Bowra, Edward C.

FIRST EDITION, 4to (270 x 195mm.), THE AUTHOR'S COPY with pencil and ink corrections to the text, proof sheets for a revised edition inserted, original cloth-backed marbled wrappers, title slightly soiled, some chipping and fraying to blank edges, wrappers worn with loss

Edward C.M. Bowra (1841-1874); by descent to C.A.V. Bowra (1869-1947); by descent to Brigadier E.V. Bowra OBE

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."

A RARE HISTORY OF CANTON (GUANGDONG). THE AUTHOR'S COPY, EXTENSIVELY CORRECTED AND AMENDED IN PENCIL AND INK, WITH MANY INTERLEAVED REVISED PROOF SHEETS FOR A PROPOSED SHANGHAI EDITION WHICH APPEARS NOT TO HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED. The only copy of this work we have traced in an institutional library is in Hong Kong University Library, and we can trace no copies sold at auction.

"Of all the provinces in the [Chinese] empire, Kwang-tung is that which from an European point of view has the most interest. Long regarded as the Gate of China... Besides monopolizing to itself almost the entire history of trade with China, except in the mere yesterday of most recent times, the Kwang-tung province has to offer as a field for research, the history of the first European settlement on the shores of this huge Empire, and the perhaps less interesting, but more important story of the establishment and growth of the British Colony, Hongkong." (Preface)

"In 1860 Edward Bowra as a quixotic, lion-hearted youth of nineteen, postponed getting a job in order to join Garibaldi's Red Shirts in their fight to liberate Italy. Shortly after his recruitment to the Imperial Chinese Customs Service in 1863, he volunteered to join General Gordon in the storming of Soochow, then in the hands of the Taiping rebels. He became a brilliant Chinese linguist and scholar, serving both as interpreter and commissioner in Canton and Ningpo before his sudden death at the age of thirty-three, while on leave in Kent." (H. Leach. Strolling About the Roof of the World (London, 2003), pp.132-133). See also lots 256 and 257.