The Punishments of China, Illustrated by Twenty-two Engravings: With Explanations in English and French.; [Les Punitions Des Chinois]

London: William Miller, 1808. hardcover. near fine. J. Dadley. Illustrated with 22 handsomely printed color engravings by the accomplished stipple engraver John Dadley, purportedly after originals by one Pu-Qua of Canton, acquired by the author, William Henry Mason, a major in the Royal Madras Fusiliers, while visiting the country around 1790. Slim folio, 3/4 contemporary burgundy levant with ornately gilt spine; (rubbed at extremes but sound and attractive). London: William Miller for S. Gosnell, 1808. An early printing, likely the third, with pages watermarked 1804 & 1807. Ownership name on blue endpapers and with foxing on blank flyleaves, still a near fine copy with remarkably clean text and plates.<br/> <br/> Text attributed to G.H. Mason> Plates by J. Dadley: A culprit before a Magistrate; A Culprit conveyed to Prison; A Culprit conducted to Trial; An Offender undergoing the Bastinade; Twisting a Man's Ears; Punishment of the Swing; Punishing a Boatman; Punishing an Interpreter; The Rack; Torturing the Fingers; Burning a Man's Eye with Lime; A Malefactor chained to an Iron Bar; Punishment of the Wooden Collar; A Man fastened to a Large Block of Wood; A Malefactor in a Cage; Punishment of the Wooden Tube; Hamstringing a Malefactor; Close Confinement; Conducting an Offender into Banishment; A Malefactor Conducted to Execution; The Capital Punishment of the Cord; The Manner of Beheading.<br/> <br/>