STAUNTON, George Thomas, Sir (1781-1859). Miscellaneous Notices relating to China... London: Henry Skelton for John Murray; Printed for Private Circulation, 1822-1828.
2 volumes, 8vo (216 x 131 mm). 2 folding tables, 7 double-page engravings of Chinese text inserted at end of vol.2. Contemporary diced calf, covers framed in gilt (rebacked preserving original spine).
Mixed edition: vol.1 is a second "enlarged" edition; vol.2 is a first edition. INSCRIBED IN VOLUME 1 BY THE AUTHOR.
[With:] ELLIS, Henry (1788-1855). Journal of the Proceedings of the Late Embassy to China... London: for John Murray, 1817. 4to. engraved frontispiece portrait, 7 hand-colored aquatints, 3 engraved maps (one folding). (Some spotting.) Contemporary diced calf (upper cover detached). FIRST EDITION. Abbey Travel 536; Tooley 208.
Together, 2 works in 2 volumes. In 1816, George Thomas Staunton served as the second commissioner on a special mission to Beijing, known as the Amherst Embassy, alongside Lord William Pitt Amherst and Sir Henry Ellis. This embassy was the second British diplomatic mission to China, following the unsuccessful Macartney Embassy of 1792-1794. The primary objective was to improve British commercial and diplomatic relations with the Chinese empire, particularly to address recent disputes that had disrupted the important tea trade at Canton. Staunton, who had gained fame as a 12-year-old boy during the Macartney Embassy for his brief conversation in Mandarin with the Qianlong Emperor, was now recognized as Britain's leading sinologist.
