xviii, [2], 447 pp. With 19 hand-colored aquatint plates (one folding) after S. Daniell and W. Alexander, by T. Medland; 2 folding engraved maps (one hand-colored, one with route marked by hand in red). (4to) 10½x8¼, period calf ruled in gilt, rebacked with modern calf, gilt tooling, raised bands, new marbled endpapers. First Edition.
Barrow accompanied the Earl of Macartney as official interpreter to the embassy to the Emperor of China, having learned Chinese from a former pupil, Thomas Staunton. "The embassy was a magnificent failure, arriving at Peking with gifts which included all the wonders of Western civilization -- artillery, telescopes, a coach-and-four, a balloon and pilot -- Macartney was treated with hospitable disgust before being dismissed with polite contempt. According to the Chinese Emperor, the presence of a British Ambassador was 'not in harmony with the regulations of the Celestial Empire, we also feel very much that it is of no advantage to your country'" (F. Fleming, Barrow's Boys, 1998, p.4). The "African" portion of Barrow's work includes an account of "the journey to Lattakoo, undertaken by Messrs. Daniell, Truter, Somerville, Scholz, and the author" and is based on "a manuscript in Dutch written by Mr. Truter." (Mendelssohn). Abbey Travel 514; Mendelssohn I, p.89; Tooley 86. Provenance: A Northern California private collector.
Condition:
Calf covers with some spotting; faint toning to contents, folding map of southern Africa with splits along folds, else very good, aquatint plates generally clean and bright.