Eyewitness account of the Second Opium War

Lucy, Armand. Souvenirs de voyage. Lettres intimes sur la campagne de Chine en 1860.

Marseille, Jules Barile, 1861.

8vo. 204 pp. With 2 lithographed maps, a lithographed folding plate, 6 wood engraved plates, and 5 wood engravings in text. Contemporary half, tanned sheepskin, marbled edges.

 8.000,00

First edition, in the original French, of a work on the Second Opium War during the years 1856-60. The author, Armand Lucy, came to China in 1860, probably at the age of 23, as the interpreter to the French general Charles Cousin-Montauban (1796-1878). As an eyewitness, Lucy writes lively about the campaign in letters to his father, who published the letters he received in 1861. The book covers almost a year, starting in Ceylon in April 1860. Lucy gives a detailed account of several battles, with information about the strategies and the casualties. It also includes an account of the looting of the Summer Palace and of the Battle of Palikao, when the English and French took over Beijing, which played an important part in eventually defeating the Qing Empire. The text is illustrated with wood engraved views of Beijing.

Rare. Some foxing throughout the book. Binding slightly rubbed along the extremities. Overal a good copy.

Literatur

Cordier (Sinica) 2494f.

Art.-Nr.: BN#45598 Schlagwörter: , , ,