Du Halde, Jean Baptiste.

First complete English edition, 2 volumes, folio (400 x 250mm.), 64 engraved maps and plans, many folding, some early manuscript annotations, recent calf gilt in period style

Cordier, Sinica 50; Löwendahl 409; Lust 15

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In the second quarter of the eighteenth century, Chinoiserie - the "Chinese style" - came into vogue, as a lighter alternative to the heavier classical fashion. This interest was reflected in interior decoration, furniture, especially lacquered or "japanned", the English ritual of tea-drinking, porcelain, garden design and architecture, Sir William Chambers's pagoda in Kew Gardens a famous example of Chinese taste, at the time the tallest Chinese-style building in Europe.

This style prompted a period of active trade between Britain and China, with a booming market for imported Chinese goods; records for 1747 list fourteen ships arriving in London from the single Chinese port of Canton, by the standard of the day a substantial number.

Hand in hand with this was heightened interest in reading about China, its history, its customs and its products, and seeing illustrations of Chinese style. When du Halde's Description Geographique... de l'Empire de la Chine was published in 1735, two rival publishers in London rushed to publish translations, John Watts, who published an abridged quarto version in 1736, containing only four maps and 15 plates, and Edward Cave, whose folio edition was published in 1738-1741, evidently delayed by the labour of reproducing all the maps and plates of the original edition, with accompanying criticism of d'Anville's maps, perhaps written by Emanuel Bowen, employed by Cave to work in the maps.