1939 Poplar Island Press Map of Peking or Beijing, China

Poplar Island Press (杨树岛, fl. c. 1930 – c. 1950) was a Beijing based printer and publisher active in the first half of the 20th century. The press was owned by Vincenz Maria Hermann Hundhausen (1878 - 1955), a German who was a German-language professor working at Peking University. Hundhausen operated Poplar Island Press out of his estate, called Poplar Island, located in Beijing just west of the old city wall. The press was initially founded as venue for publishing Hundhausen's own poetic works but eventually grew to become a large private publishing concern in Pre-war China. Hundhausen remained in China throughout World War II despite loosing his university position due to Nazi influences in the administration. Hundhausen took advantage of his own influence in the university system to take over the Peking University Press, with which he expanded his own business ultimately publishing several hundred cultural works. China ultimately expelled him in 1954. He died one year later in Grevenbrioch, Germany. More by this mapmaker...