Staunton, Sir George Leonard
An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China
£2,268
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 07 February 2024 from 10:00 GMT
Description
taken chiefly from the papers of his Excellency the Earl of Macartney. [London, 1797. First edition, large folio, atlas volume only (without the 2 vols. of text), folding map and 44 maps, plates, charts and plans, including 6 double-page, old half vellum, slightly spotted, slight loss to upper margin of plate 39, binding rubbed, library stamp to plate 2
Footnote
Staunton was appointed principal secretary to Lord Macartney's embassy to China in 1792 which sought "to improve commercial relations with China, through Canton (Guangzhou), and to establish regular diplomatic relations between the two countries. Though Macartney and Staunton had an audience with the emperor their proposals were rebuffed. In China [Staunton] closely observed and noted all that he saw, and during expeditions he was able to collect botanical specimens. His son, George Thomas, then just twelve years old, accompanied him to China as page to Lord Macartney, and was the only member of the mission who bothered to learn Chinese" (DNB). Staunton's account of this important, but ultimately unsuccessful mission, conceived on a grand scale, takes in numerous places visited en route: Madeira, Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, Java, Sumatra, Cochin-China, etc. Brunet V:525; Cox I:344; Cordier Sinica 2382