FAR

[Sir John Bowring, fourth Governor of Hong Kong.] Playful Autograph Letter Signed to Lady Theresa Villiers, explaining how on receipt of her dinner invitation he wrote to her brother by mistake.

Author: 
Sir John Bowring (1792-1872), fourth Governor of Hong Kong, traveller, writer and economist [Lady Theresa Villiers (1775-1856), wife of George Villiers (1759–1827), son of Earl of Clarendon]
Publication details: 
‘1 Queen Square West [London] / 4 April 1836’.
£150.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 5pp, 16mo, on two bifoliums of gilt-edged laid paper. In very good condition, lightly aged and folded once for postage. Signed ‘John Bowring’. Written in playful, mock-heroic style. Begins: ‘Many, many days ago my dear Mrs Villiers, did I put sackcloth on my shoulders & pile ashes on my head anent a very wicked sin of omission, in which I was peccant towards you - you who I humbly trust in your great goodness will fling over me the mantle of your forgiving charity’.

[Lady Hosie [Dorothea Hosie], amateur film maker and writer on China.] Autograph Letter Signed (‘Dorothy [sic] Hosie’) to ‘Mr. Burdett’, describing reviews she is writing and the critical response to her ‘Portrait of a Chinese Lady’.

Author: 
Lady Hosie [Dorothea Hosie, née Soothill] (1885-1959), amateur film maker and writer on China, wife of the diplomat and explorer Sir Alexander Hosie (1853-1925)
Publication details: 
11 December 1929. 4 Bradmore Road, Oxford.
£90.00

For information about the Lady Hosie and her husband see his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage, and with a minor closed tear to edge of fold at head of leaf. Addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Burdett’ and signed ‘Dorothy [sic] Hosie’. Forty-one lines of closely-written text. The letter concerns a review she has written for a periodical whose title is difficult to decipher (‘The L[?]’). She was ‘going to type out a fair copy’, but thinks Burdett ‘may like it at once’. If he feels ‘portions of it unsuitable’, he ‘can then delete’. ‘Mr.

[Sir Claude MacDonald, soldier and diplomat in the far east; Japan] Two Autograph Letters in the third person to the Lord Mayor of London [Sir John Charles Bell], accepting luncheon invitations, one to meet ‘Prince Fushimi of Japan’.

Author: 
Sir Claude Macdonald [Colonel Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald (1852-1915), soldier and diplomat, British Minister to China and Korea, Consul-General to Japan [Prince Fushimi Sadanaru (1858-1923)]
Publication details: 
One on 8 March 1907; from 43 Augusta Gardens, Folkestone [Kent]. The other without date, but from May 1907; on letterhead of the United Service Club [London].
£90.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Both items 1p, 12mo, and both in good condition, lightly aged, with slight evidence of previous mounting on the blank reverses. Both folded once for postage. Both letters during the tenure as Lord Mayor of London of Sir John Charles Bell (1843-1924). ONE (8 March 1907): ‘Sir Claude Macdonald has the honour to accept the kind invitation of the Lord Mayor to Luncheon on March 13th.

[ A Royal Navy engineer in the Far East and Pacific, 1882-1891. ] Account book of George Parsons, latterly Chief Engineer of HMS Champion, recording his personal and professional expenses on various tours of duty.

Author: 
George Parsons, nineteenth-century Royal Navy Chief Egineer on HMS Champion [ Naval and Maritime ]
Publication details: 
Between August 1882 and May 1891. At locations including Port Said, Alexandria, Portsmouth, London, Suez, Malta, Hong Kong, Yokohama, Tokyo, Vladivostock, Shanghai, San Francisco, Vancouver, Esquimault, Honolulu, Halifax. Further accounts,1889-1911.
£320.00

73pp., in a 12mo account book with printed red rules, in dark marbled boards with black cloth spine. Internally in fair condition, aged and worn, in heavily worn binding. Inscribed 'G. Parsons' twice on front endpapers. (Parsons' Royal Navy certificates as an assistant engineer (1872) and engineer (1878) are held by the National Archives.) The present volume contains a full set of accounts, 1882-1891, over 52pp.; less-detailed accounts, 1898-1911, over 8pp.; desultory accounts over 5pp., including two-pages of the 'Furniture Fund | H.M.S.

[ Japanese ] One hundred vintage postcards of Japan, fifty-two of them striking and attractive photographic images, tinted in vivid colour, showing scenes of everyday life, mainly among the rural peasantry (fishing, farming, flying kites, costume)

Author: 
One hundred vintage postcards of Japan [some 'Copyright, Ono-Banzaikan, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan.' and others 'TRADE MARK K.P.C. YOKOHAMA JAPAN']
Publication details: 
Including six postcards 'Copyright, Ono-Banzaikan, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan.' and one 'TRADE MARK K.P.C. YOKOHAMA JAPAN'. None of the others with European attribution. None dated [all early twentieth century].
£600.00

A contemporary oriental album, 19 x 27cm., with oat cloth boards, green ribbon and embroidered spine, containing a beautiful collection of vintage 9 x 14cm. postcards in near-mint condition. None of the postcards has any manuscript marks or sign of postage.

[Chinese Miners] Testimonial, in English, in the form of a printed poster, presented to Robinson on the occasion of his retirement as Senior Inspector of Mines, F.M.S., with list of names.

Author: 
'The Chinese Miners of the F.M.S. [Federated Malay States]' [Charles Ingle Robinson, Senior Inspector of Mines, F.M.S.; Malaysia; Malaya]
Publication details: 
'IPOH 11th MAY, 1933.' ['Printed at the Kuang Ming Press, Ipoh. [Malaya]']
£85.00

Printed in blue on one side of a piece of white paper roughly 60 x 40 cm. Good: lightly-aged and creased. The text is enclosed within an ornate decorative border, and is headed 'Charles Ingle Robinson Esqr., | B. Sc. (Lond.), Associate R. S. M., | M. I. C. E., M. I. M. M., | Senior Inspector of Mines, F. M. S.' This is followed by nineteen lines, expressing 'deep regret and genuine sorrow' at his 'departure for Europe on retirement'.

[Sir James Emerson Tennent, Irish politician and traveller. ] Autograph Note Signed ('J. Emerson Tennent') to Mrs J. R. McClean.

Author: 
Sir James Emerson Tennent (1804-1869), Irish traveller and politician, Colonial Secretary of Ceylon, 1845-1850
Publication details: 
66 Warwick Square, Belgravia [London]. 4 November 1861.
£45.00

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Reads: 'My dear Mrs McClean | Will you accept the accompanying Volume from me, as a slight token of my remembrance of old times & old friends | Faithfully Ever | J. Emerson Tennent'.

Printed notice in English and Burmese, from Major General C. F. B. Pearce of the British Military Administration 'To All Burma Government Servants', on victory over the Japanese, announcing that 'The era of face slapping is over'.

Author: 
Major General C. F. B. Pearce [Sir Charles Frederick Byrde Pearce] (1892-1964), Chief Civil Affairs Officer (Burma), British Military Administration [Japanese occupation of Burma, 1942-1945]
Publication details: 
Without place or date. [Burma, c. May 1945.] In bottom left-hand corner: 'SB/20'.
£150.00

2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with slight discoloration and wear to extremities. In English on one side and Burmese on the other. Both sides headed by the royal crest, with a banner beneath, reading in English 'BRITISH MILITARY ADMINISTRATION'. The English version of the document is signed in type: 'Sd: C. F. B. PEARCE | Maj. General | Chief Civil Affairs Officer (Burma)'. It is headed 'TO ALL BURMA GOVERNMENT SERVANTS', and begins: 'The Allies are now about to drive the Japanese from Burma.

[Printed pamphlet.] Information & News Sheet published by British Prisoners of War Funds (British Prisoners of War Books & Games Fund and Forget-Me-Not League Registered under the War Charities Act, 1940) No. 18 - Far East.

Author: 
[British Prisoners of War Funds (Miss Christine Knowles, 'Founder and Hon. Director'); Japanese Prisoners of War; the Far East]
Publication details: 
Carrington House, Hertford Street, London W1.
£180.00

11pp., 12mo. Fair, on aged and creased paper. 'Please return' in manuscript at head of first page. Newspaper cutting titled 'Prisoners in Japanese Hands' loosely inserted. Begins with a section of 'Parliamentary News concerning Prisoners of War in the Far East.'; then 'Report from U.S.A.'; and a final 'Extract from copy of broadcast by Major Gourlay from Thailand', with a couple of manuscript interpolations. Scarce: no copies on COPAC or WorldCat.

[Printed Leaflet P.2327B.] Communication with Prisoners of War and Civilians in Japan and Japanese-occupied Territories, and other Service personnel and Civilians believed to be in Japanese hands.

Author: 
[British prisoners of war in Japan and Japanese-occupied territories; the Far East]
Publication details: 
General Post Office, July 1942. 'H. & S. Ltd.' '7/42', i.e. July 1942.
£120.00

2pp., 12mo. Printed on both sides of a single leaf. Fair, on aged and creased paper. Giving a list of addresses to which letters and postcards 'may be sent post free to Service personnel and Civilians known or believed to be in Japanese hands'. '[...] To avoid delay in Japanese censorship, no one should write more than once a week'. With an example of the way in which to 'address you letter', if 'the internment camp address is known'. Scarce: no copy on COPAC or WorldCat, although the Imperial War Museum does have a similar Leaflet P.2280E (1943), relating to prisoners of war in Europe.

[Book, inscribed by the author.] Reminiscences of a Japanese Penologist. Akira Masaki, President, Japanese Correctional Association. [Including a description of the Hiroshima explosion, and 'A Brief Biographical Note on the Author by Taro Ogawa'.]

Author: 
Akira Masaki, President, Japanese Correctional Association [Taro Ogawa, Deputy Director, United Nations Asia and Far East Institute; Hiroshima]
Publication details: 
Published by Japanese Criminal Policy Association. Printed by Printing Bureau, Ministry of Finance. 1964.
£140.00

ii + 133pp., 8vo. Photographic portrait of the author as frontispiece. Fair, in lightly-worn blue leatherette binding, gilt. Inscription in English on front free endpaper: 'To National Committee for the Abolition of Capital Punishment, from Akir [sic] Masaki L.L.D. | 12. 22. 1969'. In a three-page 'Preface to the English Edition', dated July 1964, the author explains that the Japanese edition of the book was first published nineteen years before.

Original illustration, produced for publication, signed 'A. Twidle' and entitled on reverse 'Monkish Robes', showing three monks in the grounds of an oriental (Burmese?) temple.

Author: 
Arthur Twidle (1865-1936), English book illustrator [Burma; Burmese; oriental; the Far East]
Publication details: 
Undated.
£180.00

On a piece of thin card, 30.5 x 23 cm. Dimensions of illustration 23 x 17 cm. Signed by Twidle in bottom right-hand corner. The image itself is clear and sharp, in spotted and grubby margins. Docketed in pencil on reverse 'Monkish Robes | 491 | to 5 inches width | with rule as in picture'. An attractive, detailed watercolour, in black and grey, and picked out in white, showing three monks processing with eyes cast to the ground in different directions in the grounds of stone temple overgrown with foliage.

Manuscript letter from 'Mummie' to 'Babsie', consisting of a long description in English of Burma from a visiting mother to her daughter.

Author: 
[Mandalay; Burma; Myanmar]
Publication details: 
March 17 [no year] [around 1927]. Mandalay, Burma.
£65.00

12mo, 15 pp. On watermarked laid paper. Very good, with slight wear to crease on first leaf damaging two words (both still legible). Otherwise text clear and complete. The item can be dated from a reference to 'a Dempsey-Tunney fight'. Although neatly written, the handwriting is so stylised that deciphering the text presents difficulties. Begins 'What a whirl since I wrote you on the boat before we landed in Rangoon [...] HOT. Yes! Right now it is 90 degrees in our room which has windows on three sides & there are two big fans going.

[Chinese Miners] Testimonial, in English, in the form of a printed poster, presented to Robinson on the occasion of his retirement as Senior Inspector of Mines, F.M.S., with list of names.

Author: 
The Chinese Miners of the F.M.S. [Federated Malay States]' [Charles Ingle Robinson, Senior Inspector of Mines, F.M.S.; Malaysia; Malaya]
Publication details: 
IPOH 11th MAY, 1933.' ['Printed at the Kuang Ming Press, Ipoh. [Malaya]']
£85.00

Printed in blue on one side of a piece of white paper roughly 60 x 40 cm. Good: lightly-aged and creased. The text is enclosed within an ornate decorative border, and is headed 'Charles Ingle Robinson Esqr., | B. Sc. (Lond.), Associate R. S. M., | M. I. C. E., M. I. M. M., | Senior Inspector of Mines, F. M. S.' This is followed by nineteen lines, expressing 'deep regret and genuine sorrow' at his 'departure for Europe on retirement'.

Autograph Letter Signed ('Cha de Paravey') to the Abbé Guerin, 'chez l'abbé Tesson, aux Millions Etrangeres, Paris'.

Author: 
Charles de Paravey [Charles-Hippolyte de Paravey] (1787-1871), French orientalist, palaeographer and engineer
Publication details: 
12 September 1848; Paris.
£56.00

16mo (13.5 x 10 cm): 2 pp. A bifolium, addressed on the reverse of the second leaf. The first leaf has been slightly trimmed at the bottom, resulting in some loss to the bottom line of the recto. A formal letter in the third person, written in a close, difficult hand. Carefully detailing the missing sections in his copy of the 'Dictionnaire Anamitique-Latin'.

Two autograph letters signed, both one page, 4to, to an unnamed correspondent.

Author: 
John Hawkins.
Publication details: 
Berkeley House, Little Hampton, 7 March (no year) and Bignor Park, near Petworth, 18 Oct. (no year).
£120.00

Miscellaneous writer and traveller in Greece and the Far East (1758?-1841), DNB. Two autograph letters signed, edges discoloured, texts clear and complete. (7 March) "Sir/ I yesterday received your new Catalogue in which I find two articles which I am desirous of having No 2634. Belon (Pierre) & 3440 Ranwolfs Travels. provided they are in pefectly good condition [underlined from "as"] [.] I possess a copy of the same edition of Belon, but it [superscript] being very much stained I should be glad to get another that is perfectly well preserved.

Offprint from the 'Proceedings of the Royal Colonial Institute' entitled The critical position of British trade with oriental countries.

Author: 
T. H. Whitehead (member of the Legislative Council, Hong Kong)
Publication details: 
London: Spottiswoode and Co.; no date, but 'READ BEFORE THE ROYAL COLONIAL INSTITUTE FEB. 12, 1895'.
£85.00

8vo. 42 pages, in original grey printed wraps. Grubby, and with staining to front wrap and first leaf. On verso of front wrap: '(With the Author's Compliments).

Syndicate content