A Collection of Shop Signs of China
Beijing: The Bible Treasury, 1948.
Illustrated by Illustrated. Paperback. Good+ with no dust jacket. Item #12516
Edgewear, corner creasing, light tone, otherwise light wear. Solid oblong softcover.; Traditional Chinese softcover stab binding, blue wraps with faded gilt titles in both English and Chinese. Produced just before the establishment of the People's Republic by a Methodist missionary school principal as a fund-raiser for library books. Inscribed by the author on Dedication page to a long-serving American woman missionary, and also signed by the author on the Preface page. Numerous color illustrations on 45 plates, deciphering the trade and shop signs of China. Color illustrations of I. Food (32 signs); II. Wearing Apparel (20 signs); III. Household Utensils (24 signs); IV. Artisans (11 signs); V. Metal Workers (7 signs); and Miscellaneous Trades (26 signs). English text; sign illustrations captioned in English and Chinese. Inscribed to Iowa-born Methodist missionary Ortha Lane, who served four tours in China beginning in 1919. "After the war ended Lane returned to Tientsin, China again serving as Conference Secretary of Religious Work for Women and Children. The Communist take-over in China shortened Lane's fourth term of service to only three years." - Karen Mason, Curator; Ortha Lane papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries. Uncommon work that documents a part of traditional China swept away as the book was being published. ; 4, 45 pl. pages; Signed by Author.
Price: $1,499.95