Preview the 'China in Print' Fair

Coming up this weekend in Hong Kong is China in Print, where thirty dealers in rare books, manuscripts, and photography will offer "the finest examples of printed works from the Far East and rest of the world." Managed by Bernard Quaritch of London and sponsored by AbeBooks, the fair anticipates a "buoyant market" in its sixth year, according to the organizers. Here's a sampling of what will be showcased:

Among the highlights at Asia Bookroom's stand will be two color woodblocks on oban tate-e sheets, diptyche style, satirically depicting the Opium War. Known as the Peking Dream Pillow, it was created by Japanese artist Imaizumi Ippy? in 1884.

New York's Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller, will show a first edition of Kocho ruien [A Library of Chinese Classics by Courtly Scholars] published by Shaoyu Jiang in 78 parts in 1621--"one of the very few surviving 'imperial editions' printed with movable type in Japan."

One of the fair's most popular exhibits is bound to be the "lost" Agatha Christie manuscript notebook at Lucius Books. The unpublished notes relate to her novels, A Murder Has Been Arranged and They Do It With Mirrors, and her plays, Spider's Web and Miss Perry. According to the seller, "Of the 74 Agatha Christie notebooks known to exist, this recently discovered one is not only the richest in content but is the only one outside of the author's estate."
 
And from Jonkers Rare Books this beauty: a Jessie M. King hand-painted vellucent binding of The Story of Rosalynde (1902), made for Cedric Chivers. It has been called "The most beautiful, and certainly the most ornate" of King's vellucent binding designs.

Images courtesy of China in Print