WILLIAM ALEXANDER (1767-1816)
The Costume of China. London: William Miller, 1805 [watermarked 1794-1802]. 4° (327 x 265mm). 48 hand-coloured aquatint plates after Alexander. (Without half-title or dedication as often, occasional spotting, some offsetting onto text leaves, one plate with short marginal tear.) Modern buckram preserving an earlier morocco spine label.
FIRST EDITION. Alexander travelled to China as draughtsman with Lord Macartney's Embassy to the Emperor in 1792-4. 'Alexander is best remembered for his work on China in a period in which the Chinese style greatly influenced the decorative arts in Britain' (ODNB). Cordier Sinica, 1858; Abbey Travel, 534; Colas 74.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER (1767-1816)
The Costume of China. London: William Miller, 1805 [watermarked 1794-1802]. 4° (327 x 265mm). 48 hand-coloured aquatint plates after Alexander. (Without half-title or dedication as often, occasional spotting, some offsetting onto text leaves, one plate with short marginal tear.) Modern buckram preserving an earlier morocco spine label.
FIRST EDITION. Alexander travelled to China as draughtsman with Lord Macartney's Embassy to the Emperor in 1792-4. 'Alexander is best remembered for his work on China in a period in which the Chinese style greatly influenced the decorative arts in Britain' (ODNB). Cordier Sinica, 1858; Abbey Travel, 534; Colas 74.
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