Japan Rare Books, Anna Hartshorne Japan and Her People, Siebold Manners Customs of The Japanese, Thomas Knox Japan & China 1879 First Edition.

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8vo., 2 Volumes, First Edition, original blue pictorial cloth, gilt, spines gilt, top edges gilt, pp. x + 377, & vi + 374, illustrated in photogravure with 25 full page captioned tissue guarded plates to each volume and a large folding colour map at end of volume 2, spotting to paste-downs, a very good copy in a bright binding.

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Kaempfer, Engelbert. The History of Japan; Together with a Description of the Kingdom of Siam: 1690-92.
Published: Glasgow, James MacLehose & Sons. 1906
Binding: Gilt Decorated Red cloth
Price: Sold

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8vo., 3 Volumes, Printing limited to 1000 copies, although without a statement of limitation, original red cloth with gilt tooled "Kiku" or Chrysanthemum crest of the Japanese Royal Family on front covers and spines, rubbed and marked, Vol 1. with 5 small puncture marks to spine, Vol 2. water stain to corner of front cover, top edges gilt, others untrimmed, Vol 1. with front free endpaper stamp stating " set of 3 not to be sold separately, & Vol 3. front free endpaper with oval library stamp of "Library of Shuten Inouve" in English and Japanese, pp. lxxxix + 337, x + 397, ix + 386, profusely illustrated with full page plates, text illustrations folding plans and a large folding map, some occasional spotting but mostly to prelims, overall a good to very good copy with many pages un-opened.

This text of this edition follows the original edition of 1727, with the exception of some corrections, both of spelling and punctuation, but with Kaempfer"s original spelling of Japanese place-names. Printing was limited to 1,000 copies, although without a statement of limitation.

More rare books on Asia; Siam, Ava, Burma, Java, Angkor Wat etc.

Kaempfer (1651-1716) was a German physician and naturalist. Kaempfer traveled to Japan in 1690, engaged as a surgeon by the Dutch East India Company, which had the most regular (although still very limited) access to Japan among the European powers in the 17th century. He lived in Deshima (Nagasaki) for two years, on several occasions traveling to Edo (Tokyo). Kaempfer undertook a detailed study of Japanese history and life, with this account covering, in his title, "the ancient and present state and government of that empire; its temples palaces, castles, and other buildings; its metals, minerals, trees, plants, animals, birds, and fishes; the chronology and succession of the emperors; the original descent, religions, customs, and manufactures of the natives, and of their trade and commerce with Dutch and Chinese". A discussion is also included of the voyage to Japan made by the English in 1673 (they were denied access). Six appendices cover tea, Japanese paper, acupuncture, moxa, ambergris, and Japan’s policy of seclusion. Kaempfer traveled through South East Asia on his way to and from Japan, and his account also includes a description of Siam (Thailand) in the late 17th century.
Kaempfer’s History of Japan was written in German, but first published in English in 1727. His authoritative and detailed description of the country, largely closed to outsiders, was highly popular and reprinted in several languages. Given the paucity of information on Japan even over a 100 years later, Commodore Perry apparently took a copy on board when sailing to Japan in the mid-19th century to force the country open for American trade.

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Knox, Thomas. The Boy Travellers Japan and China.
Published: New York Harper & Brothers. 1879.
Edition: First Edition.
Binding: Pictorial Red Cloth
Price: U.S.$225

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Small 4to., First Edition, original pictorial red cloth decorated in yellow, silver, black and gilt, similar spine, rubbed at corners & edges, spine slightly faded but covers bright and clean, pictorial endpapers, pp. 421 + 2pp. publishers adverts, profusely illustrated through-out, including tissue guarded colour frontispiece, full page plates, map and text illustrations, contents clean, a very good copy of the first in the "Boy Travellers" series.

*Thomas W. Knox ( 1835 - 1896 )
A self-proclaimed wandering American was a prodigious travel writer of the late nineteenth century. He received his training as a writer prior to and during the Civil War. As a war correspondent for the New York Herald, Knox ran afoul of General Grant when he published information concerning troop locations, which Grant believed aided the enemy. Subsequently Knox was court-martialed for giving intelligence to the enemy, and of being a spy. Through a personal appeal to President Lincoln, his conviction was revoked, but he never regained the good graces of Grant.

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Ozaki, Madame Yukio. Romances of Old Japan.
Rendered into English from Japanese sources. London, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co Ltd. February 1920. 4to., original blue cloth decorated in gilt and black with a Samurai sword & Mount Fuji, in a pictorial dust wrapper, 32 full page black & white and colour tissue guarded illustrations plus illustrated title, pp.ix + 278, bookplate on paste-down, light foxing to first and last few pages, small repair to inside on dust wrapper & a small portion inked over in green to tail of d/w spine, but still a very good copy of a lovely book. U.S.$445 Sold

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Schouten, Joost & Francois Caron A True Description of The Kingdoms of Japan and Siam
Published: 1935 The Argonaut Press London
Edition: First Edition Thus
Binding: Red cloth Vellum Spine.
Price: U.S.$Sold

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4to., First Edition thus, original vellum backed red cloth pictorially decorated in gilt, blue & cream with armorial tooling, gilt spine, pp. cxxix + 197, illustrated with a tissue guarded portrait frontispiece plus 11 other plates and 7 maps (some folding), a very good copy.

Limited edition on Japon vellum, number 147 of 475 copies by The Argonaut Press

Reprinted from he English edition of 1663 with introduction, notes and appendixes by C. R. Boxer.

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Siebold, Dr Philipp Franz Von. and Others. Manners and Customs of The Japanese, in the Nineteenth Century. From recent Dutch visitors of Japan, and the German of Dr Ph. Fr. von Siebold.
Published: London: John Murray. 1841
Edition: First English Edition
Binding: Gilt Tooled Pictorial Cloth
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Price: Sold

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8vo., First English Edition, original pictorial cloth gilt, a little rubbed, rebacked preserving original spine, new endpapers, pp. xi + 423 & 4pp publishers catalogue at end, front free endpapers and title a little spotted, but otherwise a very good clean copy.

Early account of Japan from the German of von Siebold who was the physician to the Dutch East India Company. At the time Japan was a closed shop and trade with the dutch was limited to the island of Deshima.

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