[An album of watercolours of Hong Kong Chinese subjects.]
[Artist and compiler unidentified.]
[c.1843.]
Stitched album, oblong 4to, containing 14 watercolours with bodycolour, 13 on rice paper. Tears and holes to rice paper paintings. Frayed and peeling linen over card wrappers.
Ten vibrant costume illustrations and three pictures of different types of boat by a Chinese hand. This collection was compiled, perhaps by a British naval or military officer, very shortly after Hong Kong became a dependent territory of the United Kingdom in 1842. Into the first leaf is glued a sketch of a Chinese junk by the western traveller and amateur artist captioned: ''Hong Kong' Shore Boat taken while laying alongside H.M. Hospital Ship 'Minden' in 'Victoria' Harbour Hong Kong This 10th August 1843'' The signature that follows is unfortunately illegible. Toward the end of her career Minden saw duty as a hospital ship in Hong Kong from 1842 because a naval hospital on the shore was destroyed in a typhoon. It served those who suffered from malaria in the early colonial years. The boats on the following leaves are captioned in ink by the same hand. Several inserts between the first two pages including annotated and signed receipt dated 1868 for a donation to the 'China Inland Mission'. Some scraps and several blank leaves towards the end of the album.
[Ref: 7405] £950.00
[c.1843.]
Stitched album, oblong 4to, containing 14 watercolours with bodycolour, 13 on rice paper. Tears and holes to rice paper paintings. Frayed and peeling linen over card wrappers.
Ten vibrant costume illustrations and three pictures of different types of boat by a Chinese hand. This collection was compiled, perhaps by a British naval or military officer, very shortly after Hong Kong became a dependent territory of the United Kingdom in 1842. Into the first leaf is glued a sketch of a Chinese junk by the western traveller and amateur artist captioned: ''Hong Kong' Shore Boat taken while laying alongside H.M. Hospital Ship 'Minden' in 'Victoria' Harbour Hong Kong This 10th August 1843'' The signature that follows is unfortunately illegible. Toward the end of her career Minden saw duty as a hospital ship in Hong Kong from 1842 because a naval hospital on the shore was destroyed in a typhoon. It served those who suffered from malaria in the early colonial years. The boats on the following leaves are captioned in ink by the same hand. Several inserts between the first two pages including annotated and signed receipt dated 1868 for a donation to the 'China Inland Mission'. Some scraps and several blank leaves towards the end of the album.
[Ref: 7405] £950.00