A Glance at the Interior of China, Obtained During a journey through the Silk and Green Tea Districts
by Medhurst, Walter Henry (1796-1857)
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- Condition
- Otherwise very good condition
- Seller
-
Garrison, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: John Snow, 1850. First separate printing. Hardcover. Otherwise very good condition. Medhurst was apprenticed as a printer & typesetter, eventually engaged by the London Missionary Society. He became a Protestant missionary for the LMS and over his 37 years in Malaysia, Indonesia and China, published numerous dictionaries of various dialects. In the 1840s, he was one of four who cooperated to translate the Bible into Chinese.
This book is rare in the trade, especially in the original cloth binding. This is the London issue of the title page, with the text and illustrations printed in Shanghai on Chinese paper.
A catalogue note appended to the Franklin Brook Hitching copy that was sold by Sotheby's in 2015 as part 3 of his exquisite holdings. "When Shanghai port opened to British merchants in 1842 as a result of the Anglo-Chinese treaty of Nanking, Walter Medhurst (1796-1857) quickly established an outpost of the London Missionary Society and a mission press, the first such modern press in China, where he printed numerous works in English and Chinese. Notoriously independent minded, here Medhurst recounts his seven week journey in the spring of 1845, for which he donned disguise including dark glasses and a false pigtail. The diary of his journey includes detailed descriptions of the everyday life of the people he encountered alongside a lengthy digression on silk production. The same sheets first appeared in "Chinese Miscellanies" No. 1, issued in Shanghai in 1849, and then reissued with a new title-page in London by John Snow the following year."
8vo, (ii), inserted short letterpress apology slip, 192pp, 11 plates (9 folding), 8 full page illustrations on 5 text leaves. Publishers blind stamped salmon cloth with decorative borders and the central image of the famous pagoda on the boards. Spine sun browned, with very bright gilt title. Boards a bit sunned. Expertly rebacked with the original spine laid down. Text block very clean. A couple of maps are printed on lesser quality paper, hence browner. The original owner has signed his name in pencil on the front free endpaper
"Thomas Evans". A super copy overall.
Cordier II, 2117-2118, Lowendahl 1099, Lust 380, OCLC: 12672623.
This book is rare in the trade, especially in the original cloth binding. This is the London issue of the title page, with the text and illustrations printed in Shanghai on Chinese paper.
A catalogue note appended to the Franklin Brook Hitching copy that was sold by Sotheby's in 2015 as part 3 of his exquisite holdings. "When Shanghai port opened to British merchants in 1842 as a result of the Anglo-Chinese treaty of Nanking, Walter Medhurst (1796-1857) quickly established an outpost of the London Missionary Society and a mission press, the first such modern press in China, where he printed numerous works in English and Chinese. Notoriously independent minded, here Medhurst recounts his seven week journey in the spring of 1845, for which he donned disguise including dark glasses and a false pigtail. The diary of his journey includes detailed descriptions of the everyday life of the people he encountered alongside a lengthy digression on silk production. The same sheets first appeared in "Chinese Miscellanies" No. 1, issued in Shanghai in 1849, and then reissued with a new title-page in London by John Snow the following year."
8vo, (ii), inserted short letterpress apology slip, 192pp, 11 plates (9 folding), 8 full page illustrations on 5 text leaves. Publishers blind stamped salmon cloth with decorative borders and the central image of the famous pagoda on the boards. Spine sun browned, with very bright gilt title. Boards a bit sunned. Expertly rebacked with the original spine laid down. Text block very clean. A couple of maps are printed on lesser quality paper, hence browner. The original owner has signed his name in pencil on the front free endpaper
"Thomas Evans". A super copy overall.
Cordier II, 2117-2118, Lowendahl 1099, Lust 380, OCLC: 12672623.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 26611
- Title
- A Glance at the Interior of China, Obtained During a journey through the Silk and Green Tea Districts
- Author
- Medhurst, Walter Henry (1796-1857)
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Otherwise very good condition
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First separate printing
- Publisher
- John Snow
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1850
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Bookseller catalogs
- CHINA;
Terms of Sale
Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 10 days after delivery if an item arrives mis-described or damaged.
About the Seller
Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints
Biblio member since 2009
Garrison, New York
About Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints
Booksellers for over 40 years, members of prominent trade associations (ABAA, ILAB, ANZAAB, IMCOS, ANZMS, PBFA). We are located at Garrison NY, a stone's throw from the Metro North Hudson line train, just over 1 hr. from NYC on the banks of the Hudson River. Books, maps, prints & ephemera bought & sold.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Rebacked
- having had the material covering the spine replaced. ...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...