AND THE NAKUNIN WERE GONE

[N.p., but possibly Providence, R.I., 1960. Two volumes. [2],iv,[1],542 leaves; 543-1053 leaves typescript on onion paper. Plus two maps (one folding). Folio. Red buckram, front board and spines gilt. Binder's tickets (Model Bookbinding, Houston, Texas) on rear pastedown of both volumes. Photocopy of newspaper article laid in. Occasional manuscript corrections in pen throughout. Some shelfwear, but overall very good. Inscribed by the authors on the front pastedown. This is a potentially unique typescript of a historical novel about early 20th-century China, leading up to the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949. "Nakunin" is a term in Shanghainese (or Hu, the dialect of Chinese spoken in Shanghai and the surrounding region) for "foreigner," in particular connoting a foreigner who could never truly become a local. The novel is a bit of an adventure story, frequently hinting at racier activities behind closed doors. Perhaps semi-autobiographical, the main characters travel across China, India, and Indochina, evading capture and corrupt officials in hopes of reaching freedom. Ruby and Maurice Baumgarten might well have known of what they wrote, thanks to their "exciting background...[that] has all the ingredients of an action-packed Hollywood scenario" (JEWISH HERALD). Though French, Maurice was raised by his archaeologist parents traveling throughout the Near and Middle East; he served in the French Army in Indochina, and started an import-export business in Shanghai. He was in Calcutta at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor and never returned to Shanghai, transferring his business to Calcutta. Soon after, he met Ruby (née Bonner), and in 1949 they decided to move to Providence, R.I., to start a tea importing business and shop. This copy is inscribed to Dr. Leonard Robbins, possibly the same Dr. Robbins who was president of the school board in Houston and led the majority decision to desegregate public schools there in 1970. Nevertheless, this book and its authors remain a bit of a mystery. We could find no listing of this book in OCLC or at auction, and no further information about the authors aside from an article in THE JEWISH HERALD and a listing for them in POLK'S PROVIDENCE CITY DIRECTORY for 1949. "'Unique' is the Word for Their Tea Bazaar" in THE JEWISH HERALD (Vol. 34, no. 50, Feb. 17, 1950), p.2. POLK'S PROVIDENCE (PROVIDENCE COUNTY, R.I.) CITY DIRECTORY 1949... (Providence, R.I.: R.L. Polk & Co., 1949), p.65. (Inventory #: WRCAM55110)