Opium: Historical Note, or the Poppy in China.

Second edition, following the rare first edition of 1889. In this study, perhaps the first of its kind, Edkins (1823-1905) gathered information from ancient and more recent sources on the historical cultivation and consumption of opium in China, positing that the drug was introduced by Arab traders travelling the Silk Road. Edkins arrived in China in 1848 under the auspices of the London Missionary Society (LMS). He spent the next 57 years in the country, first in Shanghai and then in Yantai, Tianjin, and Beijing, retiring from the LMS in 1880 and joining the customs service as a researcher. One of the first Protestant missionaries to reside in the capital, he was proficient in Mandarin, Manchu, Miao, and Cantonese, publishing over 20 sinological monographs. His Historical Note was frequently cited by witnesses to the 1893-95 Royal Commission on Opium, and the text was included in full in Volume I of the commission's final submission. Cordier 2193 (for first edition). Quarto. Plate. Contents in English and Chinese. Original blue printed boards, black cloth backstrip, later gilt lettering on spine. 1988 ownership signature on inner rear cover. Light soiling and rubbing to covers, contents clean: near-fine. …