January E-list: Recent Acquisitions

1.    ALLEN, NATHAN, M.D. The opium trade; including a sketch of its history, extent, effects, etc. as carried on in India and China ... Second edition. Lowell, [MA]: James P. Walker, 1853.     $375

8vo, pp. 80; original brown printed wrappers; one or two short tears, but generally near fine.

Laid in are 2 A.Ls.s. from Allen to a Mr. James totaling 3 pages, both dated 1868, regarding temperance matters, and the publication of certain articles.

First published in 1850, this edition is enlarged and brought up to date. On the first edition the Calcutta Morning Chronicle of November 17, 1852 notes: "Replete with strictures, only too just, upon the conduct of Great Britain in upholding the system which is pouring wholesale its enervating and debasing influence over the whole land of China." And, from the Chinese Repository, Canton, May, 1852: "We should be happy to see a copy of this pamphlet in the hands of every manufacturer and trader in opium, and especially have the Directors of the East India Company, the great promoters of the traffic, made acquainted with its contents."

Not in Sabin; Goldsmith-Kress 36887.

8vo, pp. [22]; printed in red, green, and black; mild dampstaining, else about fine in original printed blue wrappers.

3.   BECKS, HERMAN, M.D. & Herbert M. Evans. Atlas of the skeletal development of the rat (Long-Evans strain) normal and hypophysectomised. Berkeley: University of California, [1953].     $350

First edition limited to 300 copies (this, no. 107); 2 volumes, 4to, pp. xxxv, [1], 65 black & white photographic plates; xiii, [3], 78 black & white photographic plates; photographic illustrations throughout on glossy stock; ex-Eastman Kodak reference library with pocket on rear endpaper, and small accession numbers on spine; very good in publisher's full black morocco lettered and decorated in gilt on spine.

4.   [BIBLE IN DUALLA, New Testament.] Kalati ya Loba, Mbun a Penya ya Sango Moongiseri asu Jezu Krais. Translated by the Rev. Alfred Saker, of Cameroons River. London : printed for the Bible Translation Society by Unwin Bros., 1897.   $175

12mo, pp. [6], 628, [1]; vignette device on title-p.; original terracotta cloth stamped in gilt on spine; very good and sound.

Reprint of the edition originally published 1882. Alfred Saker of the Baptist Missionary Society died in 1880, and his daughter Emily Saker edited the volume. Darlow and Moule, 3263

5.   [BIBLE IN HINDUSTANI.] The four Gospels and the Acts, in Hindustani. Translated from the Greek. By the Calcutta Baptist Missionaries. Calcutta: printed for the Bible Translation Society, at the Baptist Mission Press, 1850.   $350

12mo, pp. [2], 310; text in Hindi throughout; original brown cloth, printed paper label on spine; ex-University of Chicago, with their blindstamp and old sticker at the base of the spine; spine a little faded, else a very good, sound copy. Bookplate of the American Bible Union on front pastedown, noting that this was a gift from the Calcutta Baptist Missionaries in 1853. This edition not in Darlow & Moule. University of Chicago only in OCLC (this copy).

Very rare with the 15 albumen photographs

6.    BLACK, JOHN R. Young Japan. Yokohama and Yedo. A narrative of the settlement and the city from the signing of the treaties in 1858, to the close of the year 1879. With a glance at the progress of Japan during a period of twenty-one years. London & Yokohama: Trubner [and] Kelly & Co. [printed at the private printing office of the author, Yokohama], 1880-81.      $22,500

First edition, 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. viii, [v]-xvi, 418; xiv, 522; 15 mounted albumen prints (1 folding - reproducing a map of Japan - is quite faded); original brown cloth lettered in gilt on spines; cloth along the joints is cracked, second title-p. is considerably browned, but in all a very good copy.

The book is common, but only a few copies include the albumen photographs, and those that DO have them contain an extra leaf (pp. xv-xvi) in the preliminary matter in the first volume, listing the photographs by title. Not in the NYPL Checklist, Truthful Lens, or the Horblit Collection. Not in Cordier, Japonica. Apparently none of the copies listed in OCLC have the photographs either (at least they're not mentioned, and they don’t paginate correctly), nor do the on-line digitized copies (Google and Open Library) have them either.

The photographer is likely the author himself, John Reddie Black, who was the editor of and sometimes photographer for The Far East, a fortnightly (and later a monthly) newspaper noted for its numerous photographic illustrations. It was issued in a total of 7 volumes, May 30, 1870 - Aug. 31, 1875, and was followed by a New Series (a monthly) published in 5 volumes in Shanghai, 1876-1878. Terry Bennett, in his Photography in Japan (2006) gives a good biography of Black and his association with the Far East, but he makes only passing reference to Young Japan. Black died on June 11, 1880, and it was left to others to see the second volume through the press. Likely this is the reason that the photographs are all concentrated in volume I. Volume II contains no photographs.

7.   BUCKLIN, SOPHRONIA E. In hospital and camp: a woman's record of thrilling incidents among the wounded in the late war. Philadelphia: John E. Potter and Co., 1869. $275

First edition, 8vo, pp. [3]-380, 4 (ads); engraved frontispiece portrait (offset onto tissue guard), 23 wood-engraved plates; a bit of chaffing along the top and bottom edges, minor rubbing, else a very good, bright copy in original green cloth stamped in gilt on both covers and spine, a.e.g. 

8.   [BUNYAN, JOHN.] Mobembo mo mobembi, na libota li yeye. Liloto likosinginya mambi ma Moyekoli o Ncango ndamu co na Mobembo mo bembi Moto nolongw'o Etuk'e Nce nobil' Ekang'e Likolo. Bolobo: Baptist Mission Society, 1923.     $350

First complete edition of this translation of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress in Bobangi, translated by J. Whitehead, and printed at the "Hannah Wade" printing Press in the Belgian Congo. 8vo, pp. [2], v, [1], 121, [1]; [3], 126-228; 9 wood-engraved illustrations; original brown cloth stamped in gilt on the upper cover (gilt faded and oxidized); short tear at bottom margin of title-p., a number of leaves in the middle with loss to the top outer corners (no loss of letterpress); all else very good and sound.

The first part only was printed at Bolobo in 1904. The first part, revised, together with the second part was printed in its entirely at Bolobo in 1923. The first half of the book is printed on paper of poor quality, causing some brittleness and the loss to the dog-eared corners.

OCLC locates only the Oxford copy.

9.    BUTTERWORTH, JOHN. A new concordance and dictionary to the Holy Scriptures. Being the most comprehensive and concise of any before published in which any word or passage of Scripture may be easily found ... together with the different acceptations of Scripture words; a definition of gospel doctrines; and several types and figures opened ... Philadelphia: published by William W. Woodward ... William Brown, printer, 1811.    $175

First quarto edition, pp. viii, 365, [2]; text in triple column; contemporary full sheep, maroon morocco label on gilt-paneled spine; extremities rubbed; good and sound. First published in octavo in New York the same year.

American Imprints 22460.

10.    DAISH, W., M.D. Melbourne to Tokio. Notes by the way. [South Melbourne: C. G. Meehan & Co., printers, 1900.]   $375

Only edition, 12mo, pp. 104; frontispiece from a photograph of the author in a rickshaw; 4-p. English-Japanese word list at the back; some spotting of the text and covers, otherwise generally a very good copy in original red cloth lettered in gilt on the upper cover.

An Australian doctor signs on as surgeon on a voyage to Japan, and is subsequently mesmerized by that land. Stops were also made Port Darwin, Timor, Hong Kong, Canton, and Macao.

11.   DWIGGINS, W. A. & Laurance B Siegfried. Extracts from an investigation into the physical properties of books as they are at present published. Boston: 1919 [but actually London, for Ruari McLean and Associates et al., by Meriden Gravure, 1968].    $20

8vo, pp. [28]; with an added postscript by McLean; fine in original printed wrappers.

12.   [HAMMER, VICTOR.] Victor Hammer and the Wells College Press. Aurora, New York: privately printed, 1993.  $20

Edition limited to 500 copies, 8vo, pp. [2], 37, [2]; printed in red and black; tipped-in photographic frontispiece of Hammer, 3 illustrations of type in the text; fine in original blue wrappers printed in gilt. Printed by Michael and Winifred Bixler.

13.    HAROLD BERLINER TYPEFOUNDRY. Types we can make ... in hot metal & polymer plates [cover title].n.p., n.d. [but Nevada City, CA, ca. 1992].   $75

Quarto 3-ring binder, approximately 250 pages of type specimens under separate tabs (i.e. Classic, Sans Serif, Decorative, Blackletter & Fraktur, etc.), with 6 loose order forms, etc. laid in cover pocket; fine in the original shipping carton.

14. [HUNT, URIAH.] The book of commerce by sea and land, exhibiting its connection with argiculture, the arts, and manufactures. To which are added a history of commerce, and a chronological table. Philadelphia: Uriah Hunt, 1837. $150

Reprint (first published in 1833), small 8vo, pp. 185; map; text woodcuts; original leather-backed illustrated paper-covered boards; spine scuffed, joints cracked, map wormed with loss of image in a couple places, hinges cracked, foxed; overall a good, sound copy. Intended for juveniles, the book covers all sorts of commerce including foods, drinks, fabrics, etc., and discusses methods of conveyance and the history of commerece.

15    JENNER, THOMAS. Tsze tëèn piào muh. [A guide to the dictionary.] An essay exhibiting the 214 radicals of the Chinese written language, arranged according to the mnemonic system of Mr. William Stokes. To which are added remarks on the history, geography, and arithmetic of the Chinese. Rochester, [U.K.]: privately printed, 1904. $1,250

First edition, 4to, pp. [11], vii, [5], 13-153; with all the requisite added insertions as listed in the Directions to the Binder, including Psalm XXIII printed in Chinese on rice paper; a cyclostyle-printed A.L.s. from William Stokes to Jenner in appreciation of his use of the Stokes system of mnemonics in teaching Chinese; a folding hand-colored map of China by Jenner; 4-p. printed text in Chinese from type casts made for the Stokes system; and Jenner's "Victoria Regina et Imperatrix, A Diamond Jubilee Ode in Sisty Lines," 3pp., small 8vo.

Also with 2 A.Ls.s. laid in, one to Jenner from Arthur E. Marks (?) of Burwarton Rectory, Bridgnorth, dated 1911 regarding his work on the Nanking Monument of the Beatitudes publsihed that year, and a manuscript copy of a letter from Bernard C. Robinson dated 1905 on the Christian conversion of a Japanese Samurai follower of Bushido; original moire-patterned red cloth lettered in gilt on upper cover and spine, t.e.g.; very minor fraying at spine ends, else near fine. Binder's ticket of G. A. Leest, Rochester, on rear pastedown.

Printed from the author's manuscript by cyclostyle process, a stencil process of printing invented by David Gestetner in the late 1800s. A stencil is cut with the help of small toothed wheels on a special paper stretched over a zinc plate and underlayed with carbon paper. Spirit is used as a medium to transfer the image from the carbon paper to the output paper.

Also laid in is the 8-p. supplement, "Tsze tëèn piào muh. Supplement," n.p., n.d., tall 8vo, original red printed wrappers, being an explanation of the mnemonic system for learning Syriac and Sanskrit; fine.

Jenner was a member of the China Society, formed in 1907, "for the encouragement for the study of the Chinese language, literature, history, folklore, and scientific, artistic, commercial, and social Chinese matters." The use of mnemonics was not new to the teaching of the Chinese, however. Matteo Ricci developed a similar system in China before his death there in 1610.

University of London only in OCLC. Cordier, Sinica, 3156 listing only the second edition of 1907.

With 14 mounted silverprints

16.    [CHINA.] [Johnson, C.] The Yangtse Gorges: a photographic souvenir [cover title]. n.p., n.d.: ca. 1915 [?].     $2,250

Only edition; small 8vo, consisting of a preface leaf, and 14 mounted silver-print photographs, each with an accompanying page of descriptive text, plus a folding map; original red cloth lettered in silver on the upper cover; front hinge cracked, minor rubbing; very good.

"This small book is not intended to give a detailed account of the Gorges. It is more of a souvenir for those who possess no camera, or having one have been unfortunate with the weather. Some descriptive notes are given, also other useful information. Distances are quoted, and given a fair average speed of 7.5 knots for the upbound vessel, the time of its passing the various places can easily be calculated" (Preface).

Not in OCLC.

Author’s presentation copy to his daughter

17.    McPHERSON, DUNCAN, M.D., of the Madras Army. Antiquities of Kertch, and researches in the Cimmerian Bosporus; with remarks on the ethnological and physical history of the Crimea. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1857.   $850

First edition, folio, pp. xvi, [2], 130, [2] subscriber list, [4] ads; tinted folding lithograph frontispiece and title-page, 2 maps, 12 lithograph plates (9 colored, 3 plain), and 28 wood engravings in the text; original brown cloth with gilt lettering on spine and upper cover, circular gilt device on upper cover, a.e.g.; fore-edge of contents leaf with several short tears, some plates spotted, but mostly confined to the margins or versos, some overall rubbing, but generally a very good, sound copy.

Presentation copy from the author to his daughter, inscribed on the verso of the half-title and dated 7 March, 1857.

Abbey, Travel, 243: "An example of the degree of technical virtuosity reached by this time in lithography, giving plates brilliant in effect, the equivalent of modern four-colour process work from photographs. It's very difficult to tell whether, or to what extent, the plates are touched by hand..."

18.    PALMER, S[amuel]. A general history of printing; from its first invention of it in the city of Mentz, to its propagation and progress thro' most of the kingdoms in Europe: particularly the introduction and success of it here in England... London: printed for A. Bettesworth, C. Hitch, and C. Davis, 1733.      $650

Second edition, 4to, pp. vii, [5], 400; small holes in the fore-margins of K3 and K4, but still a very good copy in contemporary full calf neatly rebacked, gilt spine, red and black morocco labels.

First published the previous year with a slightly altered title and pagination. While Palmer's collection of materials on the early English printers is of value, the work contains a preponderance of misstatements for which he was taken to task by Dibdin and others.

Bigmore and Wyman II, 109-11.

19.   PONTING, HERBERT G. In lotus-land Japan. London: Macmillan and Co., 1910.     $300

First edition, 8vo, pp. xvi, 395; 104 plates from photographs, mostly by Ponting, (8 colored); original pictorial red cloth stamped in gilt, preserving the original printed dust jacket and the publisher's slipcase. Jacket with some mild waterstains along the bottom edge (and transferred a bit to the rear endpaper; a few shallow edge tears (mostly at spine creases), else very good.

The author's photographic record of his three-year stay in Japan, accompanied by text. Excellent views of Mt. Fuji and interesting studies of the Japanese.

20.   QUEBEC STEAMSHIP COMPANY. Winter tours to the tropics ... Season 1885-86. New York: Liberty Printing Co., ca. 1885.     $175

Large blue sheet of paper, approx. 21" x 15", folding down to 7½ x 3½"; 2 wood engravings and a large map; fine.

On the verso of the sheet is a large map of the eastern seaboard, from New York to Venezuela showing Bermuda and the islands of the Caribbean; the recto is divided into 12 panels with descriptive text on Bermuda, St. Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, and Trinidad; together with timetables, information on the iron steamships "Trinidad" and "Orinoco," lists of agents, etc.

Presentation copy

21.   ROLVAAG, O. E. Peder seier. Oslo: Forlagt av H. Aschehoug & Co., 1928.  $350

First edition, 12mo, pp. [4], 361; front hinge starting, slight wear at spine ends, else a near fine copy in original terracotta cloth.

Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the flyleaf "To my beloved friend Eugene F. Saxton. This is how Peder looks in foreign dress. O. E. Rolvaag." Additionally signed by Rolvaag on the title-page.

The second novel in the trilogy (Peder Victorious) that began with Giants In The Earth (1927), and ended with Their Father's God (1931).

22.   SHOBERL, FREDERICK. Persia; containing a description of the country, with an account of its government, laws, and religion, and of the character, manners and customs, arts, amusements, &c. of its inhabitants. Philadelphia: John Grigg, 1828.     $200

First American edition, 12mo, pp. [iii]-xi, [2], 14-181; 12 hand-colored wood engravings; original quarter red morocco over green glazed paper boards; morocco scuffed and worn, occasional minor foxing and/or offsetting of the plates, but in all a good, sound copy.

Originally issued in 1822 in 3 volumes by Ackerman in London as part of The World in Miniature series, published in 43 volumes 1821-27. See Abbey, Travel, 6.

23.   SOUTH MANCHURIA RAILWAY. Handbook of information. May 1914 to April 1915 [cover title]. [Darien, Manchuria: printed by the "M.N.N.S.", ca. 1914.] $350

Small 8vo (188mm), pp. [2], 37, [1]; color photographic illustrations throughout, folding color map of the Manchuria Railway and its connecting routes at the back; original pictorial wrappers; near fine.

Manchuria came under control of Japan in 1905, and the highly successful South Manchuria Railway Company was founded in 1906, existing until 1945 when it was dissolved by the Americans.

Not in COPAC or OCLC which record two copies (Michigan and Aberdeen) of a 36-page issue for 1913, and it was reprinted again in 1918.

24.   [STINEHOUR PRESS.] Farrell, David. The Stinehour Press: a bibliographical checklist of the first thirty years ... with an introduction by Roderick Stinehour. Lunenburg, Vt.: Meriden-Stinehour Press, [1988].    $65

First edition limited to 1200 copies, this is copy no. 19; large 8vo, pp. xxi, 300, [1]; facsimile title-pp. interspersed, some in color; very fine copy in the jacket, and in a custom-made gray cloth slipcase by Arno Werner with the Stinehour mark stamped in silver on both covers. Bibliographic descriptions of over 1000 books issued from the press.

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