The Far East. A Monthly Journal, Illustrated with Photographs.

£12,500 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

“It was in May 1870, that he [Black] first conceived the idea of publishing a newspaper in Japan, illustrated with photographs of the Far East […] at length the opportunity arrived; and he has availed himself of a lengthened visit to Shanghai to make arrangements such as will give a tenfold interest to the Far East. In future it will deal fully as much as with Chinese and with Japanese subjects… But although the pictures are the distinguishing feature, and to many prove the principal inducement to subscribe, the proprietor has promises of assistance in the literary portion of the Far East, which give him great hopes of its becoming not only an interesting, but a valuable addition to the periodical literature of these regions.” (Introduction). While the format has changed from fortnightly to monthly, the number of pages is increased to 23-28 pages. Most of the literary contributions are written by George Carter Stent (1833-1884, he worked at the Imperial Chinese Maritime Customs) and Black himself. The images were taken by professional photographers incl. William Saunders (Shanghai), Thomas Child (Peking), Lorenzo Fisler (Shanghai), and St Julian Edwards (Amoy). They provide a vivid illustration of daily life and leading personalities in the open ports featuring a variety of foreign buildings, shops, and temples in Shanghai, images of beggars, itinerant cobblers and coolies, high-ranking Chinese officials (incl. the Governor of Nanking, the famous statesman Li Hong-zhang), a n

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