"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. "
— Oscar Wilde
The Tribulations of a Chinaman.
New York, NY: E.P. Dutton and Company, 1881 [1880]. [French Literature] FIRST FREWER EDITION. Octavo (19 x 15cm), pp.[2] viii; 262 [4]. With 49 engraved plates by Benett, including a frontispiece. Publisher's light blue cloth with gilt titles and black decoration to spine and upper. Some heavy creasing and a couple of small tears to fly-leaf and first blank. Lightly toned throughout; a distinct tobacco scent. Heavy toning to spine and board margins. Very good. Something of a farce, in which a wealthy Chinese man tries to have himself killed to trigger a life insurance policy after being informed that he has lost his fortune, only to discover later that he has not lost everything. First translated into English in the US in 1879. Although this edition is made up from sheets printed in London with a title page dated 1881, it was actually published just before the London edition in October 1880, since Sampson Low had decided to save its own publication for the Christmas gift market in November. It is therefore neither the first edition in English, nor the first UK edition, but it is the first edition of this particular translation. Item #57453
Price: £325.00
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