An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China;

London: Printed for G. Nicol,, 1798. An intriguingly grangerized edition Second octavo edition, extra-illustrated with a first edition supplement of plates and maps issued by a rival London publisher in 1797. The Macartney mission was a pivotal point in Britain's unfolding encounter with China, revealing to Western eyes the power of the Qing court and the peripheral position of foreign powers in the imperial worldview. The publication history of Staunton's account reveals the highly competitive publishing atmosphere of late-18th-century London, in particular the rivalry between George Nicol and John Stockdale. The two men had previously clashed in 1784 over Stockdale's decision to issue an edition of the account of Cook's final voyage, a move which Nicol saw as infringing on his position as the rights holder. In 1797, after Nicol issued the imposing quarto first edition of Staunton's account, as well as a three-volume octavo edition with three maps but no plates, Stockdale had an abridged version with his own engraved plates and maps in circulation by October. While Nicol denounced Stockdale's abridgement and illustrations as inferior, Stockdale cheekily issued his suite of plates and maps as a standalone supplement for sale to any Nicol customer who wished to embellish their plate-less octavo edition. Here, the purchaser of Nicol's second octavo edition has done just that. "In 1792 Staunton was appointed principal secretary to Lord Macartney's embassy to China (and provisionally minister-plenipotentiary in the event of his death). The embassy sought to improve commercial relations with China, through Canton (Guangzhou), and to establish regular diplomatic relations between the two countries. Though Macartney and Staunton had an audience with the emperor their proposals were rebuffed. Macartney kept a detailed journal of his embassy, while in 1797 Staunton published his own, well-known account of this unsuccessful mission, which was later translated into French and German" (ODNB). Provenance: from the library of Oliver Russell Moore (1917-2011), with his bookplate on the front pastedowns. Moore was a British naval officer who served in China, including at Weihaiwei and Shanghai, during the 1930s. Following the Second World War, in which he served in multiple theatres, he was posted as the naval liaison for the Hong Kong dockyard - a position which lasted until 1950. 3 vols, octavo (213 x 135 mm). Engraved frontispiece and additional title page, 21 similar plates, 5 folding maps, folding appendix leaf. Contemporary smooth half calf, spine lettered in gilt, raised bands with gilt lines and foliate tooling, marbled sides, green coated endpapers, edges sprinkled red, black silk bookmarkers. Bindings sturdy, spine and extremities lightly rubbed, folding maps with light creasing, several stub tears professionally repaired, printed area minimally affected, a few plates browned, else bright. A very good copy. For various editions, see: China on Paper 9; Cordier (2nd edition) 2383; Löwendahl 697-9; Lust 545-8.