A Complete Letter-Writer with Commercial Forms

Tokyo: Banyishi Bookstore, 1900. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. Green cloth boards with gilt lettering to spine, 7-1/2" x 5-1/4", 226 pp. + publisher’s ad. According to the Japanese title page, this contains 500 letters; text is in Japanese and English, there are many typos throughout the text. Toning to pages front hinge a bit wobbly. Good condition. +++++Arthur Lloyd was President of the Rikkyo University, the largest Anglican school in Japan. This was intended for a Japanese audience, with some of the letters referring to Japanese culture (locations, steamships, one business letter starts “In answer to your advertisement in the ‘Jiji’ of to-day,” etc.) By 1900, the students at Rikkyo had grown up in a Japan that was interacting with Western nations in trade, religion, and culture. Letter-writing books would have been helpful to them in politely relating to Western visitors. +++++Topics include personal, business, and an entire section of letters for children. A few of the quirkier letters include: “From a little Boy to a Gentleman who saved him from Drowning.” "Relevant to a Servant’s Character.” “Invitation to a Pic-nic.” “To a Gentleman [from a Lady], requesting his Carte de visite.” +++++Scarce: one copy in Library of Congress, one copy in Tokyo’s National Diet Library.