China on Our Shelves: Catalogue of an Exhibition at the Library Company of Philadelphia, July to October 1984 - Softcover

Catalogue of an Exhibition of Books about China acquired by the Library Company of Phila. (LCP) mostly before & during the Heyday of the American China Trade, 1784-1840. Provides an intellectual base to a display of artifacts, although it does not include every volume of Chinese interest in the LCP s possession. Many of Philadelphia s China traders were members of the LCP, among them Robert Waln, Sr., Stephen Girard, Nathan Dunn, Charles Bancker, Thomas Cope & Mordecai Lewis. The first book on China printed in the U.S. was published in Phila., & the first book on China by an American was written by a Philadelphian. A preponderance of reprints of English works on the Orient were issued by Phila. publishers. Illustrations.