Author: STAUNTON, George Leonard.
Title: An authentic account of an embassy from the king of Great Britain to the emperor of China.London, W. Bulmer and Co. for G. Nicol, 1798. 2 text volumes and 1 plate volume. 4to and folio plate volume. With 44 engraved plates in the atlas (1 folding map, 6 double-page plates and 37 full-page), 2 frontispieces in the text volumes (1 each), 1 full-page plate, and 25 vignettes in the text. Early 19th-century elaborately gold- and blind-tooled brown calf, with a red morocco title label and green morocco author and volume label on the spine, gold-tooled edges and turn-ins, marbled end papers. The atlas in gold-tooled half brown calf, with the same spine as the text volumes, marbled paper sides.
Description: [2], XXXIV, 518; [2], XX, 626 pp. + 44 plates.Richly illustrated account of the first official British embassy to China, complete with the scarce atlas volume. This large-format work was the first of several publications by members of the embassy that detailed the mission's reception in China. The work had a considerable impact in England; partly because of the detailed descriptions of Chinese customs, and partly because of the beautiful illustrations made by painter and embassy member William Alexander (1767-1816), who depicted subjects that few Europeans had seen. His views "remained unrivalled until the era or photography. They were used, often without acknowledgement, to illustrate books on China and it would be surprising if they did not play a considerable role in the renewed interest in chinoiserie which affected England in the two decades following Alexander's return" (Löwendahl).At the end of the 18th century, Great Britain very much wanted to establish formal diplomatic relations with China and open the way for unimpeded trade. In order to do so, the government sent an embassy to China, led by Viscount George Macartney (1737-1806). Doctor George Leonard Staunton (1737-1801), who had worked with Macartney in the West Indies and India, became the secretary. The party embarked in 1792 and reached China a year later. Macartney and Staunton did receive an audience with the Qianlong Emperor, but their gift and arguments were rebuffed, so they had to return empty-handed. An important reason why the Macartney embassy was rejected is probably because they did not understand Chinese culture. According to the publication China on paper, this is even visible in Staunton's account. Both of the text volumes contain an engraved frontispiece. The first volume shows the Qianlong Emperor, while the second shows Macartney, thus portraying them as equals. According to Chinese court protocol, however, they were not. Great Britain was considered a tributary state, so the Emperor was not only seen as Macartney's superior, but also as King George the third's superior. Because Macartney did not understand this, he failed to show the Emperor the proper signs of respect, and lost his goodwill.Although the mission failed its primary goal, to obtain new trade concessions with China, it did succeed in its secondary goal: to learn more about China. The present work does not only describe the mission itself, but also Chinese customs, dress, architecture, military, and medicine. It also includes a detailed appendix on Chinese trade with Europe. The work, published at government expense, was a huge commercial success and went through 15 editions in multiple languages. The present copy is the second, corrected edition. It is not only an important work on China and the Chinese, but it also contains important and interesting descriptions of various places they visited on their way to China, for example the descriptions of Madeira, Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, the Cape of Good Hope, Indonesia, Macao, and St. Helena.The leather on the front and back boards is slightly scratched. Uncut, very slightly foxed on some leaves. Otherwise in excellent condition.l Bibliotheca Wittockiana, Western travellers in China, 47; Brunet V, co. 525; Cordier, Sinica, 2382-2383; Cox I, pp. 344-345; Lust 545 and 547; cf. Getty, China on paper, 9 (other ed.); Löwendahl, Sino-Western relations II, 697 (other ed.).
Keywords: [9EE06DC76F16] ASIA|[9EE06DC76F16] ASIA -> [B168CF891AD9] China|[80CBADC1D9E8] CARTOGRAPHY & EXPLORATION|[80CBADC1D9E8] CARTOGRAPHY & EXPLORATION -> [C1D22201B2B0] Asia|[80CBADC1D9E8] CARTOGRAPHY & EXPLORATION -> [F94AEB0D1632] Voyages & Travel|[7F0260752
Title: An authentic account of an embassy from the king of Great Britain to the emperor of China.London, W. Bulmer and Co. for G. Nicol, 1798. 2 text volumes and 1 plate volume. 4to and folio plate volume. With 44 engraved plates in the atlas (1 folding map, 6 double-page plates and 37 full-page), 2 frontispieces in the text volumes (1 each), 1 full-page plate, and 25 vignettes in the text. Early 19th-century elaborately gold- and blind-tooled brown calf, with a red morocco title label and green morocco author and volume label on the spine, gold-tooled edges and turn-ins, marbled end papers. The atlas in gold-tooled half brown calf, with the same spine as the text volumes, marbled paper sides.
Description: [2], XXXIV, 518; [2], XX, 626 pp. + 44 plates.Richly illustrated account of the first official British embassy to China, complete with the scarce atlas volume. This large-format work was the first of several publications by members of the embassy that detailed the mission's reception in China. The work had a considerable impact in England; partly because of the detailed descriptions of Chinese customs, and partly because of the beautiful illustrations made by painter and embassy member William Alexander (1767-1816), who depicted subjects that few Europeans had seen. His views "remained unrivalled until the era or photography. They were used, often without acknowledgement, to illustrate books on China and it would be surprising if they did not play a considerable role in the renewed interest in chinoiserie which affected England in the two decades following Alexander's return" (Löwendahl).At the end of the 18th century, Great Britain very much wanted to establish formal diplomatic relations with China and open the way for unimpeded trade. In order to do so, the government sent an embassy to China, led by Viscount George Macartney (1737-1806). Doctor George Leonard Staunton (1737-1801), who had worked with Macartney in the West Indies and India, became the secretary. The party embarked in 1792 and reached China a year later. Macartney and Staunton did receive an audience with the Qianlong Emperor, but their gift and arguments were rebuffed, so they had to return empty-handed. An important reason why the Macartney embassy was rejected is probably because they did not understand Chinese culture. According to the publication China on paper, this is even visible in Staunton's account. Both of the text volumes contain an engraved frontispiece. The first volume shows the Qianlong Emperor, while the second shows Macartney, thus portraying them as equals. According to Chinese court protocol, however, they were not. Great Britain was considered a tributary state, so the Emperor was not only seen as Macartney's superior, but also as King George the third's superior. Because Macartney did not understand this, he failed to show the Emperor the proper signs of respect, and lost his goodwill.Although the mission failed its primary goal, to obtain new trade concessions with China, it did succeed in its secondary goal: to learn more about China. The present work does not only describe the mission itself, but also Chinese customs, dress, architecture, military, and medicine. It also includes a detailed appendix on Chinese trade with Europe. The work, published at government expense, was a huge commercial success and went through 15 editions in multiple languages. The present copy is the second, corrected edition. It is not only an important work on China and the Chinese, but it also contains important and interesting descriptions of various places they visited on their way to China, for example the descriptions of Madeira, Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, the Cape of Good Hope, Indonesia, Macao, and St. Helena.The leather on the front and back boards is slightly scratched. Uncut, very slightly foxed on some leaves. Otherwise in excellent condition.l Bibliotheca Wittockiana, Western travellers in China, 47; Brunet V, co. 525; Cordier, Sinica, 2382-2383; Cox I, pp. 344-345; Lust 545 and 547; cf. Getty, China on paper, 9 (other ed.); Löwendahl, Sino-Western relations II, 697 (other ed.).
Keywords: [9EE06DC76F16] ASIA|[9EE06DC76F16] ASIA -> [B168CF891AD9] China|[80CBADC1D9E8] CARTOGRAPHY & EXPLORATION|[80CBADC1D9E8] CARTOGRAPHY & EXPLORATION -> [C1D22201B2B0] Asia|[80CBADC1D9E8] CARTOGRAPHY & EXPLORATION -> [F94AEB0D1632] Voyages & Travel|[7F0260752
Price: EUR 18000.00 = appr. US$ 19563.25 Seller: A. Asher & Co. B.V.
- Book number: ABC_48815
- Book number: ABC_48815