Condition Report
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Lot 140
Sale 6330 - Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana
May 8, 2025
10:00AM CT
Live / Chicago
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Estimate
$600 -
800
Price Realized
$1,664
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
DARWENT, Charles Ewart, Rev. (1858-1924). Shanghai: A Handbook for Travellers and Residents to the Chief Objects of Interest In and Around the Foreign Settlements and Native City. Shanghai, [&c.]: Kelly and Walsh, n.d. [1904].
8vo. Numerous photographs in the text; large folding map ("Plan of Shanghai in 1904") in rear pocket. Original pictorial blue cloth stamped in gilt and light purple (spine slightly sunned, a few areas of minor rubbing).
FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST CITY GUIDE ON SHANGHAI PUBLISHED IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. In the early 20th century, Shanghai was experiencing an influx of British tourists, drawn by the city's growing reputation as a cosmopolitan hub. The Bund, Shanghai's iconic waterfront promenade, was prominently featured as the first attraction in Western guidebooks of the time. The 1900 census records 2,091 British residents in Shanghai, a number that would continue to grow until the beginning of World War II when the Japanese occupied the British-controlled parts of the city.
