Recent Acquisitions
July 2nd, 2024
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A note on OCLC
As is now the norm, OCLC counts are tentative, at best, as we recognize that searches using different qualifiers will often turn up different results. Searches are now further complicated by the vast numbers of digital, microfilm, and even print-on-demand copies, which have polluted the database considerably, making it difficult, without numerous phone calls or emails, to determine the actual number of tangible copies. Hence, even though the counts herein have been recently checked, most all should be taken as a measure of approximation.
1. Short cut to Western Mandarin: First hundred steps (Romanized). China: Kelly & Walsh, Ltd., 1910.
$150
First edition, 8vo, xii, pp. 69, [3]; original yellow paper-covered boards backed with red cloth with black and red lettering; upper and lower boards have light soiling, minor rubbing along spine; bookplate on front pastedown of Geo. O. Lillegaard, and with an ownership inscription by him, from Kwangchow, Honan, China; all else very good and sound.
About Geo. O Lillegaard: "From 1912 - 1915 Lillegard served in Kwangchow, Honan Province, China as a missionary for the Norwegian Synod. He returned to the United States in 1915 when his father became ill and later died. The Norwegian Synod terminated his call to China at this time. He received a call to Lake View Lutheran Church in Chicago and was present at the meeting in Lime Creek, Iowa in 1918 when the Norwegian Synod of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded. While in Chicago, he received an M. A. from the University of Chicago." (ELS Ottesen Museum).
About Rev. Edward Amundsen: "Norwegian Missionary and Tibetan Scholar. Born in a strictly religious home he decided early to become a missionary. After being ordained in 1893, he went to England and joined the new Tibetan Pioneer Mission. He went soon to India, where he attempted to penetrate Tibet reaching 8 days distance from Lhasa. Unable to work from India he then settled in 1896 in Sichuan (China), learnt Chinese, and founded a station at Ta-chen-lu near Tibetan border. From there he made a long trek to South-Eastern Tibet in 1898-99. In 1900 he fled before the Boxers to India. Began translating the Bible and other religious books in Tibetan. From 1903 Superintendent of the British and Foreign Bible Society for South-West China and Tibet, made several journeys in the area. In 1915 he quitted the British service, returned home and worked then in 1919-24 for Det Norske Missionsforbund. His last years he spent in Larvik in Norway. Married with Petra Næss, also a Norwegian missionary. Known of his study on the Tibetan tonal system." (Who was who - Indology).
2. Natural History of Central Asia. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1927-43.
$2,500
First editions, 4to, 7 volumes (all published), a made-up but complete set with innumerable plates, maps, diagrams, graphs, tables, charts, etc., as below:
Volume I. Andrews, Roy Chapman, et al. The New Conquest of Central Asia: a narrative of the explorations of the Central Asiatic expeditions in Mongolia and China, 1921-1930, N.Y., 1932. pp. l, 678; color frontispiece, 128 plates, 12 figures in the text, 3 folding maps; original yellow cloth.
Volume II. Berkey, Charles P, et al. Geology of Mongolia: a reconnaissance report based on the investigations of the years 1922-1923, N.Y. 1927. pp. xxxi, 475, [1]; color frontispiece, 43 plates, 161 figures in the text; original yellow cloth.
Volume IV. Grabau, Amadeus W., et al. The Permian of Mongolia: a report on the Permian fauna of the Jisu Honguer limestone of Mongolia and its relations to the Permian of other parts of the world, N.Y., 1931. pp. xliii, 665, [1]; 35 plates, 1 folding geological map, 68 figures in the text; original yellow cloth. Dustjacket (in 3 pieces) laid in.
Volume IX. Nichols, John T. The Fresh-Water Fishes of China. N.Y., 1943. pp. xxxvi, 322; 110 color plates, 143 figures in the text; original yellow cloth, spine a little faded.
Volume X. Pope, Clifford H. The Reptiles of China: turtles, crocodilians, snakes, lizards. N.Y., 1935. pp. lii, 604; 27 plates, 78 figures in the text, folding map, folding table; original yellow cloth.
Volume XI, parts 1 and 2. Allen, Glover M. The Mammals of China and Mongolia. 2 volumes. N.Y. 1938-40. pp. xxv, [1], 620; xxvi, [2], 621-1350; 20 plates, 25 distribution maps, illustrations, maps; original yellow cloth.
Volumes III, V-VIII, and XII were never published. The work presents the results of the Central Asiatic Expeditions to Mongolia and China in the years 1921 to 1930. As this publication was supported by private donations, funding necessarily ran out during the Great Depression, and only seven of the twelve volumes were completed.
3. [China.] The pageant of Peking comprising sixty-six Vandyck photogravures of Peking and environs from photographs by Donald Mennie with an introduction by Putnam Weale, descriptive notes by S. Couling. Shanghai: A. S. Watson & Co., printed and bound by Kelly & Walsh, Ltd., 1922.
$1,500
Third edition (first published in 1920), large 4to, pp. [8], 40, plus 66 leaves with mounted color photogravures within printed borders, each with a corresponding caption on the verso of the previous leaf; title page and decorative initials printed in red and black; original pictorial silk cloth; corners, spine extremities and edges worn, with some fraying of the silk, small break in the silk on the spine, the whole lightly faded, otherwise a very good, sound copy, internally clean.
4. Darjeeling and its mountain railway. A guide and souvenir published by the The Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway Co., LD. [Kurseong?]: Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway Co., 1921.
$125
8vo, pp. [6],106; double-page map, illustrated throughout; original orange cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover; near fine. With an A.H. Wheeler / Railway Bookstalls stamp on recto of front free endpaper, and a touching birthday inscription at the bottom of the dedication page to Tom from a soon-to-be priest.
5. [Faulkner, William.] Afternoon of a cow. A pseudonymous story by William Faulkner with an introduction by Carol de Saint Victor. [Iowa City]: Windhover Press / University of Iowa, 1991.
$50
Edition limited to 200 copies, 8vo, pp. [4], 15, [1]; original gray wrappers printed in black on spine; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 100.
6. Trente ans aux portes du Thibet interdit, 1908-1938. Hongkong: Imprimerie de la Société des Missions Etrangères, 1939.
$450
4to, pp. [8], 388, [2]; 4 maps (1 folding), 67 photo-mechanical illustrations on rectos and versos of 14 plates; bound in quarter tan niger, spine in 5 compartments, gilt-lettered direct in 3, original pictorial upper wrapper bound in; lightly rubbed; very good and sound.
This copy with a lengthy presentation from the author on the half-title "To Mr. Penfield, consul des Etats Unis en souvenir de son passage dans les Marches thibetaines, 1937, hommage respectment Francis Goré."
"The first part gives an account of exploration in Tibet, and the history, politics, and religion ... Part 2 [contains] a history of the Catholic Missions in Tibet during the period 1900-1920 and others; Part 3 [contains] the Chinese-Tibetan frontier region after 1920" (Yakushi).
Yakushi G192.
7. Central Asia and Tibet: towards the holy city of Lhasa. London: Hurst & Blackett; New York: Scribner's Sons, 1903.
$500
First edition, American issue, 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xvii, [3], 608; xiv, [2], 664; "with 420 illustrations from drawings and photographs, eight full-page coloured illustrations from paintings, and 5 maps, mostly by the author," mostly from photos but some wood engravings; the 5 maps are on 4 folding sheets; extremities lightly rubbed, a couple of small stains at the fore-edge of the front covers, but on the whole, a very good, sound set in original pictorial red cloth gilt, t.e.g.
Yakushi H100b.
8. Romanized Tibetan and English dictionary. Kyelang in British Lahoul: 1866.
$3,500
8vo, pp. [4], 158; printed by lithography from the author's MS; contemporary green paper-covered boards backed in black cloth; some edgewear and some slight peeling; all else very good and sound.
Heinrich Jaeschke (or Jäschke), one of the greatest western pioneers of Tibetan studies, "was a German-born Moravian missionary and scholar of the Tibetan language. From 1857-1868 he was based near the Tibetan border at Kailang in northern India. Together with fellow missionary August Wilhelm Heyde, Jaeschke collected plants in the region of Rupshu and Lahaul. J.E.T. Aithchison's paper, 'Lahul, its Flora and Vegetable Products etc.' (Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany, 1868) was based on Jaeschke's studies, and the genus Jaeschkea Kurz was named in his honour. Jaeschke also worked on a Tibetan translation of the Bible and other linguistic works, such as a Tibetan-English dictionary. He lived in Germany from 1868 onwards" (Global Plants).
This is not the first Tibetan-English dictionary. That honor goes to Sándor Csoma de Kőrös (1784-1842), a Hungarian. His dictionary was published in Calcutta by the Baptist Mission Press, in 1834.
Seven copies in OCLC, all overseas except for the Moravian College Library in Pennsylvania. Yakushi J70. Not in Zaunmuller.
9. From China to Hkamti Long. London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1924.
$500
First edition, 8vo, pp. 317, [1], [2] ads, 16 (ads); folding map showing the author's route, frontispiece and 19 photographic illustrations on 15 plates; very good, sound copy in original charcoal cloth lettered in orange on upper cover and spine.
"The author's second attempt to march overland to India from Likiang, on the borders of Yunnan in 1921 and 1922. He explored Yunnan and Szechwan in 1921, and Yunnan, Szechwan, Tibet and North Burma in 1922. This is a feat that had been performed only three times: in 1895 by Prince Henry of Orleans, with two companions; in 1906 by E. C. Young; and in 1911 by F. M. Bailey" (Yakushi).
Yakushi K192.
10. Plant hunting on the edge of the world. London: Victor Gollancz, 1930.
$250
First edition, 8vo, pp. 383, [1]; frontispiece, 3 full-page maps and 15 plates; a bit of wear at the top of the spine, the whole lightly rubbed, but on the whole a very good, sound copy in original black cloth, gilt lettering on spine.
"A narrative of two journeys by this famous plant hunter and geographer, to Burma and Assam, to collect seeds and plants and to explore unknown mountain ranges. The appendix lists plants collected by the author that were in cultivation at the time of publication, but he is acclaimed for introducing thousands of plants to the west found through southeast Asia."
Yakushi K195.
11. La Chine d'Athanase Kirchere de la Compagnie de Jesus, illustrée de plusieurs monuments tant sacrés que profanes, et de quantité de recherchés de la nature et de l'art : a quoy on à adjousté de nouveau les questions curieuses que le serenissime grand duc de Toscane a fait dépuis peu au P. Jean Grubere touchant ce grand empire : avec un dictionaire [sic] chinois & françois, lequel est tres-rare, & qui n'a pas encores paru au jour. Amsterdam: chez Jean Jansson à Waesberge & les heritiers d'Elizée Weyeratraet, 1670.
$5,000
First edition in French of Kircher's popular China Illustrata (first published in Latin in Rome, 1667; folio, pp. [16], 367, [13]; added engraved title page has imprint: Amstelodami, Apud Johannem Janssonium à Waesberge et Elizeum Weyerstraet, 1667; printer's woodcut device on title page, 24 engraved plates including 2 double-page maps, numerous engraved illustrations in the text, plus miscellaneous woodcuts, woodcut ornaments, etc. throughout; lacking the portrait of Kircher; full contemporary calf, gilt decorated spine in 7 compartments, morocco label in 1, sprinkled edges; the prelims and terminals a bit foxed, but the text on the whole very clean.
"China Illustrata is a compilation of missionaries' notes and journals. Kircher readily acknowledges in the preface his debt to his colleagues in China and India for their information, but the book is liberally sprinkled with Kircher's own philosophy. Kircher compiled a detailed and considerably accurate account of Chinese geography, history, culture, and language, and, as his readers had learned to expect, the book is filled with delightful engravings illustrating the curious habits of the Chinese" (Merrill).
Brunet III, 666-67; Cordier, Sinica 26-27; Lust, Western Books on China, 38 citing the French quarto edition of the same year; Merrill 20 (for the first edition of 1667).
12. Account of the kingdom of Nepaul, being the substance of observations made during a mission to that country, in the year 1793. London: printed for William Miller, Albemarle Street, by W. Bulmer and Co., 1811.
$2,500
First edition, 4to, pp. [4], xix, [1], 386, [2] index, [4] Miller ads; large engraved title-page vignette, large folding map, one hand-colored aquatint and 13 engraved plates; full contemporary speckled calf, neatly rebacked with old spine laid down (minor losses at the edges), red morocco label; all else very good, sound, and but for the slightest bit of toning at the margins of a few plates, a remarkably clean copy.
Includes a 32-page English-Nepalese vocabulary (Purbutti and Newar dialects).
"An account of the first Englishman's visit to the Kathmandu Valley. The author was sent in with a small party by Lord Cornwallis as 'mediator' between China and Nepal in 1793. He also gives an historical sketch of Nepal" (Yakushi).
"In 1793, in consequence of disputes between the Nepaulese and the lama of Tibet, a Chinese army crossed Tibet, and took up a position near Katmandu, in view of the Ganges valley. The Nepaulese implored the aid of British arms. Cornwallis offered to mediate, and Kirkpatrick was deputed to meet the Nepaulese envoys at Patna, and afterwards proceeded to Nayakote, where the Nepaul rajahs held their court. The officers of the mission, Kirkpatrick and his suite, were the first Englishmen 'to pass the lofty mountains separating the secluded valley of Nepaul from the north-east part of Bengal' (p. 1). Cornwallis testified that 'no one could have acquitted himself with more ability, prudence, and circumspection" (DNB).
Yakushi K214a.
13. Russian Central Asia Including Kuldja, Bokhara, Khiva And Merv. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1885.
$950
First American edition (English sheets with a new title page), 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xxix, [3], 687, [1]; xv, [1], 732; original mounted albumen portrait frontispiece and double-page wood-engraved frontispiece, 2 folding color maps, and 68 wood-engraved plates (some double-page) and illustrations in the text; original pictorial gray cloth stamped in gilt, silver, and black; front free endpaper in both volumes are compromised due to poor quality paper: that in volume I is loose (but present); that in volume II is missing; the free endpapers at the back are still attached but are quite brown, and the adjacent leaves are toned accordingly; all else very good.
"His second major work, Russian Central Asia, published in 1885, continued in pro-Russian vein. Dedicated to Alexander III, it strongly supported Russia's annexation of Merv in 1884, which Lansdell maintained had come about through the genuine desire of the people of Merv to adopt closer ties with Russia. However, the book described many remote places rarely visited and displayed some curious and unusual illustrations and photographs" (Howgego).
Cordier, Sinica 2836; Yakushi L74a (for the London edition of the same year).
14. [Marco Polo.] Notes on Marco Polo ouvrage posthume publié publié sous les auspices de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1959-73.
$650
First edition, 3 volumes, 4to, pp. [v]-xii, 611, [1], [v]-xii, [613]-885, [5]; [4], ii,305, [3]; near fine in original brown cloth. Text is in English.
15. Twenty years in Assam or leaves from my journal. Nowgong, Assam, India: 1901.
$1,500
First edition (500 printed), small 8vo, pp. [2], xiv, 222;
together with: Further leaves from Assam. A continuation of my Journal "Twenty Years in Assam." Howgong, Assam, 1907, first edition (500 printed), small 8vo, pp. [2], xi, [1], 191; this copy with a presentation from Mrs. Moore (signed J. T. M.) given as a birthday present to her father E. C. Traver. The book is dedicated to Clara M. Traver, her mother;
together with: Autumn leaves from Assam. A Continuation of My Journal… Edited and published by Mrs. P. H. Moore. Nowgong, 1910, first edition (500 printed), small 8vo, pp. [2], x, 96;
together with: Stray leaves from Assam. A continuation of my Journal "Twenty Years in Assam," "Further leaves from Assam," and "Autumn Leaves from Assam," Edited and published by Mrs. P. H. Moore. Rochester, N.Y., 1916. First edition, 500 copies;
Together, 4 volumes, uniformly bound in original brown cloth, gilt-lettered spines, all but the last printed at the Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta. Binding colors vary slightly, but in all, a near fine, sound set.
Complete set of the accounts of the intrepid American missionary who first traveled to Assam in 1879.
16. The view in North China. Coppy Light by Moriya [wrapper title]. [Tientsin: T. Moriya, n.d., ca. 1912].
$1,250
Oblong 8vo (5¼" x 7¾"), 62 leaves of captioned collotypes with decorative wrappers tied with silk string; some soiling of the covers, but generally very good. Early ownership signature in pencil of Henry Gray.
The views are largely of Tientsin and the surrounding area, including monuments, architecture, festivals and celebrations, construction projects, street urchins, tradesmen, etc.
Not found in OCLC.
17. Pictures of Tibetan life being a collection of sketches made ... during his tour in Tibet. Benares: published by E. J. Lazarus & Co., Medical Hall Press, 1906.
$450
First edition, 4to, pp. [6] plus 46 plates ("made from the water-colour sketches and photographs") and a leaf of ads; recased in original green cloth, gilt-stamped on the upper cover; each plate stamped in small letters on the verso, Forbes Library, Nothhampton, Mass., and with a perforated stamp in the title page not affecting any lettering; all else near fine.
Plates represent portraits of Tibetans, illustrations of Tibetan occupations, costumes, musical instruments, dances, etc.
Yakushi S323.
18. Journey to Turkistan. London: Hodder and Stoughton, [1937].
$350
First edition, 8vo, pp. xiv, 15-221, [1]; map endpapers, folding color map and 101 illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 24 plates; fine copy in original blue cloth, gilt-stamped spine, and a slightly edge-worn dust jacket (illustrating a map of the journey) with a few chips at the spine ends. Uncommon in the dust jacket.
"The author was dispatched to Chinese Turkestan by order of Great Britain for the discussion of trade with Governor of Sinkiang. This is an account of his journey to Kashgar by motor-truck through the Gobi Desert, and of return journey from Kashgar to India via Tashkurgan, Mintaka Pass, Hunza, and Gilgit. He took four months for this journey in 1935" (Yakushi).
Yakushi T58a.
19. [Turkistan.] Turkistan, notes of a journey in Russian Turkistan, Khokand, Bukhara and Kuldja. New York: Scribner, Armstrong & Co., 1876.
$750
First American edition, 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xii, 411, [1], [2] ads; ix, [1], 463, [1]; 3 folding maps printed in color, 20 wood-engraved plates plus other wood engravings in the text; a few breaks at the spine extremities, front hinge in volume I barely cracked; all else very good, sound, and clean.
Yakushi S234-b: "The author traveled to Russian Turkistan, Issyk-kul, Kuldja, and a part of Chinese Turkistan in 1873."
20. A naturalist in western China ... With one hundred and one full-page illustrations and a map. London: Methuen and Company, 1913.
$2,500
First edition, 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xxxvii, [1], 251, [1]; xi, [1], 229, [1], 31 (ads), [1]; numerous illustrations on 101 plates and a folding map printed in color; a fine, bright copy stamped in gilt on upper covers and spines, retaining the original orange printed dust jackets showing some chipping at the spine extremities and a few old tape repairs on the versos.
This copy with a presentation from the author to "Walter R. Zappey from his friend the author. November 1913." Also, with a printed presentation slip from the publisher laid in. Walter Reeves Zappey (1878-1914) was an American ornithologist and scientific collector. He is referenced 19 times in the index to this book.
Czech, Asia, p.229; Yakushi W177.