GRAPHIC SCENES OF THE JAPAN EXPEDITION

New York 1856, Putnam. Tall folio, single hand colored litho of "PASSING THE RUBICON," 82.5 x 56.5 cm., slight browning, marginal tears, mounted on a stiff cardboard, VERY R A R E ! This work preceded the famous three volume set published in 1856: THE JAPAN EXPEDITION. GRAPHIC SCENES OF THE JAPAN EXPEDITION was a spectacular work and contained 10 hand tinted large and nine smaller colored lithographs to document the arrival of Perry & his Squadron. * Most were drawn by Heine the young German who was the expedition artist. The complete work includes: 1. PORTRAIT OF M.C. PERRY. 2. MACAO FROM PENHA HILL. 3. PAGODA OF WHAMPOA. 4. OLD CHINA STREET IN CANTON. 5. KUNG-TWA, AT ON-NA, LEW CHEW. 6. MIA, OR ROADSIDE CHAPEL AT YOKU-HAMA. 7. TEMPLE AT BEN-TENG,IN THE HARBOR OF SIMODA. 8. STREET & BRIDGE AT SIMODA. 9. TEMPLE OF THE HA-TSHU-MAN-YA TSCHU-RO, AT SIMODA. 10. GRAVEYARD AT THE SIMODA, DIO ZENGE. * Of these exceedingly RARE lithographs one prints is now offered: PASSING THE RUBICON documents the event of July 11, 1853 wherein Lt. Silas Bent from the Mississippi's first cutter confronted Japanese guard boats and a coastal Junk. This is illustrated in S. Morrison: "OLD BRUIN" COMMODORE MATTHEW CALBRAITH PERRY on p.327. This scene shows the American sounding party at work on Monday morning [July 11th], "...when a flotilla of thirty to forty guard boats filled with soldiers who presented quite a bristling front with their spears and matchlocks, while their lacquered caps and shields flashed brightly in the sun confronted the flag launch under charge of Lt. Bent & the senior Japanese officer made minatory gestures with his iron fan and yelled orders which nobody in the American launch understood. The Lieutenant, anxious to avoid a crash, altered his collision course but dispatched another boat to the Mississippi to ask Capt. Lee to move closer. On the steamer's approach the guard boats retired. And Perry named the nearest point of land 'Point Rubicon' because no foreign ship had passed it for three centuries." See Morrison p.328. * The lithograph PASSING THE RUBICON is 83 x 56.5 cm. overall, print size is 83 x 49.5 cm., with top and side edges trimmed, bottom edge slightly trimmed; overall browned with some surface scuffs, tears, laid down on an old cardboard, complete illustration present, with minor faults. * The complete title reads: PASSING THE RUBICON. Lieut's. Bent in the Mississippi's First Cutter Forcing His Way Through a fleet of Japanese Boats While Surveying the Bay of Yedo, July 11th., 1853. To Commodore M.C. Perry, Officers and men of the Japan Expedition this print is respectfully dedicated by their Obt. Servths [sic]. * BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. Pineau: THE JAPAN EXPEDITION 1852-1854 THE PERSONAL JOURNAL OF COMMODORE MATTHEW C. PERRY, after p.156 & before p.167, color illustrations. * THE PAUL C. BLUM COLLECTION CATALOGUE OF BOOKS, Yokohama Archives of History vol.4 no.4395. * H. Cordier: BIBLIOTHECA JAPONICA, p.513-518. **** By and large any of these prints from this work is exceptionally rare, and seldom if ever found on the market for sale.