ROCHE, James F. and L.L. COWEN. The French at Foochow. Shanghai: Printed at the "Celestial Empire" Office, 1884.
8vo. 8 wood-engraved plates after sketches. (Title-page clipped above title and repaired.) Contemporary half cloth, marbled boards. Provenance: previously sold, Swann Auctions, 8 February 1979, lot 71.
FIRST EDITION of this firsthand account of the French and Chinese naval forces following the collapse of the Li-Fournier Agreement after Chinese troops attacked French forces on 23 June 1884, which violated the previous Tientsin Accord that had temporarily eased tensions. In August 1884, France launched naval attacks on Tonkin, targeting Chinese-held positions, which The Nation described as marked by "gross cruelty and fraud," including the bombardment of towns and execution of prisoners. The war ended in a stalemate despite numerous French victories, thus solidifying France's colonial grip in Vietnam and "pav[ing] the way for the dynasty's downfall" (Po, The Blue Frontier p.206). The eight plates are after sketches made during the battle and show several Chinese ships before and after they were sunk. The final sketch is of a dog that drowned while trying to escape from the Yangwoo, the Chinese flagship. RARE: Online records indicate that only this copy has sold at auction in the past 50 years. Cordier 2500.
