Problems of the Far East.
Westminster: Archibald Constable and Co., 1896. Hardcover. 8vo. Burgundy cloth with gilt lettering and decoration. xxiv, 444pp. Top edge gilt. Tissue-guarded frontispiece, illustrations, 2 maps (one color foldout). Very good. Binding (only) lightly shellacked, thus a bit glossy; hand-lettered shelf label near spine foot; else tight and fine. Item #50416
Attractive copy of the new and revised edition of this study of Japan, Korea and China first published in 1894. Color foldout of region at rear is pristine. As a young man and wildly adventuresome traveler serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for India in 1891-92, Curzon penned this guide to the region and its politics and foreign policy problems. Lord Curzon (1859-1925) -- technically, Lord Curzon of Kedleston (1898-1911) then Earl Curzon of Kedleston (1911-21) -- was an influential but quarrelsome British statesman who served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India (1899-1905) and Prime Minister David Lloyd George's Foreign Minister (1919-24), along with many other top government posts. From the collection of William B. Allison (1829-1908), the powerful Iowa Republican who, as U.S. representative (1863-71) and senator (1873-1908), was one of the "big four" who controlled the Senate; as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee for most of those years, he championed tariff legislation and co-authored the Bland-Allison Act of 1878; as member of the Senate Finance Committee he was often courted by U.S. presidents to hold cabinet positions. He boldly signs the front flyleaf in black ink, dating it 20 September 1898. Early 20th century bookplate on front pastedown notes "This book is part of Allison Memorial Collection Gift of Mrs. Jennie A. Brayton" and until deaccessioned was part of Allison's non-circulating collection at his hometown public library across the street from his Dubuque residence. Notes Leland L. Sage in his 1956 biography "William Boyd Allison: A Study in Practical Politics," Allison owned "hundreds of books on government, economics, history, banking, finance, and the tariff.... An omnivorous reader, Allison doubtless read most of these volumes, if only for relaxation from the strain that accompanied his efforts to solve the many problems facing the Nation...."
Price: $395.00