1870s PRUSSIAN EXPEDITION to EAST ASIA JAPAN CHINA SIAM antique ILLUSTRATED

Spiess, Gustave

Die preussische Expedition nach Ostasien

(The Prussian Expedition to East Asia)

Berlin and Leipzig: Otto Spamer, n.d. (c. 1870s)

 216 pp. 
With 5 woodcut plates and 62 illustrations


Binding worn, good interior condition, occasional foxing


Size about 6 1/2 by 9 3/4 inches

Text in German
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Work on the Prussian expedition, also called the Eulenburg Expedition (1859-62), to the Far East.
The expedition was commissioned by Emperor Wilhelm I and led by Friedrich Eulenburg, and aimed at establishing economic and diplomatic relations with Japan, China and Siam.
"With the opening of the Far East to foreign trade, Prussia sought to claim a stake in the region" (Howgego).
In July 1860 a large party arrived in Ceylon, one of the members being the physician Gustav Adolf Spiess (1802-75).
Spiess talks about his experiences and the events during his stay in Japan, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Siam, paying a lot of attention to the economic (dis)advantages of the different regions.
They managed to ascertain several trade treaties, the one with China happened to be signed two days before the death of the emperor. Spiess gives an idea of the attitudes of the locals towards the Europeans and reversed, as he shows both.
The text is illustrated with numerous wood engravings, showing views, costumes, ceremonies, etc.
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