This image from one of the news sheets shows how the block prints were put up on walls and sold to eager readers.

Preservation work has begun on a collection of 30 poster-like block prints of the 1911 Chinese Revolution. The collection was given to the Princeton Libraries by Donald Roberts ’09, in 1937, and has recently been the focus of new investigations on the visual portrayal of the Han Chinese versus the Manchus during the 1911 overthrow of the Qing Empire. The ephemeral, and hence very rare, block prints fall into several categories: some are color prints with a minimum of text, others are black and white illustrated sheets with sometimes extremely current news, or at other times more general content. The news sheets were issued in Shanghai, when news of the 1911 revolution in Wuhan was telegraphed to print agencies in Shanghai, which immediately had such illustrated sheets printed for a Chinese public avid for the latest news—the illustrations themselves may therefore be rather based upon artists’ imaginations. The sheets generally support the Revolution. Donald Roberts was an Episcopalian minister who taught history at St. John’s University in Shanghai from 1915 to 1950.

The collection also includes one Japanese block print dating from 1917. After the necessary restoration work has taken place the items will be digitized. The collection is part of the East Asian Library's Rare Book collection.