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Two folio lithographs, each 17 x 21½ inches, matted to 22 x 26 inches. First lithograph with several minor neatly-repaired tears; expertly backed with heavier paper. Second lithograph with some very minor wear and soiling. Very good. This extremely rare pair of lithographs is one of the very few printed records of the first official American expedition to Japan, the diplomatic mission of Commodore James Biddle, which attempted to establish formal relations between the United States and Japan in 1846. Although overshadowed by the famous and successful mission of Commodore Matthew Perry seven years later, the Biddle expedition deserves far greater fame. It was, in fact, the first official contact between America and Japan, and certainly a necessary precursor to Perry's breakthrough of 1853. This graphic representation of the events of the visit, with the extensive textual gloss accompanying each plate, given the dearth of written accounts by the key figures, is the most important published record of the Biddle expedition. The prints depict Biddle's ships, the Columbus and the Vincennes, in Tokyo Bay during Biddle's visit of July 20 to 29, 1846. Commodore James Biddle, a distinguished naval career officer and scion of a noted Philadelphia family, served his country in a diplomatic capacity on various occasions. Because of this, he was a reasonable choice in 1845 to head a mission to exchange ratifications of the first treaty between the United States and China, after which he was to attempt to negotiate a treaty with Japan. Biddle sailed from New York in June 1845, concluding the treaty with China early in 1846 and cruising along the Chinese coast throughout that spring. In early July he proceeded to the next part of his mission, sailing for Japan on the 7th. Rather than sail for the open port of Nagasaki, he decided to make directly for Yeddo (modern-day Tokyo), arriving there on July 20, mindful of his instructions to "ascertain if the ports of Japan are accessible," but "not in such a manner as to excite a hostile feeling or a distrust of the Government of the United States." Biddle's ships moved up Tokyo Bay on July 21, 1846, but were stopped by numerous small vessels carrying armed soldiers. His ships remained at anchor about fifteen miles below Tokyo for the duration of their visit. After an initial confrontation in which Japanese officials demanded that the Americans surrender their weapons, peaceful relations were established and numerous Japanese visited the ships, bringing many supplies as gifts. The first of the lithographs depicts the American warships at anchor, surrounded by many smaller Japanese vessels. Biddle continued negotiations to be received on shore, without success. Finally it was arranged that he would present an address to suitable Japanese officials on board a Japanese vessel, and he arrived in full uniform for the occasion. However, upon boarding the boat the Commodore was deliberately knocked over by a common sailor. The Japanese officials professed to be mortified, and Biddle accepted their apology without insisting on harsh punishment for the offender. Subsequently there was much debate over whether Biddle had helped or hurt the American position by losing face or being magnanimous, depending on one's point of view, and this dialectic is still pursued by historians today. In any case, much of Commodore Perry's behavior in Japan seven years later was designed to avoid such an incident. Feeling that he had carried out his instructions as far as they could be pursued, Biddle accepted from his reluctant hosts both supplies and a tow out to sea to catch the wind. For their part, the Japanese were happy to aid him in departing. A small fleet of rowboats towed the American warships from their anchorage, and this scene is the subject of the second lithograph. After the departure on July 19, Biddle made for Hawaii, where he learned of the outbreak of the Mexican-American War. As a result, instead of heading.
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