STAUNTON’S “REMARKABLE ACCOUNT OF CHINESE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS AT THE CLOSE OF THE 18TH CENTURY” (HILL): COMPLETE WITH SCARCE ELEPHANT FOLIO ATLAS VOLUME

(CHINA) STAUNTON, George Leonard. An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China… Taken Chiefly from the Papers of His Excellency the Earl of Macartney. London: W. Bulmer for C. Nicol, 1797. Three volumes altogether. Two volumes quarto plus elephant folio atlas (16-1/2 by 22-1/2 inches), contemporary full tan armorial calf gilt rebacked to style, raised bands, marbled endpapers and edges.

First edition of this splendidly detailed description of 18th-century China, with engraved frontispiece portraits of the Emperor Tchien Lung and Lord Macartney and 27 additional in-text engravings, together with the Atlas plate volume containing 44 finely engraved folio plates, including several large folding maps and charts—among the earliest accurate charts of the interior of China—and lovely picturesque views and cityscapes by William Alexander.

The exceptional two quarto volumes and elephant folio Atlas of George Staunton’s Account of the British Embassy to China offer a rich “account of the first British embassy to China, under Lord Macartney. Great Britain was anxious to establish formal diplomatic relations with China and thus opened the way for unimpeded trade relations, but centuries of Chinese reserve and self-sufficiency presented a formidable obstacle to the embassy, and the Chinese emperor effectually resisted Lord Macartney’s arguments and gifts. The visit of the British embassy nonetheless resulted in this remarkable account of Chinese manners and customs at the close of the 18th century, which was prepared at government expense… Staunton, a friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson and Edmund Burke, was a medical doctor who had lived for many years in Grenada. He was the secretary to Lord Macartney in both India and China, and undertook diplomatic missions to Warren Hastings and to Tipu Sahib at Seringapatem” (Hill 1628). “Apart from its Chinese importance, [Staunton’s Account] is of considerable interest owing to the descriptions of the various places en route which were visited, including Madeira, Teneriff, Rio de Janeiro, St. Helena, Tristan d’Acunha, Amsterdam Island, Java, Sumatra, [and] Cochin-China” (Cox I, 344).

This important work contains some of the earliest accurate charts of the interior of China and provides many invaluable geographical and cultural observations. The full-page folio engravings, including two of the Great Wall of China, were made after drawings by William Alexander, who accompanied the embassy as junior draughtsman. “This work was remarkably successful. About 15 editions issued in seven European countries and the U.S. from 1797 to 1832” (Lust, 545). This copy is complete, with order of in-text engravings in Volume II occasionally differing from that in “List of Engravings,” as usual. The atlas volume contains 44 engraved folio plates, including an impressive folding map of Africa, Europe and Asia measuring 24-1/2 by 38-1/2 inches. Hill 1628. Cordier Sinica, 2381-83. Lust 545. Occasional pencil marginalia.

Text and plates exceptionally nice, with only most minor infrequent foxing; contemporary boards handsome. A beautiful copy.