1936 DORN, F. - A Map and History of Peiping; formerly known as Peking; capital of provinces, princedoms and kingdoms since 1121 B.C. . .

The uncommon second edition of this very decorative and informative pictorial map of Beijing and surrounding areas whimsically illustrates the Forbidden City, essential events in the history of China from 1100 BC to 1936 as well as various tourist attractions like golf and race courses, hotels, the Peking Club and a hospital.

This is the second edition as the earlier German flag of 1933-1935 (black/white/red horizontal stripes) in the diplomatic quarter has been replaced by the Nazi flag; in the third edition, the Nazi flag has been completely removed. Also, there are some changes to the text.

Published by Frank Dorn and the Peiyang Press. Ltd. of Tientsin and Peiping.

Col. Frank Dorn (1901-1981), later brigadier general, Frank Dorn was an artist, writer and aide to Gen. Joseph Stilwell, the man who, during World War II commanded the U.S. and Chinese Nationalist resistance to Japanese incursions into China and Burma.
Dorn was a friend and admirer of the pictorial mapmaker Jo Mora (1876-1947), and was clearly influenced by Mora's style of combining accurate pictorial details, bright colors and a bit of whimsy, along with vignettes providing an illustrated history of the place.
Frank Dorn attended the San Francisco Art Institute and became an accomplished cartoonist.
While living in China, Dorn made his popular pictorial map of "Peiping". He later served in the field as an advisor to a Chinese army. A fluent speaker of Chinese, Dorn's most important military role was in the China-Burma-India theater during World War II. There he served with the Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army forces, General "Uncle Joe" Stilwell, during the Burma campaign from 1942 to 1944, and served as a commanding officer in 1944-45. A 1942 Life Magazine article about the Burma mission stated that, "Dorn, an artist, drew Stilwell's campaign maps."

Dorn eventually attained the rank of Brigadier-General and retired in 1953. He settled in Carmel, California, living what his friend John Thompson, who describes Dorm as living "a semi-bohemian life, writing and painting. In the Sixties, he did some amazing psychedelic paintings, wondered if he was the incarnation of a Buddhist painter, and held progressive civil rights and antiwar views." In the 1970s, Dorn authored two highly-regarded scholarly books on the Chinese and Burmese theaters of World War II.

The Peiyang Press (fl. c. 1928 – 1949) was a Chinese publisher active in Tianjin and Beijing before and during World War II. The press focused on books and maps for the Western traveler in China