isabella bishop's last book: 'the most remarkable of her journeys'
BISHOP, Isabella Lucy (née BIRD). The Yangtze Valley and Beyond. An Account of Journeys in China, Chiefly in the Province of Sze Chuan and Among the Man-Tze of the Somo Territory. London, John Murray, 1899.
8vo. Original publisher's green cloth, lettered and ornamented in red, black and gilt, top edge gilt; pp. xv, 557; photographic frontispiece, 74 photographic plates, photographic illustrations after Bishop et al, one colour-printed folding lithographic map with the author's route added in red by hand, errata slip tipped onto p. 1; spine darkened and with wear to head, rear innner hinge re-inforced, occasional light spotting internally; a good copy of a scarce work with blind stamp to title page Presented by Mr. Murray; bookplate inside front cover.
First edition. On 10 January 1896, the 64-year-old Isabella Bishop left the Shanghai Consulate aboard the Poyang on an 8,000 mile round trip via the upper reaches of the Yangzte river. The journey, continued after the first 1,000 miles by means of native boats and overland from Wan-Hsien, proved full of incident, and Bird's narrative offers first-hand details of regions that remain of interest. The penultimate chapter is devoted to the opium poppy and its use. Although The Yangtze Valley and Beyond was Isabella Bishop's last book, 'it recounted the most remarkable of her journeys' (ODNB).
Cordier, Sinica col. 355; Theakstone p. 23; Wayward Women p. 82; Yakushi (3rd ed.) B-382.
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