Account of a Voyage of Discovery to the West Coast of Corea, and the Great Loo-Choo Island - Captain Basil Hall, H. J. Clifford

1818 - John Murray, London - First Edition
A fine full margined copy, with nine aquatint plates by William Havell, all but one hand-coloured, five engraved maps, including two folding, and an engraved plate of ‘Wollaston’s Dip Sector’ instrument.

‘This expedition took Lord Amherst's embassy to China and explored the relatively little-known East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. Visits were made to Korea and the Ryukyu Archipelago. Korea had been sketchily explored by Europeans, but it was not until this 1816-7 expedition of the
Alceste and Lyra, under Captains Murray Maxwell and Basil Hall, that detailed information was obtained about the Ryukus. On the homeward passage, the Alceste was wrecked in Gaspar Strait off Sumatra. Captain Hall served in the Royal Navy from 1802-23 and achieved the rank of post-captain. He saw extensive duty on the Pacific coast of America, and continued his travels as a private citizen. He wrote many other books about his travels and experiences.’ - Hill. 
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Price HK$ 30,000



Green Willow and other Japanese Fairy Tales - Grace James, Warwick Goble (illustrator)

1910 - Macmillan and Co., London - Edition de Luxe, one of 500 copies.
The deluxe edition of this lovely collection of tales and legends, many of them sourced from the Ko-ji-ki, or Record of Ancient Matters, which contains the mythology of Japan, selected and translated by the Japanese born Grace James (1882-1965) and beautifully illustrated with forty tipped-in colour plates by Warwick Goble, each one laid on brown card and with a descriptive tissue guard.

Stories include ‘Flower of the Peony’, ‘Green Willow’, ‘Tamamo, ‘The Fox Maiden’, ‘The Flute’, ‘The Moon Maiden’, and ‘The Wind in the Pine Tree’, among many others.

A superior example, housed in custom made two part tan morocco slipcase, with twin gilt labels.
 
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Price HK$ 20,000