TALES OF OLD JAPAN. By A. B. Mitford, Second Secretary to the British Legation in Japan ... With illustrations, drawn and cut on wood by Japanese Artists. London: Macmillan and Co., 1871. Octavo, two volumes: pp. [i-v] vi-vii [viii-ix] x [xi] xii [1] 2-277 [278: printer's imprint] [279-280: ads]; [i-v] vi [vii-viii] [1] 2-272, flyleaves at front and rear, 31 inserted plates, original pictorial black cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gold, blue-gray coated endpapers. First ediltion. The book that made such Japanese classics as "The Forty-seven Ronin" first known to a wide Western public. Lord Redesdale's collection of short fiction focuses on various aspects of Japanese life before the Meiji Restoration. The book ... "forms an introduction to Japanese literature and culture, both through the stories, all adapted from Japanese sources, and Mitford's supplementary notes. Also included are Mitford's eyewitness accounts of a selection of Japanese rituals, ranging from harakiri (seppuku) and marriage to a selection of sermons" (Wikipedia). Armorial bookplates of Philip Greely Brown affixed to the front paste-down of each volume. Cloth a bit rubbed on front and rear panels, a bright, tight, very good copy. (#171120).
Price: $750.00
No statement of printing.