First English Edition of "An Embassy from the East-India Company"

Item Details

A rare 1669 first English language edition of An Embassy from the East-India Company by Dutch author and explorer Johan Nieuhof. Originally published in Dutch in 1665, due to its tremendous success, several other editions were published that were heavily edited for more commercial interests. It was then translated into French, German, Latin and English in 1665, 1666, 1668, and 1669. While the other versions were published by Van Meurs, the English version was published and translated by John Ogilby. The book, split into two parts and an appendix, contains notes and illustrations that Nieuhof made while he was a steward on Peter de Goyer and Jacob de Keizer’s embassy to the emperor of China. It also contains a written account of the trip and 149 illustrations. The first part of the work contains details of the entire journey from Canton to Peking and back while the second part is a general overview of China. This book was important to the time because it was a unique source about China and its practices. The images were an important aspect of the book because they more accurately depicted the people of China versus the fantastical European illustrations from the past.

Condition

While the front and back covers are missing the binding is fully intact. There is a map missing from the very front and others may be missing. Several pages have been repaired with tape. Pages 147-8, 185-204 in the first section are missing due to printing error and pages 96-101 in the appendix are out of order due to printing error. On page 90 of the appendix the illustration is upside down.

Dimensions

Item #

15CIN242-077