An Official Guide to Eastern Asia Trans-Continental Connections Between Europe and Asia Vol. IV CHINA
Tokyo: The Imperial Japanese Government Railways, 1915. First Edition. Hardcover. Text in English. Stout 12mo. Pp. Frontis. color illustration. With 23 maps, many folding; the large folding map covering all of China is housed in a pocket inside the rear board. Laden with black-and-white photos, both in text and dedicated plates. Glossary of words in English, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. Index. Endpaper maps. Bound in cinnamon-colored cloth stamped with gilt lettering on the front cover and spine. Silk bookmark bound in. Light wear. Some maps with short, closed tears or pinholes at fold intersections. With the rubber stamp and blindstamp of one Captain Claude L. Ball, a resident of Sequim, Washington; the blindstamp shows that address, whereas the rubber stamp offers an APO care of the postmaster in San Francisco. Withal, a well preserved presentable copy. Very Good. Item #6741
A Baedeker of sorts for Asia, but with greater detail and photos than the German counterpart. The series was published in four volumes in successive years in the mid-1910s. The first volume covers Manchuria and Chosen, the second, Southwestern Japan, the third, Northeastern Japan, and this volume on China being the fourth and last in the series, as well as the most sought-after.
Japan's rising confidence and stature following the Russo-Japanese War (the first modern military conflict in which an Asian country prevailed over a European enemy) bolstered its imperial ambition, which begat an aggressive foreign policy; the non-Japan guides in the series underscore the depth of Japan's understanding of their neighbors. This volume's chapter on "Social Classes and Customs" provides great detail on class divisions, housing, festivals and other cultural aspects, including food and drink and, among other sections, one devoted to opium smoking.
.Price: $1,450.00