58; 54 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers, orig. orange block-printed title labels on upper covers, orig. stitching. [China]: first Preface dated 1929.

First published edition of the so-called “old Manchu archives” [Manwen laodang; M.: Manbun roto), Manchu documents chronicling the reigns of Taizu and Taizong from 1607 to 1636, edited and written up in the 18th century on the basis of pre-1644 archival documents. These archives, housed in the Chongmo Pavilion of the Mukden Palace, are invaluable for the early history of the Manchus.

This edition is a Chinese translation of the Manchu. While the translation is not... More

Many woodcut illus. 159 folding leaves. Five parts in one vol. Oblong 8vo, orig. dark blue thick wrappers (wrappers rubbed), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (label rubbed & soiled), orig. stitching. Kyoto, Edo, & Osaka: Hishiya magobei et al., 1859.

A late Japanese edition of one of the earliest Chinese collections of texts on horse medicine. Our book stems from a “late 14th-century compilation [which] does contain genuine works from earlier times. This is the Simu anji ji (Collections for Pacifying Stallions when Administering Flocks), published in 1384. Judging from internal evidence, most of its components are apparently... More

One full-page woodcut. .5, 29, .5; 15.5 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. blue wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper cover, later decorated wrappers, later stitching. From the colophon at end of Vol. II: Edo, Kyoto & Osaka: Hanabusaya Heikichi et al., 1812.

[with]:

—. Haru nanakusa ko [Thoughts about Seven Herbs in Spring]. Three full-page woodcuts & nine smaller woodcuts in the text. .5, 36 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. blue wrappers as above, later decorated wrappers, later stitching. From the colophon: Edo: Yamashiroya Sahei, 1814.

First editions, a rare complete set, of these two works, which... More

68; 68; 75; 80; 66 folding leaves. Five vols. Oblong 8vo, orig. wrappers (rather tired & rubbed), orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Kyoto: Yao Ichibei, 1692.

An early bibliography of Japanese printed books; essentially a Books in Print, it was the principal guide to the subject for two centuries. “By the middle of the seventeenth century the flood of publications was so great that there was a perceived need for information and guidance, and it was provided by the booksellers’ catalogues known as shojaku mokuroku.”–Kornicki, The Book in Japan, pp. 176-77. The first printed shojaku mokuroku... More

43 folding leaves (mostly split at fore-edges, with no loss of text). Small folio (344 x 233 mm.), orig. wrappers (soiled), new stitching. [Korea: late 18th or early 19th century].

A beautifully written manuscript collection of about 400 poems by Bai Li (701-62), one of the two greatest poets of the Tang dynasty, and certainly China’s greatest poetic personality (see Mark Edward Lewis, China’s Cosmopolitan Empire. The Tang Dynasty [Harvard University Press], p. 254).

The manuscript presents a number of mysteries that demand further research by scholars. The last line in the manuscript, which is in a more modern hand... More

66 full-page woodcuts & a few woodcuts in the text. 37; 22 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. pale blue semi-stiff patterned wrappers, new stitching, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers (one label quite defective). From the colophon in Vol. II: Kyoto: Hayashi Ihei, 1756.

First Japanese edition of this classic painting book. Zhupu xiang lu was regarded as the medium’s major canon for the first half of the 14th century. No early Chinese edition has survived.

“Not all manuals were mediocre, however. In 1756 the Japanese edition of a bamboo manual by the Yuan master Li Kan, [the... More

1 p.l., 1-114 pp.; 115-316 pp.; 317-494 pp. Three vols. Small folio, orig. brown wrappers, titles in manuscript on upper covers, orig. stitching. Beijing: Guo li Beijing da xue chu ban zu, [1935].

First edition of an important work for historical linguistics. This is a collection of rare early rhyme books (yunshu), a kind of phonological dictionary that developed in China beginning in the medieval period. Their initial purpose was to facilitate the writing of Chinese regularized verse, whose meter is based on the rhyme and pitch tone of Chinese characters. This type of verse is associated with the literature... More

Ten columns per page, 18 characters per column. 2, 37, 34, 1 (=74) folding leaves. Two parts in one vol. Small folio (350 x 228 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers rather rubbed & somewhat soiled), later stitching. [Jeolla Province: the Governor’s Office], from the colophon: July 1797.

A most uncommon Korean woodblock (?, see below) book, which reproduces the finest of the Korean moveable metal typefaces, the kabinja. “Selections from the memorials of Lu Chih (754-805), the great statesman of the T’ang dynasty. The selections were edited by King Chongjo in 1794 and first printed in mid-1797 by the Royal Printing... More

14 double-page & three single-page fine brush & color-wash illus. 21, 19, 20 folding leaves. Three parts in one vol. Large 8vo (270 x 188 mm.), orig. semi-stiff blue patterned wrappers, manuscript title label on upper cover, new stitching. [Japan]: copied by Mokuro Kimura in Tenpo era (1830-44).

A very rare manuscript account of the two expeditions in 1808 and 1809 of Mamiya (1775-1844), hydraulic engineer, cartographer, and explorer, to survey Sakhalin Island (J: Kita Ezo or Karafuto), off the coast of Siberia. The “Todatsu kiko” is Mamiya’s main Sakhalin travel narrative. During these journeys, Mamiya discovered that Sakhalin is... More

The first viable paper currency system used in a national economy in world history was created about 1020 during China’s Song dynasty. When Zhu Yuanzhang came to power as the Hongwu emperor at the beginning of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), he established, in 1374, the Treasure Note Control Bureau (Bao chao ti ju si) to supervise the production of paper money in order to facilitate commerce. The Ming was the first Chinese dynasty to try to totally replace coins with paper money.

The present banknote is an example of the earliest surviving paper currency. Identical to the one held by... More

16 juan in six vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers, stitched as issued. [Shanghai]: from the pillar: “Guo xue fu lun she,” n.d. [but ca. 1912-30].

Mo (1811-71), was a bibliographer, bibliophile, poet, and calligrapher. His affiliation with the publishing house Jinling Shuju (later Jiangnan Shuju) caused him to travel widely in southeast China, where he visited many libraries and collectors and did much bibliographical research.

He wrote three notable bibliographies: the present work is a classified list of the books Mo saw during his travels, with notes on the authors, contents, and editions. The first edition was published in Beijing in... More

Three text leaves with Chinese characters, final conjugate leaf a full-page woodcut with about 65 Chinese characters, & a large folding engraved plate printing in Chinese characters the Kangxi Emperor’s edict of 1716. 58, [1] pp. Large 4to, orig. decorative wrappers, uncut. Nuremberg & Altdorf: Monath & Kussler, 1802.

First and only edition of an extremely uncommon book. Murr (1733-1811), a resident of Nuremberg, was a scholar with polymathic interests. He edited several intellectual journals, published on libraries and art museums, etc.

This work is, in large part, concerned with the Chinese Rites Controversy and the famous “Red Decree.” The... More