The History of Japan Together with a Description of the Kingdom of Siam, 1690-1692

Englebert Kaempfer

Edité par Glasgow, James MacLehose & Sons, 1906

8vo, lxxxix, 337, 397, 385pp. Three volumes, complete. This is the first full translation of the classic work originally published in 1726. With 162 illustrations, plus 16 folding maps. Very nice, fresh copy,mostly unopened. __+__"Engelbert Kaempfer (German Engelbert Kämpfer; September 16, 1651 November 2, 1716) was a German naturalist, physician, and explorer writer known for his tour of Russia, Persia, India, South-East Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693."--Wikipedia __+__ Engelbert Kaempfer was a German physician who served with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) at Nagasaki between 1683 and 1693. At the time Japan was closed to foreign merchants, with only a small enclave in Nagasaki open to Dutch and Chinese vessels. Kaempfer established good relations with the Japanese and was able to travel through the country. During this time he visited Edo (modern Tokyo), the residence of the Tokugawa shogun, twice and was able to learn much about Japanese history, culture, customs, medicine and botany. He wrote these descriptions down and made several detailed illustrations, but died before the work was published. Following Kaempfer's death, the manuscript was purchased by Sir Hans Sloane and translated into English by his librarian Johan Caspar Scheuchzer. The two-volume work was published in 1727 and served as one of the principal accounts of Japan and Japanese life until well into the nineteenth century, as well as being the first such account in English. The work is notable for its extensive descriptions of Japanese plant life, and its several maps, one of which is the earliest European depiction of Edo. --Royal Collection Trust. N° de réf. du vendeur ABE-1472012185097

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : The History of Japan Together with a ...
Éditeur : Glasgow, James MacLehose & Sons
Date d'édition : 1906
Reliure : Hardcover
Etat : Very Good