Asher Rare Books

Beijing in the late 19th century, illustrated with numerous photographs

FAVIER, Alphonse. Péking histoire et description.
Peking, Imprimerie des Lazaristes au Pe-Tang, 1897. 35.5 x 25.5 cm. 2 volumes bound as 1 (continuous page numbers). With a frontispiece to each part, 51 plates with photolithographs and collotypes, 1 tinted map and 660 wood engraved illustrations in text. Modern half cloth, with the original wrappers bound in. XII [4], 336, [4], 337-“562” [=552], [2] pp. Full description

€ 6,500

China Church History & Missions Travel & Voyages Asia Travel & Voyages East Asia

A standard navigational directory for the Indian Archipelago

FINDLAY, Alexander George. A directory for the navigation of the Indian archipelago and the coast of China, from the Straits of Malacca and Sunda, and the passages east of Java, to Canton, Shanghai, the Yellow Sea, and Korea. With the descriptions of the winds, monsoons, and currents, and general instructions for the various channels, harbours, etc. Third edition.
London, Richard Holmes Laurie, 1889. Royal 8vo. With 11 folding maps and charts. Original publishers blindstamped cloth, lettered in gold. XLVIII, IV, 1478; [2], 8 pp. Full description

€ 2,500

China Formosa / Taiwan India & Sri Lanka Navigation Southeast Asia

Exploring central China, with a large folding map

GARNIER, Francis. Voyage dans la Chine centrale, Vallée du Yang-Tzu, fait de mai à aout 1873.
Paris, E. Martinet for Ch. Delagrave, 1874. 8vo. With a large lithographed folding map (26 x 58 cm), with highlights in red, and several letterpress tables. Original publisher's printed yellow wrappers. [3], [1 blank], 39, [1 blank] pp. Full description

€ 1,250

China Travel & Voyages Asia Travel & Voyages East Asia

One of the first European books printed with Chinese type

GONZALES DE MENDOÇA, Juan. Historia de las cosas mas notables, ritos y costumbres del Gran Reyno de la China, sabidas assi por los libros de los mesmos Chinas, como por relacion de religiosos y otras personas que an estado en eldicho reyno.
Antwerp, Pierre Bellère I, 1596. 2 parts in 1 volume. 8vo. With a woodcut printer's device and some woodcut initials. With a few (woodcut?) Chinese characters in the text. Contemporary mottled calf. [24], 380, [1], [1 blank] pp. Full description

€ 9,000

China Greek & Non-Western Types

Very rare Dutch edition of "one of the most influential early books on China"

GONZÁLEZ DE MENDOZA, Juan. De historie ofte beschijvinghe van het groote rijck van China.
Amsterdam, Cornelis Claesz. [printed by Jacob Cornelisz Vennecool, Delft], "1595" [= 1596/99]. 8vo. Modern polished tan calf, gold-tooled spine. 197, [1 blank] pp. Full description

€ 12,500

China Early Printing - 16th century Japan & Far East Philippines Travel & Voyages Asia Travel & Voyages East Asia

The first Chinese grammar book in Portuguese, printed by and for missionaries in Macao

GONÇALVES, Joaquim Affonso. Arte China constante de alphabeto e grammatica comprehendo modelos das differentes composiçoens.
Macao, Real collegio de S. José, 1892. 4to. The text is set in roman type and Chinese characters. Half blue cloth, marbled paper sides and pink paste paper endpapers. [1], [3 blank], VIII, "502" [=503], [1 blank], 46, [2] pp. Full description

€ 7,500

China Church History & Missions Language & Linguistics Literature

The shells of Beidaihe, China

GRABAU, Amadeus William and Sohtsu G. KING. Shells of Peitaiho.
Beijing, Peking Laboratory of Natural History, 1928. 8vo. With 11 plates with photographic reproductions. Contemporary red cloth. [1], [1 blank], VI, 279, [2], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank] pp. Full description

€ 250

China Earth Sciences Fossils / Palaeontology Geology Shells & other Invertebrates

Rare account of the efforts of Jesuit missionaries in India (Goa, Cambay, Malabar Coast, Kochi, Madurai, etc.), South East Asia, the East Indies and Africa

[GUERREIRO, Fernão (ed.)]. and Christobal SUÁREZ DE FIGUEROA (transl.). Historia y anal relacion de las cosas que hizieron los padres de la Compañia de Jesus, por las partes de Oriente y otras, en la propagacion del Santo Evangelio, los años passados de 607. y en 608.
Madrid, Imprenta Real, sold by Juan Hasrey, 1614 (colophon 1613). 4to. With a woodcut IHS Jesuit device in a decorated cartouche on the title-page, the whole in a border built up from typographic ornaments and acorns; the large woodcut coat of arms of the dedicatee, Don Geronimo Corella y Mendoza; a large woodcut scrollwork tailpiece; 6 woodcut decorated initials (6 series); and headpieces built up from arabesque typographic ornaments. Set in roman types with extensive italic, some cut by François Guyot in Antwerp. 20th-century sheepskin parchment over flexible boards, turned in at the fore-edge, sewn on 3 alum-tawed thongs laced through the joints, with the title in thin textura lettering down the spine. [16], 566, [1], [1 blank] pp. Full description

€ 9,000

Central Africa Ceylon China East Africa India & Sri Lanka Indonesia / Dutch East Indies Japan & Far East Jesuits Southeast Asia Southern Africa

A 1718 voyage from Goa to Macao, published in Lisbon

GUERREIRO, João Tavares de Velez. Jornada, que Antonio de Albuquerque Coelho, governador, e capitaõ[!] general da cidade do Nome de Deos de Macao na China, fez de Goa atè chegar á dita cidade no anno de 1718.
Lisbon, Officina da Musica (Jaime or Jayme de la Te y Sagau), 1732. 8vo. Contemporary tanned sheepskin, gold-tooled spine, rebacked. [16], 427, [1 blank] pp. Full description

€ 9,500

China India & Sri Lanka Southeast Asia Travel & Voyages Asia Travel & Voyages East Asia Travel & Voyages Southeast Asia Travel & Voyages Southern Asia

Travels in, and history of China and the Philippines

GUIGNES, Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de. Voyages à Peking, Manille et l'Ile de France, faits dans l'intervalle des années 1784 a 1801.
Paris, l'Imprimerie Impériale (J.J. Marcel) for Treuttel and Würtz, 1808. 3 text volumes and 1 atlas volume. 8vo (text) and folio (atlas). The atlas with 92 engraved illustrations on 61 leaves by De Guines after Deserve and 6 engraved maps (4 folding) by D'Houdan. Text volumes in 19th-century half calf, atlas volume in contemporary half calf. [4], LXIII, 439; [4] 476; [4], 488 pp.; atlas: 4 pp. text (title and index). Full description