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Book to Record History of Boston's Chinese
Publisher seeking photos
By Adam Smith, Sampan
May 18, 2007 - By the end of this year, a piece of Boston's Chinese
American history will become available at bookstores all over.
Arcadia Press, a publisher of local American history books, has
signed a contract with the Chinese Historical Society of New England and
local historian Wing-Kai To to document early Chinese immigration to
Boston.
The 128-page book, expected be completed by August and published by the
end of the year, will cover a photographic history of Boston's Chinese
from the 1860s to the 1960s.
"We look at those 100 years of the beginning of the Chinese community
here," said To, an associate professor of history at Bridgewater State
College.
The Chinese Historical Society has already collected many photos of
Chinese families and the streets of early Chinatown. But the group is
seeking more photos of Chinese-owned stores, restaurants, laundries, and
other businesses.
"We want to present...the social life of the Chinese in Boston in the
early decades and try to understand the origins of Chinese immigration
and lifestyle and their community here," he said. "Even though it's a
small community of several hundred people, they still live a life that
was very fulfilling and very important to New England and is always
overlooked in a lot of publications about Boston history."
One of the first connections Chinese had with the Boston area was
through trade in the early 1800s, said To.
"But that did not have a big impact on the immigration," he said, adding
that "most of them came after the Gold Rush and the building of the
transcontinental railroad." Many came to Western Massachusetts to work
in North Adams as shoemakers, he said.
The idea for the book began several years ago when Arcadia Press first
asked the historical society to collaborate on a book.
At that time, said To, the group felt it lacked the resources to take on
the task, but To recently decided to head the project.
"Personally, I am interested in writing about the history of Boston's
Chinese," he said. "It's a very vibrant and enduring community. The
history is sometimes overlooked."
"We are very interested in capturing what America is really all about,
capturing small-town atmosphere," said Katie DePoppe, a publicity
manager for the Arcadia. She said the publishing company has close to
5,000 titles about small towns and communities and several books about
Chinese American communities.
Anyone with photos to contribute to the book can contact the Chinese
Historical Society of New England at (617) 338-4339.
Tracy Chang contributed to this story. |
