1937 Chinese National Revolutionary Army Battle of Shanghai Sino-Japanese War

Date: 1937
Artist: Unknown  
Size (in): 30.5” x 21”
Size (cm): 77.5 x 53.5 
Condition: C
Linen backed: Yes

This is a vintage original and rare Chinese Nationalist propaganda poster depicting six scenes from the 1937 Battle of Shanghai and a portrait image of General Bai Chongxi who was a senor commander of National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and a prominent leader of the Kuomintang (KMT) .  The 1937 Battle of Shanghai was the first major engagement fought between the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army of the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War.  The Battle of Shanghai lasted more than three months, eventually involved over 1,000,000 combatants and at the time was the largest urban battle ever fought in human history not eclipsed until Stalingrad some five years later.  Some historians have described the 1937 Battle of Shanghai as the first battle of World War Two.  The title of the poster printed across the top translates to “Map of the Battle of Shanghai and Songshan”.  

This vintage original poster has been professionally conservation mounted to linen.  The poster has had some restoration and replaced loss in the margin which doesn’t encroach into the image area.  A few short tears extending into the image area and some creasing in the image area have been repaired and mitigated but the image area of the poster is otherwise in very good condition.   We only locate a single copy of this poster in the Special Collections of the Claremont Colleges and we trace none at auction.