MEIJLAN | Japan, 1830

MEIJLAN, GERMAIN FELIX

Japan. Voorgesteld in schetsen over de zeden en gebruiken van dat rijk bijzonder over de Ingezetenen der stad Nagasaky. Amsterdam: J.H. Tobiäs and M. Westerman & Zoon, 1830

FIRST EDITION, 8vo (205 x 119mm.), half-title, title with hand-coloured engraving, 2 large folding plates, later calf-backed marbled boards in period style, spine gilt, title repaired with minimal loss, one plate repaired

RARE. Germain Felix Meijlan (1785-1831) ran the VOC factory on the tiny island of Deshima, near Nagasaki, from 1827 to 1830. For more than two centuries this trading post was the only connection between Japan and the outside world. Next to nothing was known about Japan and the Japanese and this book provided some previously unreported insights.

LITERATURE:

Landwehr 376; Thiele 754; Cordier, 486.