Chinese silk butterflies.
ca 1925. "This two butterflies came from China. Those are made by hand. I think those for the design of handbags or jackets."
Mr. Kuan, whose calling card is included, was a foreign student in the United States during the mid 1920s. He is recorded in the Class of 1924 at the University of Northern Iowa and went on to Divinity School at Yale. He was active in the YMCA, which continues to maintain a strong presence in Hong Kong today. "He completed his study at Yale in 1926 and returned to China with the aim of establishing a school. In 1929 he wrote to the student newspaper with an appeal. He had established an industrial school for poor girls. There he gave the girls a basic education in reading, writing, arithmetic, and sewing skills. He asked his old Teachers College friends to support his efforts. Five dollars would pay the monthly salary of one of his teachers. It is now unclear what happened to Mr. Kuan's school, but by 1938 he was head of the Social Education Division, Bureau of Education, in Tsengtao, China." (From the University of Northern Iowa website on early foreign students, which includes his photograph.) At one time he was the student secretary of Lingan University in Canton. (Kwan, Simon, "Postcolonial Resistance and Asian Theology."
Two cream silk butterflies, decorated with maroon & orange thread, green & yellow antennae, bounded by gold thread, in perfect condition. With Mr. Kuan's miniature calling card, measuring 1 1/4 x 5/8" card printed "S. Peter Kuan YALE UNIVERSITY". Envelope 2 1/2 x 5" bit worn and marked. A remarkable survival of a Christian Chinese American-educated activist. Very good overall. Item #22013
Price: $125.00