Lot 251
  • 251

GORDON, MILITARY PLAN OF THE COUNTRY AROUND SHANGHAI 1865 & MOSSMAN, GORDON'S PRIVATE DIARY 1885

Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
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Description

  • Military plan of the country around Shanghai from surveys made in 1862. 63. 64. 65. Southampton: War Office Topographical Department, 1865
FIRST EDITION, large folio (690 x 510mm.), zincographed title, and 14 double-page zincographed maps, comprising key map on 2 sheets, and 12 hand-coloured maps, contemporary green half cloth, buff boards, manuscript ink label on upper cover and spine, small printed label 'China' on upper cover and spine, spine slightly worn, edges bumped--[WITH:] Mossman, Samuel. General Gordon's private diary of his exploits in China. London: Sampson Low [&c.], 1885, FIRST EDITION, 8vo (188 x 123mm.), portrait frontispiece, folding map, 32pp. publisher's adverts at end (dated May 1885), original green cloth, upper cover titled in black, flat spine, uncut, [RARE: WorldCat lists 4 copies], minor spotting, spine sunned

Provenance

Atlas: Royal Geographical Society, sold as a duplicate [pencil mark on upper cover]

Condition

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."

Catalogue Note

VERY RARE FIRST EDITION OF GORDON'S MAP OF THE SHANGHAI REGION, MADE DURING THE TAIPING REBELLION.  'The plan was drafted on a large scale, and covered an area of eighty square feet ... The map was zincographed at the Topographical Department of the War Office, Southampton, in 1865, when Colonel Sir Henry James, R.E., F.R.S., &c., was director. A second plan was published on a reduced scale [by Edward Stanford in London] measuring forty by forty-five inches' (Mossman, pp. 208-9). Both editions are scarce, the last copy of the first edition recorded at auction was sold in these rooms in October 1967.