Condition Report
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Lot 148
Sale 568 - Fine Books and Manuscripts
May 1, 2018
9:59AM
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Estimate
$800 -
1,200
Price Realized
$2,000
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Lot Description
[MASON, George Henry]. The Punishments of China. London: W. Bulmer for William Miller, 1801 (but later, plates watermarked 1817).
Folio (353 x 257 mm). Title-pages and text printed in English and French, 22 hand-colored engraved plates captioned in English and French, sheets watermarked 1817. (Some pale spotting or offsetting.) Contemporary green straight grained morocco, sides decorated in gilt and blind, spine gilt, edges gilt (rebacked preserving original spine, some overall wear, portion of morocco lacking lower cover). Later edition of this work, attributed to artist George Henry Mason, which describes in graphic detail forms of punishment for crimes committed in China. Each plate illustrates one type of punishment from less severe penalties like "Torturing the Fingers" and "Twisting a Man's Ears," to the most serious "The Manner of Beheading." The accompanying text, in both French and English, further explains the method by which the punishment is delivered. See Abbey Travel 532.
