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Book in the collection

The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China

by Thomas W. Knox

The Work

First published
1879
Original publisher
Harper & Brothers
Originally published in
New York

Drew's Copy

Edition
Undated Harper & Brothers edition
Publisher
Harper & Brothers
Published in
New York
Copy published
Undated; in circulation by Christmas 1892
Binding
Decorated red cloth hardcover with gilt, black, and silver stamping
Collection status
On the shelves
Reading status
Owned
Condition
Fair to good; decorated front cover remains bright, with rubbing and substantial wear and separation along the rear spine joint
Travel LiteratureAdventure FictionJapanChinaNineteenth Century

Acquisition & Provenance

Acquired
June 27, 2025
Acquisition type
Purchased
Source
eBay
Seller
punkandvintagegoods
Item price
$65.00
Order total
$75.31
Delivered
July 7, 2025
Previous owner
Ralph H. Kellam
Inscription / bookplate
Inscribed “Ralph H. Kellam / from Cousin Lizzy / Xmas 1892.”

How This Copy Came to the Library

When I was searching for this volume in June 2025, relatively few copies were available online. Sellers often listed attractive copies in good condition for several hundred dollars. At $65 before shipping and tax, this copy was far and away the least expensive one I could find.

Its condition explains part of the difference: the rear spine joint has substantial damage. But the remarkable decorated front cover remains vivid, the book retains its illustrated endpapers and color plate, and it carries an 1892 family gift inscription. Those surviving details made it an appealing copy despite the wear—and made it possible for me to add the first Boy Travellers journey to my shelf without paying the much higher prices being asked for cleaner examples.

Why This Book Is in My Library

As the first Boy Travellers journey, this volume belongs near the beginning of Drew’s Knox shelf; its vivid decorated binding and 1892 gift inscription made this worn but affordable copy worth acquiring.

Place in My Physical Library

This volume stands near the beginning of Drew’s growing shelf of Thomas W. Knox travel and adventure books, immediately beside The Young Nimrods Around the World.

About This Copy

The title page is undated, while the copyright page records 1879, the year the work first appeared. The Christmas 1892 inscription establishes that this particular copy was already in private hands by the end of that year.

Its most striking feature is the publisher’s decorated red cloth binding. The gilt title, Japanese decorative motifs, birds, flowering branch, pagoda, and silver fish vignette turn the cover itself into a nineteenth-century interpretation of the places within. The book also retains patterned endpapers and a color illustration, even though the rear spine joint now shows serious wear.

The physical copy preserves both the visual ambition of Harper’s decorated editions and the evidence of a book read, gifted, and carried forward since the nineteenth century.

Part of a CollectionThe Boy Travellers

Nine Boy Travellers volumes by Thomas W. Knox, collected as artifacts of American travel writing, childhood reading, and the rapidly changing world of the 1880s and 1890s.

Explore the collection
Drew's Copy
Front cover of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China
The elaborate red, gilt, black, and silver front cover of Drew's copy.
Shelf and spine of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China
The volume on Drew's Thomas W. Knox shelf, beside The Young Nimrods Around the World.
Back cover of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China
The plain red back cover and the substantial separation and wear along the rear spine joint.
Half-title of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China
The tissue guard over the half-title for Part First of The Boy Travellers in the Far East.
Title page of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China
The title page identifies the journey to Japan and China as Part First of The Boy Travellers in the Far East.
Copyright page of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China
The copyright notice records entry in 1879 by Harper & Brothers.
Illustration of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China
A surviving color illustration of a Japanese bathing-place.
Inscription or bookplate in Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China
Inscription or bookplate
Physical detail of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China
Physical detail
In the Same Series
Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Levant The Levant Drew's 1895 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in Northern Europe Northern Europe Drew's 1892 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in Great Britain and Ireland Great Britain and Ireland Drew's 1891 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in Mexico Mexico Drew's 1890 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers on the Congo The Congo Drew's 1888 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire Russian Empire Drew's 1887 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part Fourth: Egypt and the Holy Land Egypt and the Holy Land Drew's Undated copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in South America South America Drew's 1886 copy
More by This Author
Drew's copy of The Young Nimrods Around the World The Young Nimrods Around the World Drew's 1882 copy