China, its costume, arts, manufactures, etc. Edited principally from the originals in the cabinet of the late M. Bertin; with observations explanatory, historical, and literary, by M. Breton. Translated from the French … Fifth edition.

BRETON DE LA MARTINIÈRE, Jean Baptiste Joseph.

Published by London, for J.J. Stockdale, 1813., 1813

About this Item

4 vols, 12mo, pp. [6], 128; [4], 125, [2 (blank)]; 135; 160; illustrated with 80 hand-coloured engraved plates; vols 1 and 4 without half-titles, text browned and foxed throughout, plates generally clean; overall good in 19th-century straight grained red morocco, covers with gilt borders incorporating roses, thistles and clovers, spines richly gilt, lettered and numbered in gilt, gilt edges; some wear to extremities and rubbing to spines; bookplates of William John Home Mylne.Fifth edition (first 1812) of this popular and charming work devoted to China, translated from the French (La Chine en miniature) and illustrated with 80 hand-coloured engraved plates, beginning with a portrait of the emperor Qianlong.In addition to members of the imperial family, the first volume includes depictions of mandarins, soldiers, lamas, Tartars, and bonzes. The second volume has much on the book arts, including an itinerant bookseller and depictions of writing, paper and ink making, and printing, as well as images showing the manufacture of porcelain, silk, embroidery, rope, and cotton, and a charming image of monkeys gathering tea. Volume three includes musicians and their instruments, sellers of toys and kites, and a puppet show, and the final tome encompasses Chinese ships and methods of punishment.Abbey, Travel 535 (3rd ed.); Cordier, Sinica 65 (2nd ed.). Seller Inventory # GM370

Bibliographic Details

Title: China, its costume, arts, manufactures, etc....

Publisher: London, for J.J. Stockdale, 1813.

Publication Date: 1813

Binding: Hardcover