WESTON, Stephen.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Siao Çu Lin, First edition, association copy, inscribed on the first blank by a relative of the publisher, most likely his son. This is a "curious and picturesque" (Lust) pre-Victorian window onto European perceptions of the Chinese language and the complexities and appearance of its written characters. Following publication, copies quickly became hard to find for collectors, with an 1827 catalogue from the bookseller's Howell and Stewart already describing it as "scarce".The inscription reads: "From Mr Mutlow to Lancelot Thomas, May 11th 1865". While we have not been able to trace further details about the recipient, the "Mr Mutlow" here presumably refers to James, son of the engraver Henry Mutlow (c.1756-1827) who published this book. Following his father's death, James took over the running of his father's premises in Covent Garden, perhaps sourcing this copy from the firm's archives for a keen collector.Stephen Weston (1747-1830) was an antiquarian and classical scholar - a man of "widespread learning" (ODNB) - who wrote some 50 books, including various translations of Persian poetry, commentaries on Shakespeare, and several studies of classical architecture; notably he produced the first English translation of the Rosetta Stone, presented verbally at a Society of Antiquaries meeting in 1802.

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