A Glossary of Reference on Subjects Connected with the Far East
Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh, 1900. Third Edition. Half calf over boards. Tall 8vo. Pp. 328. Half calf over ochre boards. Gilt lettering at spine. Marbled endpapers. Light rubbing and corners worn, with top one-inch of spine darkened from adhesive. Mild marginal age-toning. Coffee ring on title page. Withal, a sturdy, well bound copy. Ownership signature of J. G. Coolidge, dated 1900, Peking, on the title page. Good+. Item #5267 First published in 1878, this alphabetical glossary lists around 2,000 terms. As noted in the preface, "this key to the shibboleth of Anglo-Chinese society" is in-part intended to assist in deciphering such pidgin as, "the hansamah has got chhutti, and the whole bangla is ulta-pulta." A huge figure in modern Chinese studies, Herbert Allen Giles (1845-1935) wrote Chinese dictionaries as well as numerous works on classical writers and poets including Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Chuang Tzu. Chinese characters accompany the translations.
John Gardner Coolidge was an American diplomat whose highest position was Minister to Nicaragua. From 1902-1906 he served in the Peking Legation. A scion of an old-line American family that descended from Thomas Jefferson, his aunt was Isabella Stewart Gardner.
Price: $250.00