London, Thomas Davison, 1810.
Oblong folio [343 x 245 mm] of (2) ll., 50 colored plates out of pagination on thick paper mounted on guards, 50 ll. of explanatory text (the whole horizontally bound). Bound in green quarter-morocco, green marbled paper covers, flat spine decorated with the title, gilt edges. Corners rubbed. French binding from the XIXth century.
First edition of this very attractive illustrated book on China and India at the end of the XVIIIth century.
Brunet, II, 489 ; Graesse, Trésor de livres rares, II, 326 ; Abbey, Travel, 516 ; Lipperheide 1523 ; Colas 797 ; Tooley 173 ; Cordier, Sinica, 2107.
This book was issued in 10 parts illustrated with 5 plates each.
It illustrates the long trip undertaken by Thomas Daniell (1749-1840), an English landscape painter, and his nephew William Daniell (1769-1837) to China and India. The Daniells left England in April 1785 on board of the Atlas boat, and arrived in Whampoa, in China, in August. After spending several months in China, the two travelers went to sea again and reached Calcutta in 1786.
Daniell spent almost 10 years in India, and when he came back to London in 1795, he published his book entitled Oriental scenery. The explanatory text that comes with the plates gives information about the local people met in the various countries visited.
« This beautiful book contains 50 colored plates, with text » (Brunet).
The superb illustration is composed of 50 contemporary hand-colored aquatints showing views of Madeira, Java, Macao, Canton, the Cape of Good Hope, Malaysia, Calcutta, the Bay of Bengal, …
Among these 50 plates, 22 are dedicated to China, with views of towns, but also of the inhabitants in their traditional clothes. One of the plates shows a scene of shark fishing in Java.
« Among these plates that mainly represent views, 8 show Chinese costumes and 12 Java inhabitants. » (Colas)
Beautiful copy of this fine travel book to Asia preserved in its French contemporary binding in decorated green half-morocco.
