Kathay: a cruise in the China Seas. by Macaulay, W. Hastings - 1852

New York: G.P. Putnam & Co, 1852. First edition. 8vo (18.5 x 12.5 cm), pp.230, [2, advertisements]. A fine copy in contemporary tree calf, spine gilt with raised bands, boards with gilt frames. All edges marbled. A few spots, text otherwise crisp and clean. An account of a two-year cruise aboard an unnamed American warship which departed from Charlestown, Massachusetts, in January, 1850, and sailed via the Cape to Java and then on to the South China Sea. The ship called repeatedly at Hong Kong and Macao, and Macaulay provides detailed descriptions of both cities, as well as Amoy, Canton, Shanghai, Taiwan, and Whampoa. Macaulay also visited Manila, where he describes the vast tobacco factory and its thousands of female employees. In 1852, Macaulay and his ship departed the Pacific. They returned to the United States in June thay year. Macaulay's assessment of China and its relations with the British and Portuguese is relatively impartial; he applauds Chinese attempts to prevent the import of opium while recognising their futility. He spent much of his time in the company of European and American expatriates; his notes cover everything from the murder of João Maria Ferreira do Amaral, governor of Macao, to the similarity between the Yangtze and the Mississippi. Cordier BS 2121