GULIK, Robert van (author and illustrator). The Lacquer Screen: A Chinese Detective Story. London: Heinemann. 1964.
8vo. Publisher’s purple cloth, lettered in gilt to spine, illustrated dust jacket with printed price of 15s to front flap, endpapers depicting the four seasons; pp. vii, [1 (blank)], 180, [4], with 10 full-page illustrations by the author; minor wear to jacket edges, small bump to upper outer corners of boards, light spotting to page block, internally clean; very good.
First UK edition of the sixth Judge Dee novel, originally published in 1962 by Art Printing Works, Kuala Lumpur.
Following the traditional Chinese detective structure, Judge Dee must unravel three mysteries. To assist him, he forms an alliance with the local magistrate Chiao Tai, and together they infiltrate the criminal underworld of Wei-ping, remaining incognito among the gangsters for two tense days and nights.
Judge Dee is based on the seventh-century Tang Dynasty magistrate, Di Renjie. Van Gulik first became interested in this historical figure when he translated Dee Goong An in 1949, and he continued to feature Judge Dee throughout his original crime fiction series (1949-1967). A Dutch diplomat and sinologist, Van Gulik incorporated his research into his novels and personally illustrated them; this book contains ten of his striking woodblock-style illustrations.
Evers, p. 55.
SKU: 2124230