[Rarebooks] Macartney's Embassy (1797) owned by the British Officer who burned the White House, The Capitol and the Library of Congress.

[Ezra Tishman]

Good afternoon, Bookwomen and Bookmen:

Ezra from Aardvark offers this lovely two-volume set of Macartney’s “Embassy”

Staunton, åGeorge Leonard (Sir, Baronet). AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF AN EMBASSY FROM THE KING OF GREAT
BRITAIN TO THE EMPEROR OF CHINA (TWO VOLUMES) Including Cursory Observations made, and Information
obtained, in Travelling through that Ancient Empire and a small Part of Chinese Tartary. London, England: "TOGETHER WITH A RELATION OF THE Voyage undertaken on the Occasion by his Majesty's Ship the Lion, and the Ship Hindostan in the East India Company's Service, to the Yellow Sea, and Gulf of Pekin; as well as of their return to Europe. WITH NOTICES OF The Several places where they stopped in their way out and home; being the Islands of Madeira, Teneriffe, and St. Iago; the Port of Rio de Janeiro in South America; the Islands of St.Helena, Tristan d'Acunha, and
Amsterdam; the Coast of Java, and Sumatra, the Nanka Isles, Pulo Condore, and Cochin-China. TAKEN CHIEFLY FROM
THE PAPERS OF HIS EXCELLENCY THE EARL OF MACARTNEY, Knight of the Bath, his Majesty's Embassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Emperor of china; Sir ERASMUS GOWER, Commander of the Expedition, and of
other Gentlemen in the several departments of the Embassy.”

This journey herein conveyed was the first British diplomatic mission to China. "The goals of the mission included the opening of new ports for
British trade in China, the establishment of a permanent embassy in Beijing, the cession of a small island for British use along
China's coast, and the relaxation of trade restrictions on British merchants in Guangzhou (Canton). Macartney's delegation
met with the Qianlong Emperor, who rejected all of the British requests. Although the mission failed to achieve its official
objectives, it was later noted for the extensive cultural, political, and geographical observations its participants recorded in
China and brought back to Europe..." (Wikipedia)

Published by W. Bulmer and Co. for G. Nicol, Bookseller to His Majesty, 1797. First Edition. Small folios. Rebound in half-calf over rose and slate-green stone-marbled boards. (11 1/4" x 8 1/2"). Five raised bands (six compartments), double-ruled in gilt, with contrasting gilt-stamped maroon title label in second compartment. Mild scuffing to leather, with several spots showing a bit of leather loss to spine top of one volume. 

Speckling motif to all edges,in red. Two small library stamps to each volume, the first a rectangular stamp on each front free endpaper reading "Rosstrevor House Library", and the second, a quite small circular stamp reading the Gloucester Library Permanent, to the versos of each frontis
portrait. Previous owner's name to title page of Vol. II. 

NOTE: LACKS the scarce Atlas volume which contained 44 plates, in addition to the 38
already present in these two text volumes. 

Full-size frontis portraits of Chien-Lung, Ta-whang-tee, the great Emperor of China engraved by Thomas HIckey and in the
other volume, The Earl of Macartney, engraved by William Alexander, Both "Engravers to His Majesty", who accompanied
Macartney and Staunton on this expedition. All 38 engravings present as called for in the "List of the Engravings Contained in the Two Quarto Volumes", executed by William Alexander, Note: The two frontis engravings have inadvertently (?) been transposed, contrary to the author’s instructions, at any rate. Paper is thick, high-quality stock, printed in a nice, large
typeface, with pages showing 1 1/2" to 2" margins on all (unbound) sides.

PROVENANCE (from the library of Robert Ross, the Irish-born British officer who ordered the burning of the United States
White House, The United States Capitol, and the United States Library of Congress during the War of 1812)

Bookplate with armorial design of John Stafford Reid Byers (1903-1984), a barrister-at-law who lived in Newcastle, County
Down, Ireland and who had served in the Ministry of Economic Warfare in 1939. A penciled note upon the bookplate
(incorrect, in part; Bladensburg is in Maryland, U.S.A., not in County Down, Ireland) states: "From Library of General Ross of Bladensburg, Rosstrevor, County Down,which might explain how this book later came into the possession of John Stafford Reid Byers, a Rosstrevor sojourner or native. But before “Stafford” Byers owned the book, there was….

Major-General Robert Ross (1766-1814) an Irish-born British officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars, and its theatre
in North America in the War of 1812, where had been named "Commander of All British Forces on the East Coast" of
America. Among other battles, on August 24, 1814, he defeated the American militia at the Battle of Bladensburg and later that evening led his troops the 8.6 miles into Washington, D.C. where he handily took command and personally ordered the burning of all public buildings, including The
White House, Capitol and Library of Congress." Three weeks later, he was shot during the Battle of North Point, Maryland, dying of his wounds on September 12th 1814 ,while being transported.


Images: https://www.ezrabook.com/pages/books/84896/george-leonard-staunton-baronet-sir/authentic-account-of-an-embassy-from-the-king-of-great-britain-to-the-emperor-of-china-two-volumes


Very Good Plus. Leather-bound. $5000.  
Professional Consideration Offered to the Trade


Ezra The Bookfinder
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