74; 90 folding leaves. 12 juan in two vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers (frayed), stitched as issued. [China]: Jiangsu Shuju, 1878.

This work is part of a set, each published separately, collectively referred to as Qinding Liao, Jin, Yuan san shi guoyu jie [Imperially Authorized Explanations of Terms in the National Language in the Three Histories of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan] (although this title does not appear in the books themselves). They list the non-Chinese names of people, places, titles, etc., in the dynastic histories of the Khitan Liao, Jurchen Jin, and Mongol Yuan — three empires that ruled parts... More

21.5 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. yellowish-brown wrappers, new stitching. [Korea]: n.d.

Yuhap is a common primer for children dating from the early Chosen period. The book teaches Chinese characters by giving their Sino-Korean pronunciation along with a vernacular Korean translation. Both the pronunciation and the translation are given in han’gul, the Korean alphabet promulgated in 1443. The characters are arranged by category, as indicated by the title. The end of a list of characters belonging to a certain category is indicated by a short sentence in classical Chinese.

Yuhap was widely used in Chosen Korea alongside the Thousand Character Essay... More

Gothic type, double column, 66 lines (33 line-pairs). [373] leaves. Decoration by a contemporary Dutch or Westphalian artist (see below). Eight pinholes to the sheet preserved. Royal folio (385 x 270 mm.), mid-18th cent. French red morocco over heavy boards, by Louis Douceur, triple gilt fillets round sides, spine nicely gilt, a.e.g. Mainz: [Peter Schoeffer], 1460 [but ca. 1469].

Second impression (of three) of the original edition, first printed in 1460, in which Gutenberg first used the revolutionary method of two-line printing slugs, thereby finding “a solution to the challenge of permanently fixing typographical compositions” (Needham, p. 432). The Catholicon... More

Black & white illus. & color diagrams. 73, [2] pp. 8vo, pictorial softcover, title on spine. Brussels: Daled & Gevaert, 1977.

[with]:

—. Reboundings: an essay by Daniel Buren, followed by 7 plates and 7 diagrams. Black & white illus. & color diagrams. 77, [2] pp. 8vo, pictorial softcover, title on spine. Brussels: Daled & Gevaert, 1977.

The scarce French and English editions of Buren’s polemical text, both printed in editions of 530 copies; both in excellent condition. The artist was driven to write this as a pointed critique of museums and curators five years after the controversy surrounding his contribution to... More

x, 188 pp. Large 4to, orig. printed wrappers, stitched as issued in Western style. Lizhuang, Sichuan: Guo li zhong yang yan jiu yuan Li shi yu yan yan jiu suo, 1944.

First edition of this extremely useful and groundbreaking work, printed lithographically from the author’s manuscript. In this work, Dong proposed certain changes to Bernhard Karlgren’s reconstruction of Old Chinese; Dong’s book served “as a bridge between Karlgren’s Grammata Serica (1940) and later works such as Yakhontov (1960) and Li Fang-kuei (1971).”–Sybesma, ed., Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics (Brill online).

Dong (1911-63), made lasting contributions to old Chinese phonology... More

Fine photographic reproductions throughout. 78; 87; 78; 69 folding leaves. 24 parts in four vols. Folio, orig. blue wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper cover, orig. stitching. Shanghai: Shanghai chu ban gong si, 1955.

First edition of one of the most important studies of the phonological materials found within the Dunhuang manuscripts, which were then located in Europe. Jiang (1902-95), linguist, a leading Chinese scholar of Dunhuang studies, lived in France in 1935-37, gathering reproductions of many of the manuscripts spread throughout the continent, especially at the BnF in Paris and the British Museum.

Jiang had studied phonology with... 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

2 p.l., 192 pp. 8vo, orig. green sheep-backed marbled boards (boards a little wormed), spine gilt (Western style). “Te Dordrecht, bij Blusse en van Braam, 1854. Nagedrukt te Nagasaki in het 4de Haar van Ansei (1857.”

First edition printed in Japan; one of a very few Nagasaki ban, printed on Japanese paper using metal type and bound Western-style in Nagasaki by the Japanese government in the earliest years of the resumption of Western printing in that country. We find no copy of our Nagasaki imprint in WorldCat. All Nagasaki ban are rare, and this is the first “Nagasaki ban” we... More

1 p.l., 51 folding leaves of photographic reproductions & facsimiles, 3 folding leaves of afterword by Song Lian (1310-81). Folio, orig. blue semi-stiff wrappers, orig. printed title label on upper cover, orig. stitching. Beijing: Guo li gugong bowuyuan, 1947.

First edition of an important book in the history of Chinese phonology. The oldest surviving dictionary arranging characters according to pronunciation was the Qieyun, completed in 601. Compiled by Lu Fayan, a Sui Dynasty scholar, and others, the text was lost long ago. Subsequent scholars resorted to later versions of the text, most notably the Kanmiu buque Qieyun by Renxu Wang... More