"Chinese Dialogues" - First English book printed in Shanghai - W. H. Medhurst - 1844

Name: "Chinese Dialogues" - First English book printed in Shanghai - W. H. Medhurst - 1844
Author: Walter Henry Medhurst

Walter Henry Medhurst

Published by Shanghai Mission Press, Shanghae, 1844

Used

See all details

Seller: De Bry Rare Books, Oxford, United KingdomDe Bry Rare Books

4-star seller

AbeBooks seller since July 26, 2021

Association member: ANZAABPBFAILAB

View this seller's items

Condition: Used - Very good

£ 5,950.00

£ 15.00 shipping

Ships from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Save for laterCreate a Want for similar items

Item description from seller

"Chinese Dialogues, Questions, and Familiar Sentences, Literally Rendered into English, With a View to Promote Commercial Intercourse, and to Assist Beginners in the Language." - By Walter Henry Medhurst -Shanghae (Shanghai) Printed at the Mission Press – 1844 -Octavo --22 x 14cm -Complete: TP, 225pp -Very good condition - some marks and tears to pages. Original boards (made of reused printing waste) with title to front cover. Title page to text intact with no losses. Marks and bumps here and there but generally very good. Housed in modern quarter leather box. This “phrase book” was aimed at English traders who were moving to the newly opened treaty port of Shanghai. After the defeat of the Qing in the first Opium war, the 1842 treaty of Nanjing opened up the five ports of Shanghai, Guangzhou (Canton), Ningpo, Fuzhou and Xiamen (Amoy) to traders. Eager to take part in the profitable trade in Silks, Tea and Opium, many British, American and European traders made bases in the Chinese treaty ports. Alongside the merchants, missionaries also moved to the newly opened ports. Well established in the ports of Canton and Macao since the early 1800s, Missionaries had an excellent grasp of the language and customs, and Medhurst used this knowledge to produce this work. The London Missionary Society quickly established a press in Shanghai, with this work “Chinese Dialogues” being the first English (or European) work printed in Shanghai. Walter Henry Medhurst (1797-1857) was an important early Protestant Missionary in China. Following on from the trailblazing Morrison, Medhurst arrived in Malacca in 1816. He studied the local languages and was ordained by Milne in 1819. As well as being a missionary, Medhurst was a talented scholar and linguist, printing in Batavia and Macao a Chinese Dictionary, a Hokkien Dictionary, and a Japanese Dictionary (despite having never visited Japan). He quickly moved to Shanghai to set up a press following the opening of the treaty ports. Medhurst’s 1838 London printed “China: it’s state and prospects” would fuel Hudson Taylor and hundreds of other Missionaries to come to China in the second half of the 19th Century. A landmark in Western Printing in China – the first European book printed in Shanghai. Cordier 1642; Löwendahl 1009; Lust 1021. £5950.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1779342900971

Contact seller about this item

Report this item

Bibliographic details

Title: "Chinese Dialogues" - First English book printed in Shanghai - W. H. Medhurst - 1844
Author: Walter Henry Medhurst
Publisher: Shanghai Mission Press, Shanghae
Publication year: 1844
Condition: Very good

De Bry Rare Books

Oxford, United Kingdom

4-star seller

AbeBooks seller since July 26, 2021

Association member:

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Item	5 to 10 business days	14 to 45 business days
First item	£ 15.00	£ 15.00

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.

Payment methods

Bank Wire Transfer
Cash
Paypal

Store description

De Bry Rare Books first came into being due to a love of early illustrated travel books. Our interests have broadened over time, and we now focus on early printed material, travel, and early manuscripts. We are an international business with a presence in both Auckland, NZ/Aotearoa and Oxford, UK We are a member of ANZAAB, ILAB, IMCOS and the PBFA and exhibit in Book fairs in the UK and Australia/NZ Please follow us on Instagram - "DeBryRareBooks" for regular updates on new arrivals. If you have any questions or queries, please contact us at DeBryRareBooks@gmail.com We strive to catalogue and describe items accurately, and are happy to provide further information as required. We offer 14 day returns for items. We offer free international tracked shipping through Fedex to customers. Insurance options for high value items can be arranged. All import taxes, duties and fees are the responsibility of the purchaser.

Specialty

History, Travel, Literature

Association member

Members of these associations are committed to maintaining the highest standards. They vouch for the authenticity of all items offered for sale. They provide expert and detailed descriptions, disclose all significant defects and/or restorations, provide clear and accurate pricing, and operate with fairness and honesty during the purchase experience.

Seller's business information

De Bry Rare Books

United Kingdom

Contact sellerView this seller's itemsView seller's storefront

Terms of sale

My main interest is in Travel books but I also have a selection of books on Medicine, Science and General Literature. I'm based in the UK in Oxford. Not all stock is listed online. I'm happy to provide further photos and descriptions of books so please don't hesitate to ask.

Right of withdrawal

If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

Information regarding the right of withdrawal

Statutory right to withdraw

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to De Bry Rare Books, Oxford, United Kingdom, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal does not apply to:

The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.