ISHIBASHI, Masakata, & Nakayama Takekazu.

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Eigo sen ("Dictionary and Phrasebook for the English Language"). First edition of this early work for Japanese learners of English. Its focus on the language of polite conversation, travel, and commercial exchange anticipates the expansion of Japan's global ties in the wake of the Meiji Restoration.The two volumes consist of thematic vocabulary sections, covering such topics as weather, geography, occupations, and flora and fauna, as well as important adjectives and verbs. Half of volume two is devoted to useful conversational phrases: "some coffee and tea?"; "I know almost nothing"; "abridge your writing"; and "that cloth is of [sic] five dollars take it or leave it".Provenance: with the ownership signature of Lieutenant Lucius Austin Waterman USN (1832-1895) on the wrappers and final leaves. A civil war officer, he served with the Aroostook in Asia between 1866 and 1869. Part of Admiral Henry Bell's Asiatic Squadron, the Aroostook patrolled off Japan and the Chinese coast for pirates. In 1868, she participated in a demonstration of Western and Japanese warships near Honshu to celebrate the opening of Kobe and Oksaka to foreign trade. In spring 1869, shortly before she was decommissioned, Aroostook helped protect Americans caught up in the Boshin War. Helpfully for Waterman, this guide includes seafaring and military parlance such as "where will you land?", "berth", and "grapeshot".

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