JAPAN

[Alexander W. Williamson, Professor of Chemistry at University College, London.] Autograph Signature on engraved ticket to his lecture on ‘Chemistry’, made out for the microscopist Bernard Piffard.

Author: 
Alexander W. Williamson [Alexander William Williamson] (1824-1904), Professor of Analytical and Practical Chemistry, University College, London [Bernard Piffard (1833-1916), entomologist; Choshu Five]
Alexander W. Williamson
Publication details: 
University College, London. The ticket is 'Renewed 1 Oct 1861 Perpetual Jany / 52 Session 1861-62.'
£56.00
Alexander W. Williamson

Williamson is notable for his work on the formation of ether, and for furthering Anglo-Japanese relations by welcoming the 'Choshu Five' and later members of the Satsuma han into his home. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. From the Piffard papers. Signed ‘Alexr W. Williamson’ on ticket engraved in copperplate on one side of 15.5 x 10.5 cm card. In fair condition, a little worn and somewhat discoloured with age. Central horizontal fold. Blind-stamped with ‘Treasury Seal’. The signature is at bottom right, with number of ticket (40) and the initials of the secretary ‘’ at bottom left.

[A young Englishman in 1960s Japan.] Typescript of an untitled novel by an unnamed individual, regarding the cultural and personal adventures in Japan of character Christopher Peter Butterworth, with numerous emendations, additions and corrections.

Author: 
[Japan in the 1960s; Japanese culture; English expatriate; unpublished typescript of novel]
Publication details: 
No place or date. But clearly written by an English writer, and containing references dating it to the late 1960s.
£450.00

The present item - presumably autobiographical and definitely unpublished - is in a disordered state, and certainly not in the best of condition, with some parts apparently missing; but it is certainly worthy of attention, as a well-written production over which the author has taken some pains, with numerous manuscript additions and emendations in green and black felt-tip pen, describing from the point of view of a young Englishman 1960s Anglo-Japanese culture shock. 239pp, all but two of which are 4to, the two being foolscap.

[William Plomer, poet and novelist, Benjamin Britten’s librettist.] Autograph Letter Signed to the autograph collector Eileen M. Cond, apologising for his ‘ordinary’ signature.

Author: 
William Plomer [William Charles Franklyn Plomer] (1903-1973), English poet and novelist, born in South Africa, Benjamin Britten’s librettist [Eileen M. Cond, autograph collector]
Plomer
Publication details: 
27 August 1936; c/o Jonathan Cape Ltd, 30 Bedford Square, WC1 [London].
£56.00
Plomer

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice for postage. Reads: ‘Dear Miss Cond, / I have pleasure in sending you my signature. As you will see, it is quite an ordinary one. / Yours very truly / William Plomer’. The signature is in fact rather stylish in an understated way, and the underlining has two small curls in it. In ink on otherwise-blank reverse, by someone who misread the signature: 'William Ploms'. See Image.

[Sir Claude MacDonald, soldier and diplomat in the far east; Japan] Two Autograph Letters in the third person to the Lord Mayor of London [Sir John Charles Bell], accepting luncheon invitations, one to meet ‘Prince Fushimi of Japan’.

Author: 
Sir Claude Macdonald [Colonel Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald (1852-1915), soldier and diplomat, British Minister to China and Korea, Consul-General to Japan [Prince Fushimi Sadanaru (1858-1923)]
Publication details: 
One on 8 March 1907; from 43 Augusta Gardens, Folkestone [Kent]. The other without date, but from May 1907; on letterhead of the United Service Club [London].
£90.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Both items 1p, 12mo, and both in good condition, lightly aged, with slight evidence of previous mounting on the blank reverses. Both folded once for postage. Both letters during the tenure as Lord Mayor of London of Sir John Charles Bell (1843-1924). ONE (8 March 1907): ‘Sir Claude Macdonald has the honour to accept the kind invitation of the Lord Mayor to Luncheon on March 13th.

[Tsingtao [Qingdao] during the Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945.] Ten long Autograph Letters Signed from Malcolm H. Young, English agent, to his sister Celia, describing conditions during Japanese occupation.

Author: 
[Tsingtao [Qingdao] during the Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945)] Malcolm H. Young, English agent at Tsingtao [Quingdao], China, during the Japanese occupation
Publication details: 
Three from 1937 (18 January, 28 November and 10 December); seven from 1938 (13, 20 and 27 February, 6 March, 7 April, 6 May and 13 November). All addressed from ‘P.O. Box 286. Tsingtao. China / via Siberia’.
£450.00

A good well-written correspondence, painting a good picture of the day-to-day life of an English expatriate in the occupied city. Letters are signed ‘Malcolm’ and (once) ‘Mac’. Young names himself in valedictions as Celia’s brother. He does not sign with his surname, which can however be deduced from the combination of postscripts signed ‘M H Y’; and Celia being named in the endorsement to one letter as ‘C. G. Young’. He is is presumably ‘Malcolm H. Young, agent’, who features in the Tsingtao / Hong Kong List for 1941.

[A Welsh poet at work: Harry Guest.] Three Autograph Poems: ‘Climbing a Volcano’ (two drafts), ‘At Shoreham’ (holograph), and ‘Sentence’ (fragment); with covering Autograph Letter Signed to Claire Freiburger; and transcription from Abelard.

Author: 
Harry Guest [Henry Bayly Guest] (1932-2021), Welsh poet and noted translator from French and Japanese
Publication details: 
The poems undated. The letter dated 3 September 1970; ‘c/o Mr. T. Mugishima, | Kugahara 4-Chome 23-9, | Ohta-Ku, / Tokyo 165’.
£220.00

See Tony Lopez's obituary in the Guardian, 11 April 2021.The letter was sent, with Items One and Two at least, while Guest was Lecturer in English at Yokohama National University, 1966-1972. All four items are neatly written in black ink in a close hand. The first three items are in good condition; Item Four is in fair condition, on aged paper and with wear to the outer edges. The parallel drafts of ‘Climbing a Volcano’ in Item One present an excellent example of the working process of a poet in the pre-digital age. ONE: Autograph Manuscript (2pp, folio) on one leaf.

[Head of Station, Tokyo; Japan] [Cyclostyled or similar] H/Tokyo's Valedictory Report

Author: 
[Head of Station, Tokyo]
Japan
Publication details: 
[1972]
£450.00
Japan

(Covering Note dated 5 April 1974), one page, 4to; Valedictory Report, 10 pages, 4to, good condition. A lengthy analysis of The Japanese, their society, customs, language, societal changes, etc., subjects that Intelligence would think important. See sample image. No other copy traced. From the private papers of C. A. A. Nicol, who was a 'Member of a joint FCO/MOD department in Hong Kong' between 1970 and 1975.

[H.M.S. Tyne, Flagship; Japan; Pacific Fleet] Two Typescripts (cyclostyled or similar): H.M.S. Tyne's Commission. Pacific Fleet 1944-46 AND Guide to Japan AND Plan of Yokohama Port

Author: 
H.M.S. Tyne, Flagship; Japan; Pacific Fleet
Publication details: 
1944-46 AND 21 March 1946.
£1,350.00

A. H.M.S. Tyne's Commission. Pacific Fleet 1944-46, typescript (cyclostyled or similar), 14pp., fol., stapled, small coloured image of desert island with palm trees on front cover, covers dusted, sl. chipped and stained, but complete and fully legible. Preliminary page detailed list of places visited on the way to Yokohama (dates, distances, etc). Then The Commission of 'H.M.S. Tyne', 1944-46, pp.1-14, details and descriptions of voyage and stops- Port Said, Trincomalee, Sydney, Japanese ports, etc., including wartime activity as it affected the Fleet (e.g.

[ Percy Burton; theatre history; Russia and Japan ] Typescript of the chapter on the Theatre in Russia and Japan originally intended for the Book Adventures among Immortals but omitted.

Author: 
Percy Burton, Impresario, author of Adventures among Immortals as told to Lowell Thomas (London, 1938).
Publication details: 
Various (before the First World War, & 1929 mentioned).
£450.00

Typescript entitled Chapter XIV The Theatre in Russia and Japan, paginated (227)-(247) (as for a chapter in the Book), AND pp. [1]-8 and ((The Theatre in Japan) [1]-12, missing one page, p.(246)/11., total number of pages 19, fair condition. Percy Burton had written at the head of page(227)/[1] ? for inclusion or part of it in ADVENTURES AMONG IMMORTALS. Another hand has added in pencil No room for this, presumably editorial cold water.

[ Alfred East, artist; Japanese Art ] Press Notices of an Exhbition of the Landscape of Japan, held at the Galleries of the Fine Art Society, New Bond Street, London, in March and April,1890; to which is added a few words said to the Artists of Tokio

Author: 
Alfred East, Hon. Mem of the Meiji Bijutsu Kai, Japan, etc.
Publication details: 
[ London, 1890/1? ]
£400.00

80pp., 8vo, grey wraps. small closed tears, signs of wear. [Japan Daily Mail, 1891] "The [volume] is a collection of press notices of Mr. Alfred East's exhibition of Japanese landscapes. The notices have been brought together and re-printed by Mr. Lazenby Liberty,[...]" Presumably the Exhibition stimulated a wider interest in Japanese art but no-one on Google (cursory glance admittedly) has seen fit to comment except to exclaim that it was a "spectacular success". No other copy traced on the market or on COPAC/WorldCat.

[ Renown Akido Society, Hillingdon, the first Akido society in the UK. ] Duplicated Typed Circular explaining Japanese terms, wiith manuscript annotation (by founder Ken Williams?).

Author: 
Renown Akido Society, Hillingdon, the first society teaching Akido in the United Kingdom, founded by Ken Williams, pupil of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei
Publication details: 
Renown Akido Society [ Hillingdon ]. Between 1966 and 1969.
£50.00

An interesting artefact from the early days of Akido in the United Kingdom. Akido was introduced into the UK 1955 by Kenshiro Abbe Sensei at the Hut Dojo in Hillingdon. His first student was Ken Williams. In 1957 Haydn Foster joined the Hut and continued to teach there until his death in 2011. The Renown Society was formed in 1966 by Williams after Abbe returned to Japan. This was the original society teaching Akido in the UK. The Renown Society broke up in 1969. 4pp., foolscap 8vo.

[ Basic English and its distinguished supporters. ] Autograph Signatures to printed declaration, by Sir Richard Arman Gregory, astronomer; Edwin Diller Starbuck, Manley O. Hudson; Ichikawa Sanki; Rintaro Fukuhara.

Author: 
Sir Richard Arman Gregory (1864-1952), astronomer; Edwin Diller Starbuck (1866-1947); Manley Ottmer Hudson (1886-1960), Ichikawa Sanki (1886-1970) and Rintaro Fukuhara (1894-1981) [ Basic English ]
Publication details: 
Without datre or place.
£100.00

The signatories are the British astronomer Sir Richard Arman Gregory (1864-1952), the American author Edwin Diller Starbuck (1866-1947), the American lawyer (twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize) Manley O. Hudson [ Manley Ottmer Hudson ] (1886-1960), and the two Japanese professors of English Ichikawa Sanki (1886-1970) of the Imperial University of Tokyo (friend of Lafcadio Hearn) and Rintaro Fukuhara (1894-1981) of Bunrika University (colleague of William Empson). The signatures are on four leaves of 8vo paper, In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with some fold lines.

[ A Royal Navy engineer in the Far East and Pacific, 1882-1891. ] Account book of George Parsons, latterly Chief Engineer of HMS Champion, recording his personal and professional expenses on various tours of duty.

Author: 
George Parsons, nineteenth-century Royal Navy Chief Egineer on HMS Champion [ Naval and Maritime ]
Publication details: 
Between August 1882 and May 1891. At locations including Port Said, Alexandria, Portsmouth, London, Suez, Malta, Hong Kong, Yokohama, Tokyo, Vladivostock, Shanghai, San Francisco, Vancouver, Esquimault, Honolulu, Halifax. Further accounts,1889-1911.
£320.00

73pp., in a 12mo account book with printed red rules, in dark marbled boards with black cloth spine. Internally in fair condition, aged and worn, in heavily worn binding. Inscribed 'G. Parsons' twice on front endpapers. (Parsons' Royal Navy certificates as an assistant engineer (1872) and engineer (1878) are held by the National Archives.) The present volume contains a full set of accounts, 1882-1891, over 52pp.; less-detailed accounts, 1898-1911, over 8pp.; desultory accounts over 5pp., including two-pages of the 'Furniture Fund | H.M.S.

[ Japanese ] One hundred vintage postcards of Japan, fifty-two of them striking and attractive photographic images, tinted in vivid colour, showing scenes of everyday life, mainly among the rural peasantry (fishing, farming, flying kites, costume)

Author: 
One hundred vintage postcards of Japan [some 'Copyright, Ono-Banzaikan, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan.' and others 'TRADE MARK K.P.C. YOKOHAMA JAPAN']
Publication details: 
Including six postcards 'Copyright, Ono-Banzaikan, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan.' and one 'TRADE MARK K.P.C. YOKOHAMA JAPAN'. None of the others with European attribution. None dated [all early twentieth century].
£600.00

A contemporary oriental album, 19 x 27cm., with oat cloth boards, green ribbon and embroidered spine, containing a beautiful collection of vintage 9 x 14cm. postcards in near-mint condition. None of the postcards has any manuscript marks or sign of postage.

Diplomatic and Consular Reports on Trade and Finance. Japan (1896). No. 1937.

Author: 
[Foreign Office. 1897. Annual Series]
Publication details: 
Foreign Office, 1897
£35.00

Pamphlet, stitched as issued, sl. foxed and dusted, mainly good condition, 22pp. , 8vo. Report for 1896.

[ Francis Elgar, naval architect. ] Autograph Letter Signed [ to W. J. Fisher ], regarding the fund set up at the death of Harold Frederic.

Author: 
Francis Elgar (1845-1909), English naval architect [ Harold Frederic (1856-1898), London correspondent of the New York Times ]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 18 York Terrace, Regent's Park, London. 3 January 1899.
£56.00

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, with light signs of age. He is enclosing a cheque for two guineas towards 'The Frederic Fund', and writes that he had 'the pleasure of often meeting Mr Harold Frederic at the Savage Club some years ago'. He was 'deeply grieved to hear of his sad & untimely end'. He hopes enough money will be collected to be an 'appreciable help to his widow & children'. The letter relates to a celebrated Victorian scandal. In 1884 Frederic had come to England with his wife and five children as the London correspondent of the New York TImes.

[ 1968 Tokyo Olympic Games. ] Autograph 'Olympic Diary' of Brigadier James Grose, equestrian team manager, covering the period leading up to the opening ceremony; with accounts. With 'situation report for Col Ansell', telegrams, receipts.

Author: 
Brigadier James Grose, Director of the Burghley Horse Trials and British equestrian team manager at 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games [ Col. Sir Michael Picton Ansell (1905-1994) ]
Publication details: 
'British Equestrian Team | Yo-yogi Village' [Tokyo, Japan]. 23 September to 14 October 1964.
£450.00

38pp., 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. In 'Note Book Made of paper Specially prepared in Japan'. On front cover: 'J. GROSE | British Equestrian Team | Yo-yogi Village | Olympic Diary'. Begins on 23 September with flight from London Airport via Bombay. In Hong Kong he dines with 'Algie (Lady O'Connor)' at Flagstaff House. In the Olympic Village at Yoyogi on 26 September he discusses problems 'in our hut (448)', before inspecting 'the Equestrian Centre (Baji-Koen)'.

Printed 'Information & News Sheet published by British Prisoners of War Funds [...] No. 21 - Far East'.

Author: 
[Miss Christine Knowles, Founder and Hon. Director, British Prisoners of War Books & Games Fund and Forge-Me-Not League]
Publication details: 
Carrington House, Hertford Street, London, W1. [1944.]
£150.00

27pp., 12mo. Unbound. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. Articles include: Parliamentary News (November 1944); Far East Conditions; Food and Medical Supplies; Minister of Cabinet Rank; Government Inter-Departmental Committee; Telegrams; Radio Message Scheme; Sunk Japanese Transports; List of Names of Prisoners of War and Civilian Internees; Inspection of Prisoners of War Camps; Pay; Leave; Mail.

[Printed Leaflet P.2327B.] Communication with Prisoners of War and Civilians in Japan and Japanese-occupied Territories, and other Service personnel and Civilians believed to be in Japanese hands.

Author: 
[British prisoners of war in Japan and Japanese-occupied territories; the Far East]
Publication details: 
General Post Office, July 1942. 'H. & S. Ltd.' '7/42', i.e. July 1942.
£120.00

2pp., 12mo. Printed on both sides of a single leaf. Fair, on aged and creased paper. Giving a list of addresses to which letters and postcards 'may be sent post free to Service personnel and Civilians known or believed to be in Japanese hands'. '[...] To avoid delay in Japanese censorship, no one should write more than once a week'. With an example of the way in which to 'address you letter', if 'the internment camp address is known'. Scarce: no copy on COPAC or WorldCat, although the Imperial War Museum does have a similar Leaflet P.2280E (1943), relating to prisoners of war in Europe.

[Printed HMSO pamphlet.] A Handbook for the information of Relatives and Friends of Prisoners of War and Civilians in Japanese or Japanese-Occupied Territory. [With stamped printed slip from the War Office.]

Author: 
[British Prisoners of War in Japan or Japanese-Occupied Territory]
Publication details: 
Published for The War Office by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1944. [Printed slip dated May 1944, and stamped 9 June 1944.]
£150.00

16pp., 12mo. Stapled. In printed pink wraps, with map on inside back cover showing 'The Prisoner of War (Far East) Enquiry Centre' at Curzon St House in Mayfair. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper in worn wraps with creasing to one corner.

[Book, inscribed by the author.] Reminiscences of a Japanese Penologist. Akira Masaki, President, Japanese Correctional Association. [Including a description of the Hiroshima explosion, and 'A Brief Biographical Note on the Author by Taro Ogawa'.]

Author: 
Akira Masaki, President, Japanese Correctional Association [Taro Ogawa, Deputy Director, United Nations Asia and Far East Institute; Hiroshima]
Publication details: 
Published by Japanese Criminal Policy Association. Printed by Printing Bureau, Ministry of Finance. 1964.
£140.00

ii + 133pp., 8vo. Photographic portrait of the author as frontispiece. Fair, in lightly-worn blue leatherette binding, gilt. Inscription in English on front free endpaper: 'To National Committee for the Abolition of Capital Punishment, from Akir [sic] Masaki L.L.D. | 12. 22. 1969'. In a three-page 'Preface to the English Edition', dated July 1964, the author explains that the Japanese edition of the book was first published nineteen years before.

[Printed pamphlet.] A Sociological Experiment among Factory Girls. A Report of the Matsuyama Factory Girls' Home.

Author: 
Sidney L. Gulick [Sidney Lewis Gulick (1860-1945); Matsuyama Factory Girls' Home, Japan]
Publication details: 
Dated 1 August 1907.
£180.00

12pp., 4to, plus three leaves of plates on art paper. Stapled, in original buff printed wraps. A fragile item. Fair, on aged high-acidity paper, in chipped and worn wraps. Images captioned 'The First Photograph of the Sympathy Society', 'At School', 'At Play' and 'The Home'. Sections on the conversion of Shinjiro Omoto, and the 'Sympathy Home' ('Dojokwan'). Final 'Financial Statement' and 'Plans for Enlargement'. No copy on COPAC.

Anonymous Manuscript, in English, giving details of the 'Course of Procession' in a Shinto festival, Nikko, Japan, 1 and 2 June [no year], 'from Iyeyasu [i.e. Ieyasu] Shrine to Futaarano [i.e. Futarasan] Jinja' and from 'Futaarano Jinja to Tabisho'.

Author: 
[Kanaya Hotel, Nikko, Japan; Japanese; Shinto festival; Ieyasu; Futarasan Jinja]
'Course of Procession' in a Shinto festival,
Publication details: 
1 and 2 June [no year - late nineteenth century?]; on lettherhead of the Kanaya Hotel, Nikko, Japan.
£75.00
'Course of Procession' in a Shinto festival,

8vo, 3 pp. On the rectos of three letterheads of the Kanaya Hotel. The three leaves attached by string to one corner. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Headed 'Course of Procession', and divided A and B. Section A merely reads 'On the 1st of June | Three sacred cars move from Iyeyasu Shrine to Futaarano Jinja at about 5. P.M.' Section B begins 'All men clad in various costumes will be ready until 10.30 A.M. for a grand procession and at about 11.00 A.M.

"Papers read on Various Occasions", Periodical Publications, bound into one volume.

Author: 
[Author's Collection] Abel Heywood, Jun, of Abel Heywood & Son, Manchester, publishers and printers
Publication details: 
Manchester, 1868-[1900?]
£250.00

Hf.lea, worn, raised bands, red lea., gt spine, title as above, some foxing and damage in parts, mainly good. Contents (listed on front endpaper in Abel Heywood's hand): "Four Days in Iceland"*, "A mountain walk in Norway"*, Scandanavian Stories about Huldre"*, " Notes on Japan and the Japanese"*, "Sveningdael"*, "Trout-fishing in Norway", "Fish out of Water", "A Night at the Lochinvar", "One Way to the Tweed", "A Fishing Adventure in Japan" [not listed in Contents], "The Vision of Fishes", "Fishes Ee-Seet", "Norway Re-visited".

Autograph Signature.

Author: 
Seiji Ozawa (born 1935), Japanese conductor
Publication details: 
Undated.
£23.00

Good, in felt-tip pen on piece of blue paper, roughly 8 x 13 cms, with the slightest discoloration at extremities.

Autograph Letter Signed ('S. Kato') in English to [?] Beaufort.

Author: 
Shozo Kato (of Osaka, Japan, and 8 New Oxford Street, London, England), dealer in 'Japanese & Chinese Works of Art' [Japanese; Oriental art]
Publication details: 
3 April 1919; on business letterhead.
£28.00

One page, octavo. On aged, grubby paper with minor staining at foot. He has spent 'all his monney for prints & Books I bought at Sale last Week. I have no balance in my Bank at all. (ganz nichts) if you are not inconvenient [sic] Please bring some L. S. D. on Saturday next'. Postscript: 'My business is Ratton N. B. G.' It is thought that Kato obtained a large portion of the Japanese prints for Sir Edmund Walker's celebrated collection.

Signature only

Author: 
W.H. Murray Walton
Publication details: 
no date
£75.00

Explorer in Japan. Good signature on pasaper, 3 x 1" approc. With: additional pencil note "Distinguished explorer in Japan made first ascents of many mountains" ascribed on the paper on which the signature is laid sown to "Dr [Howard] Somervell of Mt Everest Expedition" (1953 expedition, Somervelld.1975).

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