There are two loose mounted prints at the front of the album. The first is an unidentified youngish, bearded man in a tweed suit. The second is of an unnamed clergyman. Although the name ‘Leonard’ is written in pencil on the cover, it is questionable whether this is Donaldson. A notable similarity in features suggests this could be a brother, a possibility reinforced by the words in ink on the same cover: ‘With my love & best wishes for Xmas and the New Year; 1918’.
Contents (plate number):
1. A game of cricket. The structure in the background may be the clubhouse. Probably Hong Kong? If this image is from 1910, however, it is unlikely that the building is the Craigengower Cricket Club, as that was not built until 1922.
2. Happy Valley Race Course, Hong Kong.
3. A naval and army parade passing along the waterfront of Victoria harbour, Hong Kong Island. To the left of the picture is the terminal for the Kowloon ferry and to the right is the Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company building.
4. The large bronze bell at Todaiji [also Chogen?] Temple, Nara, Kyoto, Japan.
5. An exterior view of Todaiji [also Chogen?] Temple, Nara, Kyoto, Japan.
6. An informal group photograph of the crew of an unidentified Royal Navy vessel [probably the Monmouth class armoured cruiser HMS Monmouth (1901)?]. The state of the men and the deck suggests they have just finished coaling ship. An officer and a Royal Maine are present in the image.
7. Group photograph of players at the Kowloon Cricket Club. All save one (in naval uniform?) are in civilian clothing.
8. A formal group photograph of officers and crewmen on the shelter deck of HMS Monmouth (1901). The somewhat cryptic message on the board reads “C=E/R; Does this crowd look polarised?”, perhaps in reference to the mixed ranks resent.
9. A formal group photograph of the officers of HMS Monmouth (1901), with one of the figures present in civilian clothes. This photograph was taken on the port side of the quarterdeck (ie after part of the upper deck) near the after superstructure.
10. A starboard beam view of HMS Monmouth (1901) at moorings, probably at Hong Kong. The shrubbery adorning her rig suggests it is nearly Christmas. The masts and funnels of the Astraea class second class cruiser HMS Astraea (1893) are just visible behind her.
11. A portside near beam view just forward of the broadside of HMS Astraea (1893) under way at sea.
12. Commander Donaldson in full uniform outside the W/T Office of HMS Monmouth (1901).
13. Commander Donaldson with Captain Hugh L. P. Heard on the quarterdeck (ie after part of the upper deck) of HMS Monmouth (1901). Both are in dress whites.
14. Formal group photograph of the officers of HMS Monmouth (1901) on the quarterdeck (ie after part of the upper deck) of that ship.
15. Military parade, possibly the same event shown in print #3. The location of this image is uncertain, but is probably in or near Victoria.
16. Crewmen relaxing while off duty under awnings on the shelter deck of HMS Monmouth (1901).
17. Starboard beam views of HMS Astraea (1893) and HMS Flora (1893), with the former in the foreground.
18. A port bow view of HMS Monmouth (1901) under way, followed closely by a Fairfield 27-knot torpedo boat destroyer. Two such vessels were assigned to the China Station at this time, those being HMS Handy (1895) and HMS Hart (1895).
19. Kinkakuli [Kinkaku-Ji] Temple, Kyoto. The name means Golden Pavilion.
20. A ‘sod’s opera’ play staged aboard HMS Monmouth (1901). The actual piece being performed is unknown, but appears to be set aboard a fictitious vessel named HMS Tortoise.
21. A ‘sod’s opera’ play staged aboard HMS Monmouth (1901). The actual piece being performed is unknown, but appears to be set aboard a fictitious vessel named HMS Tortoise. This particular scene, as the caption announces, is meant to be ‘London by night’.
22. A ‘sod’s opera’ play staged aboard HMS Monmouth (1901). The actual piece being performed is unknown, but appears to be set aboard a fictitious vessel named HMS Tortoise.
23. A ‘sod’s opera’ play staged aboard HMS Monmouth (1901). The actual piece being performed is unknown, but appears to be set aboard a fictitious vessel named HMS Tortoise.
24. A ‘sod’s opera’ play staged aboard HMS Monmouth (1901). The actual piece being performed is unknown, but appears to be set aboard a fictitious vessel named HMS Tortoise. This print appears to show the end of the play, which curiously includes the character King Neptune. One of the men in the foreground is doling out grog to a fellow performer.
25. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a sedan chair and bearers.
26. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing “The Residence of Hin, at Atamu, near Taichu” on Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
27. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing the “Temple of Lie”. The location and alternate names of this temple are unknown, but it could be on Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
28. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing the shrine dedicated to the memory of Prince Kitashirakawa [died November 1895] in Tainan, Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
29. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing Puyuma tribesmen of Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
30. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a view of the Batanko gold mine near Keelung, Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
31. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a grove of tall bamboo on Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
32. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a grove of beetle [betel] nut trees Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
33. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing the last gate of the Shinchiku [Hsinchu] city wall, Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
34. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing “native quarters”, presumeably somewhere on Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
35. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing the “winding track of a push-car” on Formosa [modern day Taiwan]. The push-car system was introduced by the Japanese circa 1895, and operated into the late 1940s.
36. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing “Lin-Pun-Gen’s garden at Pankyo”. The location is uncertain and this could well be northern Korea rather than Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
37. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a “catamaran or bamboo boat”.
38. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a view of Lake Candidius [Sun Moon Lake], the largest lake on Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
39. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a view of Maruyama park and the Tamsui river in northern Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
40. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a train transporting bales of sugar cane in Hozan [Fongshan] prefecture, near Takao [Kaohsiung], Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
41. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a view of Hokuto. Nominally a place in Japan, this is likely to be an area of Formosa [modern day Taiwan], named for the Japanese Hokuto.
42. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a group of schoolchildren in front of the Confucious [Confucius] Temple at Shoka [Changhua], Formosa [modern day Taiwan].
43. A cutting from an unidentified magazine showing a view of an old Dutch fort in Tainan City, Formosa [modern day Taiwan].