Landmark Books in All Fields
ItemID: #53854
Cost: $900.00

From Tientsin to Peking with the Allied Forces

Frederick Brown

“THROUGH THE SLUICE-GATE UNDER THE WALL OF THE CITY OF PEKING…”

BROWN, Frederick. From Tientsin to Peking with the Allied Forces. London: Charles H. Kelley, 1902. Slim octavo, original pictorial tan cloth, uncut and partially unopened. $900.

First edition of this dramatic contemporary account of the Boxer Rebellion, with five black-and-white plates and several in-text illustrations, in original pictorial cloth.

A first-person narrative of the Allied intervention and march into Peking during the Boxer Rebellion. A missionary who began his career in China, Reverend Frederick Brown quickly became known as much for his dedication to stopping foot-binding, building a university, and preserving the integrity of the Confucian temple next door to his chapel as he was for his piety. In time, the locals began referring to him by a Chinese name meaning "Precious Self-Denial" as a sign of their respect in spite of Brown's perceived eccentricities. When the Boxer Rebellion broke out, culminating in the Siege of Peking in 1900, Brown found himself at the forefront. That summer, Brown joined the expedition to relieve the city, serving as a guide to General Sir Alfred Gaselee and making a crucial recommendation that the expedition enter the city using the sewer under the Manchu City Wall. The advice allowed for the rescue of the Legations and resulted in a price being placed on Brown's head. Nine years later, the new Emperor awarded Brown the Order of the Double Dragon, the highest honor awarded by rulers during the Qing dynasty.

A few spots of faint staining to text, minor darkening to original cloth, and slight rubbing to spine ends. A near-fine copy of an extremely scarce work.

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