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THBArchive of WW2 Shanghai Internment Camp Materials
About Seller
4310 Papermill Dr. NW
Knoxville, TN 37909
United States
Case Auctions is based in Knoxville, Tennessee, where our gallery is located, with satellite offices in Nashville, Tennessee and Kingsport, TN – but our reach is worldwide. Established in 2005, we conduct cataloged auctions of investment-quality art and antiques under the stewardship of knowledgeabl...Read more
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About Auction
LiveJan 25, 2025
Live Auction at our Knoxville Gallery featuring 1,200+ lots from fine Southern estates and private and museum collections. Sale begins Sat. Jan. 25 at 9 AM with lots #1-783 and continues Sun. Jan. 26 at 1 PM with lots #784-1261 (separate catalog). Estates represented include Gertrude S. Caldwell, Nashville; John Z. C. Thomas, Knoxville; Dr. Larry Wolfe, Nashville; Norman Luboff; plus the collection of Jon E. Jones, Cookeville, and deaccessioned art from the Hunter Museum, Vanderbilt University Museum, the Memphis-Brooks Museum, and more. Case Auctions bid@caseantiques.com
View Full Catalog (782)
- Lot Description
Archive of materials belonging to Allen and Janet Rundell, including from their ordeals in the Japanese Internment camps in Shanghai and their eventual exchange, as well as from their lives before and after. 1st Item: Large scrapbook with leather spine and a silk brocade cover adorned with a Chinese Junk fashioned from metal, wire, and cut stone. This volume contains a large assortment of ephemera from their lives in the Philippines and Shanghai, with photographs and clippings chronologically showing at first a glamorous, normal life, then as tensions rise, such items as: a confidential notice from the Consulate for Americans to leave Shanghai; a Clipping with Japanese Proclamation and warning not to transfer property; A magazine cover from Dec. 8, 1941 with a (false) decree that Japan will honor the rights of citizens of the Settlement; Photo Identification cards of the Rundells along with identifying armband and travel permits; "Receipt" for the confiscation of their Oldsmobile; Two fabric Identification badges worn in the internment camp; Red Cross telegrams with family, and shot records for the exchange ship. The scrapbook begins in 1936 and ends, largely when they left Shanghai after the War, in 1948. 2nd Item: Three (3) large 11" x 14" scrapbooks, half red leather covers with leather spines and gilt lettering of Vols. A, B, and C; black paper with glassine or onion skin dividers, containing hundreds of photos of the Rundells life before the War. 3rd Item: Six (6) small leather and cloth 5 1/2" x 8" photo albums with glassine dividers contain hundreds of black and white photos of travel in Southeast Asia, on boats, cities, people, landscapes, etc. One album with color photos of Hawaii. 4th Item: Rundell Family Bible, 1928, leather bound. Contains various documents pertaining to genealogy, including Civil War enlistment survey of Allen’s grandfather, Fletcher Rundell of Morgan Co., Indiana. 5th Item: Four F.S. Co. silver plated candlesticks (8" H), originally belonging to Janet’s mother and gifted to Janet; and one (1) small antique cloisonné teapot. Before their internment the Rundells buried these and other treasures in their garden and were able to retrieve them after the War. 6th Item: Cookbooks authored by Allen Rundell while living in Hawaii. 7th Item: Assortment of modern reading material pertaining to the Japanese invasion of China.
Historical Note: At the outbreak of World War 2, the Rundells (originally from Ohio and Indiana) were Americans living in Shanghai, China, in a section of the city named the Shanghai International Settlement, made up of largely Western expatriates. Allen was an executive with the De La Rama Steamship Company, and the couple lived a rather glamorous life, enjoying a level of comfort and security that came with executive rank. Their early scrapbooks show parties, trips, night clubs and a life of relative tropical luxury. On December 8th, 1941, the Japanese military took over Shanghai. The Rundells, along with all expatriates, were forced to register as foreigners, surrendering belongings (including their car), and made to wear identifying armbands. They hid or buried what they could with hopes of reclaiming their belongings after the end of the ordeal. Eventually they were interned in multiple camps, along with thousands of other expatriates. The Rundells were taken to Chapei Civilian Assembly Center or Chapei Camp, one of several camps located in converted schools or public buildings. They existed there for 7 months before being able to leave as part of a well-documented exchange for Japanese P.O.W.s and higher level American and international prisoners. Allen and Janet left on the last exchange ship out of China, The Teia Maru, with 1525 prisoners- meeting the Swedish M.S. Gripsholm in Mormugau (Goa, India), where they were exchanged in a process that took several days. Accommodations on the Japanese ship were rather spartan, but on the cruise ship Gripsholm the Americans enjoyed a rather pleasant cruise during the second half of their exchange, stopping in Rio de Janeiro. The Rundells and others went to the Copacabana, their tickets included in the scrapbook, as well as copies of the telegrams sent to family once they were safely repatriated. After the war they returned briefly to Shanghai. There they reclaimed many possessions hidden before their internment in the camps. Note: A jade brooch and another teapot, also owned by the Rundells, were consigned by a descendent and sold in our July 14, 2018 auction.
Condition
All items in good condition. Main scrapbook with missing clasp; some previously affixed photos and documents now loose in pages. Bible in poor condition. Some wear to silver.
- Provenance
By descent through the family of Janet Rundell's niece.
- Shipping Info
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The UPS Store of Bearden 865-584-0081 (press 5), fax 865-584-0094 store2630@theupsstore.com Click to get a quote
The UPS Store of Northshore Knoxville Contact – Eve 865-951-2499 store6461@theupsstore.com
John & Max Express LLC NOTE: large items & white glove delivery services only (driving range limitations may apply) Contact – Dina 865-230-1568 johnmaxexpress@gmail.com
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- Payment & Auction Policies
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Available payment options
Payment must be received no later than five (5) days after the sale.
If paying with a credit card, a 3% credit card processing fee will be applied to the final sales price (i.e. hammer price + buyer's premium + applicable taxes). If you have a credit card on file with Case, any winning bids will be automatically charged (up to $3000) along with applicable fees 72 hours after you receive your invoice unless other arrangements have been made.
If paying with wire transfer, please use the following information:
Bank: Pinnacle Bank
150 Third Avenue South, Suite 900
Nashville, TN 37201
Phone # (865) 766-3000
Swift Code: PNFPUS44
Routing, Transit, ABA: 064008637
Beneficiary: Case Antiques, Inc.
4310 Papermill Drive
Knoxville, TN 37909
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