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Private Journal -
Captain Robert Jenkins [1825-94]
1857 to 1858
The original 320 page hand-written journal of Captain Robert Jenkins, during his time as Commander of HMS Actaeon for the year 1857 and HMS Comus in 1857, both ships active off the coast of China, mostly around Canton. Included is a hand drawn and water coloured sketch of Chinese villagers being forced to kowtow to the Union Jack. Finely bound in contemporary black calf and brass locks.
HMS Actaeon was commissioned in 1857 to serve as a survey vessel off the coast of China, under the command of Captain William Thornton Bate. She was present at the bombardment of Canton in 1857,where Bate was shot and killed on 29th. December. Captain Robert Jenkins took over the command of the ship and his journal refers to the bombardment of Canton, surveying factories, disputes over land between British and Chinese merchants. It also covers skirmishes with armed junks and defence of the Barrier. Locations include Hong Kong ,Canton, Macao and Amoy.
According to the Journal it appears that Jenkins was wounded seriously on June 30th 1858, and on September 16th ‘Joined Commander J Ward, [vice?] Captain R Jenkins discharged to Half Pay’, September 18th ‘I went to Shanghai with Commander Ward’, from whence Jenkins travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang, Galli, Aden, Alexandria, Malta, Gibralter, Falmouth, arriving in Southampton 19th November, one month after leaving Shanghai.
Journal (binding size 29x23.5cm), pp. [4] [144 (1st January to 31st December 1857 as Commander of HMS Comus)] [9 (Summary of year 1857 as Commander of HMS Comus)] [1]; [7(January 1-19th, last days as Commander of HMS Comus)] [1] [92 (January 20th to 19th November as Commander of HMS Actaeon)] [4] [8 (Summary of year 1857 as Commander of HMS Actaeon)] [50]. Paper watermarked ‘1852’ ‘Fellows’.
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Price HK$ 130,000
1857 to 1858
The original 320 page hand-written journal of Captain Robert Jenkins, during his time as Commander of HMS Actaeon for the year 1857 and HMS Comus in 1857, both ships active off the coast of China, mostly around Canton. Included is a hand drawn and water coloured sketch of Chinese villagers being forced to kowtow to the Union Jack. Finely bound in contemporary black calf and brass locks.HMS Actaeon was commissioned in 1857 to serve as a survey vessel off the coast of China, under the command of Captain William Thornton Bate. She was present at the bombardment of Canton in 1857,where Bate was shot and killed on 29th. December. Captain Robert Jenkins took over the command of the ship and his journal refers to the bombardment of Canton, surveying factories, disputes over land between British and Chinese merchants. It also covers skirmishes with armed junks and defence of the Barrier. Locations include Hong Kong ,Canton, Macao and Amoy.
According to the Journal it appears that Jenkins was wounded seriously on June 30th 1858, and on September 16th ‘Joined Commander J Ward, [vice?] Captain R Jenkins discharged to Half Pay’, September 18th ‘I went to Shanghai with Commander Ward’, from whence Jenkins travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang, Galli, Aden, Alexandria, Malta, Gibralter, Falmouth, arriving in Southampton 19th November, one month after leaving Shanghai.
Journal (binding size 29x23.5cm), pp. [4] [144 (1st January to 31st December 1857 as Commander of HMS Comus)] [9 (Summary of year 1857 as Commander of HMS Comus)] [1]; [7(January 1-19th, last days as Commander of HMS Comus)] [1] [92 (January 20th to 19th November as Commander of HMS Actaeon)] [4] [8 (Summary of year 1857 as Commander of HMS Actaeon)] [50]. Paper watermarked ‘1852’ ‘Fellows’.
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Price HK$ 130,000
Culinary Jottings: A Treatise in Thirty Chapters on Reformed Cookery for Anglo-Indian Exiles -
Colonel Kenney-Herbert “Wyvern”
1885 - Higginbotham & Co., Madras - Fifth Edition
A scarce example of this popular cook book by ‘Wyvern’, expanded and revised from the first edition (’Culinary Jottings for Madras) published seven years earlier. All early editions are scarce because being a working cook book it is prone to all the usual issues that modern cookbooks are also in danger of, combined with the original cheap paper and glues used for its production in Madras.
With numerous chapters including two on ‘Our Curries’ and ‘Curries and Mulligatunny’, as well as ‘Camp Cookery’, ending with a fascinating essay about the British kitchens of India.
Recipes include helpful hints and advice, for example ‘Potted Prawns ought to be oftener seen at Madras than they are’ and suggestions on where to purchase the best potted meats, anecdotes (see ‘Mulligatunny’), a complete chapter titled ‘Notes on Curing of Meat’.
Published by legendary Indian book sellers Higginbotham’s, this work and other titles by ‘Wyvern’ ‘swept Higginbotham’s from being just a book establishment into becoming a part of India’s print and publishing history’ [Bangalore Mirror]
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Price HK$ 3,000
1885 - Higginbotham & Co., Madras - Fifth Edition
A scarce example of this popular cook book by ‘Wyvern’, expanded and revised from the first edition (’Culinary Jottings for Madras) published seven years earlier. All early editions are scarce because being a working cook book it is prone to all the usual issues that modern cookbooks are also in danger of, combined with the original cheap paper and glues used for its production in Madras.With numerous chapters including two on ‘Our Curries’ and ‘Curries and Mulligatunny’, as well as ‘Camp Cookery’, ending with a fascinating essay about the British kitchens of India.
Recipes include helpful hints and advice, for example ‘Potted Prawns ought to be oftener seen at Madras than they are’ and suggestions on where to purchase the best potted meats, anecdotes (see ‘Mulligatunny’), a complete chapter titled ‘Notes on Curing of Meat’.
Published by legendary Indian book sellers Higginbotham’s, this work and other titles by ‘Wyvern’ ‘swept Higginbotham’s from being just a book establishment into becoming a part of India’s print and publishing history’ [Bangalore Mirror]
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Price HK$ 3,000
An Account of the Kingdom of Nepaul -
William J. Kirkpatrick
1811 - Printed for William Miller by Bulmer & Co., London - First Edition
A beautiful first edition of the first major work on Nepal in English, illustrated with a large engraved folding map and fourteen engraved plates, including the hand-coloured plate of a Nepal ‘Khalidge’ Pheasant.
At the request of the Nepalese, Kirkpatrick was sent by the British to mediate between the Chinese and the Nepalese when the former attacked across Tibet and lay at the outskirts of Kathmandu. Kirkpatrick, the British officers who accompanied him, and his fellow officials were the first British to set foot in the secluded valley of Nepal.
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Price HK$ 24,000
1811 - Printed for William Miller by Bulmer & Co., London - First Edition
A beautiful first edition of the first major work on Nepal in English, illustrated with a large engraved folding map and fourteen engraved plates, including the hand-coloured plate of a Nepal ‘Khalidge’ Pheasant.At the request of the Nepalese, Kirkpatrick was sent by the British to mediate between the Chinese and the Nepalese when the former attacked across Tibet and lay at the outskirts of Kathmandu. Kirkpatrick, the British officers who accompanied him, and his fellow officials were the first British to set foot in the secluded valley of Nepal.
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Price HK$ 24,000
Voyage dans les Mers de l'Inde -
Guillaume Joseph Le Gentil de la Galaisiere
1779 - Imprimerie Royale, Paris - First Editions
‘Two monumental volumes... crammed with details on astronomy, navigation, and natural history... His descriptions of life in Manila, Pondicherry, and Madagascar are invaluable’ (Dunmore).
A stunning set In contemporary bindings and illustrated with twenty seven folding copper engravings showing two world maps, maps charts and plans of Eastern and Western Philippines, Bay of Manila, Philippine Harbours, Manilla, Madagascar and it’s coastline, Isle de France (Mauritius), Isle de Bourbon (Réunion), Quartier S. Denis on Réunion, Eastern and Western Straits of Malacca, and Pondicherry. Together with engraved plates of animals and plant life, the ruins of Pondicherry, pagodas, Indian deities, and charts of comets and constellations.
‘In addition to the scientific details for which the voyage was undertaken, the first volume treats of the manners, customs, and religion or the people of the Malabar Coast and of the astronomy of the Brahmins. The second volume contains elaborate accounts of the Philippine Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Bourbon and their inhabitants, including views and charts of the Philippines. Le Gentil gives details of the Islands, their climate, volcanoes, fertility, fruits, birds, animals, peoples, language, history, and description of Manila, the government, ecclesiastical and civil, commerce, &c.’ (Edwards).
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Price HK$ 51,000
1779 - Imprimerie Royale, Paris - First Editions
‘Two monumental volumes... crammed with details on astronomy, navigation, and natural history... His descriptions of life in Manila, Pondicherry, and Madagascar are invaluable’ (Dunmore). A stunning set In contemporary bindings and illustrated with twenty seven folding copper engravings showing two world maps, maps charts and plans of Eastern and Western Philippines, Bay of Manila, Philippine Harbours, Manilla, Madagascar and it’s coastline, Isle de France (Mauritius), Isle de Bourbon (Réunion), Quartier S. Denis on Réunion, Eastern and Western Straits of Malacca, and Pondicherry. Together with engraved plates of animals and plant life, the ruins of Pondicherry, pagodas, Indian deities, and charts of comets and constellations.
‘In addition to the scientific details for which the voyage was undertaken, the first volume treats of the manners, customs, and religion or the people of the Malabar Coast and of the astronomy of the Brahmins. The second volume contains elaborate accounts of the Philippine Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Bourbon and their inhabitants, including views and charts of the Philippines. Le Gentil gives details of the Islands, their climate, volcanoes, fertility, fruits, birds, animals, peoples, language, history, and description of Manila, the government, ecclesiastical and civil, commerce, &c.’ (Edwards).
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Price HK$ 51,000
The Tourists' Guide and Merchants' Manual. Being an English-Chinese Vocabulary of Articles of Commerce and of Domestic Use; also, All the Known Names Connected with the Sciences of Natural History, Chemistry, Pharmacy, &c. &c. &c. In the Court and Punti Dialects -
Rev. Wilhelm Lobscheid
1864 - Printed and Published at the office of the “Daily Press”, Hongkong - First Edition
Rare early Cantonese (’Punti’) and Mandarin vocabulary published by The Daily Press, compiled by Rev. Wilhelm Lobscheid (1822-1893) whose groundbreaking four volume dictionary was also published by The Daily Press two years later in 1866.
The Daily Press was the first daily English-language newspaper in Hong Kong, published from 1857 for about 80 years. Founded and edited by George M Ryder.
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Price HK$ 18,000
1864 - Printed and Published at the office of the “Daily Press”, Hongkong - First Edition
Rare early Cantonese (’Punti’) and Mandarin vocabulary published by The Daily Press, compiled by Rev. Wilhelm Lobscheid (1822-1893) whose groundbreaking four volume dictionary was also published by The Daily Press two years later in 1866.The Daily Press was the first daily English-language newspaper in Hong Kong, published from 1857 for about 80 years. Founded and edited by George M Ryder.
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Price HK$ 18,000
Celebrities of the Shanghai Turf -
Juel Madsen, Edmund Toeg
1923 - Juel Madsen, Shanghai - First and only edition
A rare piece of Shanghai horse racing history, in remarkably clean condition.
Containing 54 full page captioned illustrations of prominent members of the Shanghai community, by Danish artists Juel Madsen, and Edmund Toeg, with an introduction by A. W. "Bertie" Burkill, Steward of the Shanghai Race Club.
The illustrations consist of 33 individual portraits of members of the Shanghai Race Club, Shanghai Paper Hunt Club, and International Recreation Club, beginning with G. H. Stitt, then Chairman of the Shanghai Racing Club (and Shanghai manager of the Hong Kong bank, interesting trivia – the right hand lion below the HSBC building in Hong Kong is nicknamed Stitt); 5 group sketches of Shanghai Race Club and Paper Hunt Club; 2 group sketches of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps (those featured are named below each sketch); 2 horses; all by Juel Madsen and 12 caricature sketches by Edmund Toeg.
Possibly the last publication and showing some of the last sketches by the Danish artist and war correspondent Juel Madsen who was killed in September 1923 in the Great Kantō Japanese earthquake.
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Price HK$ 15,000
1923 - Juel Madsen, Shanghai - First and only edition
A rare piece of Shanghai horse racing history, in remarkably clean condition.Containing 54 full page captioned illustrations of prominent members of the Shanghai community, by Danish artists Juel Madsen, and Edmund Toeg, with an introduction by A. W. "Bertie" Burkill, Steward of the Shanghai Race Club.
The illustrations consist of 33 individual portraits of members of the Shanghai Race Club, Shanghai Paper Hunt Club, and International Recreation Club, beginning with G. H. Stitt, then Chairman of the Shanghai Racing Club (and Shanghai manager of the Hong Kong bank, interesting trivia – the right hand lion below the HSBC building in Hong Kong is nicknamed Stitt); 5 group sketches of Shanghai Race Club and Paper Hunt Club; 2 group sketches of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps (those featured are named below each sketch); 2 horses; all by Juel Madsen and 12 caricature sketches by Edmund Toeg.
Possibly the last publication and showing some of the last sketches by the Danish artist and war correspondent Juel Madsen who was killed in September 1923 in the Great Kantō Japanese earthquake.
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Price HK$ 15,000
On a Chinese Screen -
William Somerset Maugham
1922 - William Heinemann, London - First English Edition
First edition of Maugham’s collection of sketches on China.
Maugham spent the winter months of 1919 travelling fifteen hundred miles up the Yangtze river, with what are clearly long stops in Shanghai and Hong Kong amongst other treaty ports. Always more interested in people than places, he noted down acute and finely crafted sketches of those he met on countless scraps of paper.
In the resulting collection we encounter Western missionaries, army officers and company managers who are culturally out of their depth in the immensity of the Chinese civilisation. Maugham keenly observes, and gently ridicules, their dogged and oblivious persistence with the life they know. In total 58 sketches.
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Price HK$ 15,000
1922 - William Heinemann, London - First English Edition
First edition of Maugham’s collection of sketches on China.Maugham spent the winter months of 1919 travelling fifteen hundred miles up the Yangtze river, with what are clearly long stops in Shanghai and Hong Kong amongst other treaty ports. Always more interested in people than places, he noted down acute and finely crafted sketches of those he met on countless scraps of paper.
In the resulting collection we encounter Western missionaries, army officers and company managers who are culturally out of their depth in the immensity of the Chinese civilisation. Maugham keenly observes, and gently ridicules, their dogged and oblivious persistence with the life they know. In total 58 sketches.
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Price HK$ 15,000
The Casuarina Tree - Six Stories -
William Somerset Maugham
1926 - William Heinemann Ltd., London - First Edition
First edition in the scarce dust jacket designed by Ralph Keene
Maugham’s collection of short stories by set in the Federated Malay States during the 1920s, including one of his most aclaimed ‘The Outsider’.
by W. Somerset Maugham. The stories are loosely based on Maugham's experiences traveling in the region for about a year
With a short introduction entitled ‘The Casuarina Tree’ followed by the stories – ‘Before the Party’, ‘P. & O.’, ‘The Outstation’, ‘The Force of Circumstance’, ‘The Yellow Streak’, and ‘The Letter’.
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Price HK$ 40,000
1926 - William Heinemann Ltd., London - First Edition
First edition in the scarce dust jacket designed by Ralph KeeneMaugham’s collection of short stories by set in the Federated Malay States during the 1920s, including one of his most aclaimed ‘The Outsider’.
by W. Somerset Maugham. The stories are loosely based on Maugham's experiences traveling in the region for about a year
With a short introduction entitled ‘The Casuarina Tree’ followed by the stories – ‘Before the Party’, ‘P. & O.’, ‘The Outstation’, ‘The Force of Circumstance’, ‘The Yellow Streak’, and ‘The Letter’.
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Price HK$ 40,000