the prequels to World War II, the Japanese takeover of Manchuria in 1932.   His departure in 1936 probably had to do with the growing tensions in the Far East as war broke out between China and Japan in 1937.

This version of the book is only held by 26 other libraries in the world and Monmouth College is the smallest academic library to have a copy of the first edition.  So, if you want to hold part of an intriguing history in your hands, ask a librarian to obtain the book for you from Special Collections.