Jonathan A. Hill Archives - Rare Book Insider

Jonathan A. Hill

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other books and so [Catalogue No. 2]

OTHER BOOKS AND SO Illus. to inside & outside of wrappers. 32 pp. 8vo (208 x 145 mm.), orig. tan pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. Amsterdam: Other Books and So, [1976]. The scarce second mail-order catalogue issued by Ulises Carrión's Amsterdam bookstore and exhibition space, Other Books and So. The inside and outside of the wrappers bear precious photographs of the space. These catalogues - four of them were issued - are essential documents regarding the dissemination of artists' books in Europe as well as Carrión's life as a prolific artist, bookseller, theorist of the book, and curator. This one offers books by Eduard Bal, Joseph Beuys, John Cage, Cozette de Charmoy, Henri Chopin, Robin Crozier, Mirtha Dermisache, Robert Filliou, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Ken Friedman, Michael Gibbs, John Furnival, Richard Hamilton, Dick Higgins, Dorothy Iannone, Allan Kaprow, Alison Knowles, D. A. Levy, Claes Oldenburg, gj de rook, Dieter Roth, Ed Ruscha, Endre Tot, Gabor Toth, Emmett Williams, etc., etc. From the catalogue introduction: "Our 2nd catalogue - prepared by Aart van Barneveld, Michael Gibbs and Ulises Carrión - appears nearly one year later than our first one. The rapid growth of the stock, as well as the increasing activities organised or held at Other Books & So, are the causes of this delay. We apologise to all our subscribers and declare our firm intention to do better in the future." Near fine; sunning to some leaves.
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  • $1,250
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Manuscripts on paper

27 folding leaves. Two vols. 4to, 304 x 228 mm., original paper stitching with evidence of additional stitching removed. [China]: [late Qing period]. Two very rare examples of Manchu household registries for companies of the Eight Banners. "The 'Eight Banners' is the name for the Manchu-led army that helped bring the Qing ruling house to power in 1644. Memberships in the Eight Banners were not limited to soldiers, however, but included families and dependents within what became a highly militarized social system.The Qing court sought to guard membership as carefully as possible, and part of that effort included the triennial compilation of census registers of all members of banner companies. Strangely, few of these registers seem to have survived into the present day for regular banner populations." Our registers are similar to the "rare example" of the Mongol Plain Yellow Banner, currently held at the Harvard-Yenching Library (Mark C. Elliott & James Bosson, "Highlights of the Manchu-Mongolian Collection," in Treasures of the Yenching, pp. 105-06). The first volume opens with the company headed by hereditary company captain Yedehe, 33 sui of age, whose household included a wife (33 sui); a son, the "youth" Kiyankiyan (11 sui); and a daughter (7 sui). There is also a note that both the father and the grandfather of this "household of four" were company captains. It is noted in the company register if the sons in a family were currently holding office or serving in the military. Thus the guard Fušan (50 sui) had sons serving as lieutenants and guards. One son (18 sui) was a state school student. Presumably, most of the daughters and sons listed in the registers were unmarried, since in most cases the spouses of sons are not listed. At times, however, a "daughter-in-law" is listed, suggesting that the son was still living with his parents, even though in one case, at 31 sui, he was married and had a son of his own. In some cases, "younger sisters" and "younger brothers" living in the household of their head-of-household brother are listed as dependents. Some households, however, are headed by an elderly woman without a living husband, who might still have an unmarried daughter as a dependent. There are also "unmarried daughters" (emteli sargan jui) listed independently, alongside the names and military positions of their late fathers and grandfathers. In total, 817 living individuals are listed in the registers, not including dead fathers and grandfathers. The registers provide precious demographic data on the rank-and-file of the Qing Eight Banners. The registers are not unambiguously dated, but they are signed by officials guaranteeing the veracity of their contents. Both are marked, in Chinese, "twenty-second year," but without a reign name. The ductus and general appearance of the documents give us reason to think that they date from the 19th century. If so, the date could refer to 1817 (Jiaqing 22), 1842 (Daoguang 22), or - most likely - 1896 (Guangxu 22). Fine set; some minor fraying of the paper along extremities and some light dampstaining. Preserved in a new hantao.
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[Printed on the first leaf]: Shashinjō å «çœŸå – [Photo Album]

23 black & white aerial photographs & one photograph of a map of the region (each ca. 97 x 142 mm.), all carefully mounted on 24 stiff leaves. Small 4to (274 x 227 mm.), orig. decorative boards, orig. stamp of the Manchuria Aviation Company on upper cover. [China]: [printed at the foot of the first leaf]: ManshÅ« kōkÅ« kabushiki gaisha 満æ èˆªç ºæªå¼ä¼šç¤¾, [1930s-40s]. An album containing a series of aerial photos taken by the Manchuria Aviation Company, or Manchukuo National Airways, which was the Manchukuo flag carrier. The company was founded in 1931 to serve the needs of the Japanese Kwantung army, but it also had civilian operations. Destinations served included Xinjing (today's Changchun), Fengtian (Shenyang), Dalian, and Jiamusi in Manchuria, as well as Tianjin in China, Pyŏngyang and Ulsan in Korea, and Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka in Japan. Operations ceased with the end of the Second World War and the return of Manchuria to China. Our book contains 23 aerial photographs of Manchuria mounted on cardboard leaves; each has a small pre-printed label below identifying the location. Scenes covered include the eastern Qing imperial tombs near Shenyang, the White Pagoda of Liaoyang, the walled city of Jinzhou, an ice breaker plying the Bohai gulf, the Great Wall of China, the Tibetan Buddhist temple at Chengde, striking geological formations in the vicinity of Rehe, flooded countryside near Changchun, the Khingan mountains, the frozen Sunggari river by Jiamusi, a forest fire in the mountains near Harbin, the lake on top of Mt. Paektu (Changbaishan) on the border with present-day North Korea, and blossoming cherry trees in the town of Andong. Using numbers, the map depicts each location shown in the photographs. Railway lines and flight routes are also portrayed. Fine condition.
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Zhong zhou yin yun ä å žéŸ éŸ» [Sounds and Rhymes of the Central Prefectures] [issued with]: Sima Wengong Qie yun å é¦ æº«å 切韻 [Spelled Rhymes of Sima Wengong] [issued with]: Zhi zhi yu yao shi men fa ç› æŒ‡çŽ‰é‘°åŒ™é–€æ • [Straight-Pointing Specialized Method of the Jade Key]

117 folding leaves. Small 8vo, orig. wrappers, orig. stitching. [China: Republican period]. A collection of three medieval phonological texts. The first text, Zhong zhou yin yun, is an edition of the famous rhyme book Zhong yuan yin yun ä åŽŸéŸ éŸ» [Sounds and Rhymes of the Central Plain] by Zhou Deqing å‘ å¾ æ , finished in 1333. Zhou "eliminated the entering tone, which had largely disappeared from many northern dialects by this time, and distributed characters that had formerly been categorized as entering tone among the other three tones, based on his spoken language. He also divided the level-tone characters into two divisions, based on whether or not their initial was voiced. His approach was fiercely debated in later centuries, with many opposing his reduction of the four-part rhyme scheme. However, the text was widely adopted in literary circles and inspired the production of numerous other dictionaries on its model for centuries to come" (Nathan Vedal, "China, c. 600-1700," in the Cambridge World History of Lexicography, p. 115). We believe our copy represents the edition of 1662 (Kangxi 1), said to have been collated anew by one Zhang Han. The second text in our book is a rhyme table, sometimes, as here, attributed to Sima Guang å é¦ å ‰ (1019-86). The text's full title is Qie yun zhi zhang tu 切韻指掌圖 [Clear and Comprehensive Chart for the Spelling of Rhymes]. The third text, "specialized method" (menfa é–€æ •), is intended as an aid in manipulating the rhyme tables. The method mediates between the language of the table and the language of the user, which represents a later stage in the history of Chinese. It was first published in the early 16th century. Very good copy.
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Jiang hu cong tan, di yi ji æ±Ÿæ –å¢è«‡ç ä €é›† [Serialized Discussions from the Margins of Society, First Installment]

158 pages. Small 8vo, orig. semi-stiff wrappers (slightly dampstained). Beijing: Beiping shi yan bao she 北å 時å±ç¤¾, 1937. An uncommon work on the life of entertainers in northern China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. "The author narrates, in the first person, things he has seen and heard, recording the guild regulations and modes of operation of northern entertainers in the late Qing period and early Republic, the development and transformation of old-style entertainment areas in the big cities of the north, and certain anti-social shady behaviors and methods current in this margin of society. The contents encompass innumerable phenomena and are very rich" (Zheng Xuelai 郑雪来, ed., Ershi shiji Zhongguo xueshu da cidian: yishu xue 20 ä –çºªä 国å¦æœ 大å è‰ºæœ å¦ [2009], p. 717). Yun Youke, "the visitor among the clouds," was a pseudonym for Lian Kuoru 連闊如 (1902-71), a Manchu of the Bordered Yellow Banner. He was a professional storyteller, performing on the radio in the late 1930s, with a continued career under the People's Republic, but suffered during the Anti-Rightist Campaign (Guan Jixin å 纪新, Manzu xiandai wenxue jia yishu jia zhuanlüe 满族现代文å¦å® è‰ºæœ å® ä¼ç•¥ [1987], pp. 108-10). An earlier reader has inserted a few notecards with Chinese phrases translated into French. Very good copy. A total of three installments were published in the series.
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Manuscripts on paper, some are printed, some are maps, of varying sizes & shapes

[Korea]: ca. 1916-55. Japan occupied Korea between 1910 and 1945. During this period, Japanese rule underwent three phases: military rule, limited accommodation, and wartime mobilization. Yet Koreans were denied basic rights and suffered heavy economic exploitation throughout the period. In 1910, Japan "initiated a cadastral survey as the first step toward strengthening its control of the colonial economy.Since the survey recognized ownership rights only when substantiated by documents, the Government-General of Korea took over all land that was unregistered or of uncertain ownership." Over time, "more Japanese capital entered the colonial economy as Japan changed the corporate law so that a new Japanese company merely had to register rather than seek a permit. Japanese investment became especially heavy in such sectors as cotton textiles, food processing, and mining" (Eugene Y. Park, Korea: A History [Stanford: 2022], pp. 251-52). Most of the documents in our collection promise to provide insight into these processes. The set includes several insurance documents, applications to operate mines, contracts for the purchase and selling of land, and related maps. Localities mentioned include Anju and P'yŏngyang. The documents date from approximately 1916 (Taishō 5) to 1955. In addition, there are some bilingual documents (in Japanese and English), dated 1945 and after, issued by the American occupation authorities. These deal with the fate of Japanese holdings in Korea and their proposed redistribution to Korean owners. Many of these documents pertain to the heads of two Japanese families - Fujii Tateki 藤井å 城 (who owned the Fujii Gumi) and Takahashi Mitsugu é«˜æ ‹è ¢ - and their claims to ownership of properties and businesses in Korea. Legal documents they have furnished demonstrate that they had legally purchased properties from Korean citizens and conducted businesses there. In fine condition.
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[Nine-Phase Pictures (of a Decaying Corpse)]

Picture scroll entitled, on manuscript paper label on outside, "Baō kusōshi emaki" å¡ç¿ä æƒ è ç"»å » ["Mr. Su's Poem on the Nine Stages of a Decaying Corpse, Illustrated Scroll"]. Ten narrative paintings, in brilliant & sometimes lurid color. Scroll (370 x 12,070 mm.), front outer endpaper of worn blue silk brocade, gold-speckled inner endpaper. [Japan]: late Edo. Originating in China, the "nine stages of a decaying corpse" is a subject long popular in Buddhist art and poetry in Japan, where many scrolls and woodcut books have been executed on the subject, from about the 13th century until the present day. The rather shocking depiction of the bodily decay of an anonymous noblewoman's corpse is a provocative theme that has shown remarkable vitality over the centuries, used as visual agents for various purposes and target audiences, from religious meditation on impermanence to the teaching of precepts of feminine morality, both in daily life (proper conduct and etiquette) and as correct behavior on the basis of Buddhist teachings. "One of the most provocative images in Japanese art is the kusōzu, a graphic depiction of a corpse in the process of decay and decomposition.The subject itself is derived from a traditional Buddhist doctrine that urges contemplation on the nine stages of a decaying corpse (kusōkan [ä ç› è¦ ] hereafter, contemplation on the nine stages). The teaching dates to the early fifth century and promotes a systematic meditation on the impurity of a decaying corpse as an aid to ardent devotees who wish to liberate themselves from sensual desires and affections."-Fusae Kanda, "Behind the Sensationalism: Images of a Decaying Corpse in Japanese Buddhist Art" in The Art Bulletin, Vol. 87, No. 1 (March 2005), p. 24 (& see the rest of this fine article, upon which we have heavily relied). The nine stages of the decay of a woman's body are (with considerable variations in descriptions of the decomposition process, order, and image): 0) a pre-death portrait; 1) newly deceased body, sensually displayed; 2) distension; 3) exudation of blood; 4) putrefaction; 5) consumption by animals and birds; 6) dismemberment; 7) the skeleton; 8) bones parching to dust; and 9) the grave. The setting is always outside, where the corpse has been left to decay. The ten highly realistic stages of decay in our scroll are vividly and rather sensationally portrayed. The first image shows a beautiful and obviously wealthy Chinese noblewoman, richly attired in colorful luxury garments, situated in an intellectually-infused study (books, scrolls, and materials for calligraphy are in evidence). In the background is a Chinese-style landscape. The following image - almost 850 mm. long - depicts the woman, now just deceased. She is lying down, half-naked, in a quite sensuous pose, with large breasts exposed, long flowing hair, and a dreamy look on her face. The following scenes depict the continued decay of her body, as described above. The images become increasingly voyeuristic and lurid, and the anatomy of the body is quite precisely rendered. The eighth scene is particularly sad, showing a few bones and autumn flowers growing from the earth, newly enriched by the remains of the woman's body. The final scene depicts the grave site, with a tombstone and tall narrow tablets with writing in Siddham and kanji. The late autumn flowers surrounding the tomb site are withering from the oncoming cold, a reflection of the changing seasons and the transience of all things. Accompanying the paintings is the poem (with Preface) on this theme, consisting of eight seven-character verses for each of the nine stages, by Su Shi 蘇軾 (or Dongpo; 1063-1101), the Chinese poet, essayist, statesman, calligrapher, painter, gastronome, and travel writer. He was "one of the few Chinese literati to have mastered virtually all literary and artistic forms"-The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, Vol. 1, p. 729. In fine condition, preserved in a new wooden box.
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[Set Phrases from Imperial Edicts]

Manuscript on paper. 12 vols, ca. 600 folding leaves. 12mo (180 x 124 mm.), orig. wrappers, orig. stitching. [China]: [late Qing period]. A manuscript copy of an unpublished Chinese-Manchu dictionary of phrases. The Qing central government maintained a policy of selective bilingualism in its communications. Edicts issued by the throne through the open channels of the bureaucracy first went to the Grand Secretariat. There, they would be translated into Chinese if the original was in Manchu, or into Manchu if the original was in Chinese. Thereafter they could be dispatched to other government agencies. This process was costly, however, and sometimes edicts were issued directly to the official ranks without translation, which explains the need for our text. We know that edicts were translated from one language to the other by officials in the field rather than in the Grand Secretariat. For example, one "official asked permission for translating Chinese-language edicts into Manchu for quotation in a Manchu memorial, since there would unavoidably be delays if he first had to send it back to the Grand Council for translation (the official was in Xinjiang)." Other memorials could arrive in the Chinese provinces in Manchu only, but with the instruction "forward to everyone concerned" (yiti zhuanxing ä €é«"轉行). In such cases, the provincial authorities had to first translate the edict by themselves before passing it on to local officials who read only Chinese (Mårten Söderblom Saarela, The Manchu Language at Court and in the Bureaucracy under the Qianlong Emperor, p. 96). Our text came in handy in such situations. "This dictionary exclusively served various Banner offices outside the capital for the translation of edicts, imperial rescripts, as well as memorials and other government documents" (Chunhua 春花, Qingdai Man-Mengwen cidian yanjiu æ ä»£æ»¿è’™æ–‡è žå ç"ç , p. 416). The manuscript's headwords are Chinese phrases that are translated into Manchu in the definitions. The organization is by radical, arranged in stroke order. This form of lexicographic organization had been perfected in the 17th century and received imperial sanction in the famous Kangxi zidian åº ç†™å—å [Character Standard of the Reign of Secure Peace] of 1716. The organization had then been adopted within the field of Manchu lexicography with books such as Qingwen dianyao æ 文å 要 [The Essential Standard of Manchu Writing] from 1738. Most entries are quite straightforward, such as zai ting yi nian å†åœä €å , translated as jai emu aniya ilinjabukini, "have it cease for yet another year" (Vol. 1). Other entries reveal the complicated task the translators of edicts faced. For example, the entry feng liang bu qin é¢ æ™¾ä å‹¤ is given two translations: ta seme walgiyame edunggiyehekÅ«, "did not continuously sun and winnow [grain]"; and walgiyame edunggiyere de kicehekÅ«, "was not diligent in sunning and winnowing [grain]" (Vol. 12). The onus of which nuance to choose was on the translator. Our text was never printed and is very rare today. "Of the ten copies [now to be corrected to eleven] known to exist in the world today (six in China, two in Japan, and two in the United States), all are manuscripts" (Mark C. Elliott & James Bosson, "Highlights of the Manchu-Mongolian Collection," in Treasures of the Yenching, p. 91). Our copy is written very neatly compared to the "spidery hand" in the copy at the Harvard-Yenching Library. Very fine set, preserved in the original, worn hantao.
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Yin xue bian wei éŸ å è¾ å¾® [Distinguishing the Subtleties of Phonological Learning]

57 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. wrappers, orig. stitching. Chengdu: Dun mu tang 敦睦å‚, 1924. A fine copy of Jiang Yong's phonological magnum opus. Phonology, especially historical phonology, developed greatly in the Qing period, and Jiang was one of the scholars who advanced the discipline. Our book is a kind of advanced textbook or compendium of Chinese phonological learning as it stood by the mid-18th century. Jiang discusses key notions such as the 36 initials, "open-mouth" and "closed-mouth" syllables, and the four tones. Yet he also ventures into other topics, such as "the sounds made by children" (yingtong zhi yin å °ç«¥ä ‹éŸ ), and the origin of speech. The book "sums up the phonological theory of the preceding period, explains technical phonological terminology, quotes from the works of earlier scholars, and contains many original ideas of Jiang's. The book reflects the state-of-the-field of phonetic learning at the time and has great value as a reference" (Jianming Zhongguo guji cidian 簡明ä 國古籍è¾å , p. 657). Jiang Yong (1681-1762) was a philologist and a scholar of historical phonology, mathematics, and astronomy. "Jiang thought of himself as a follower of Mei Wending and understood Mei, not unlike modern scholarship, to be a paragon of Western-Chinese knowledge synthesis" (Ori Sela, China's Philological Turn: Scholars, Textualism, and the Dao in the Eighteenth Century [Columbia: 2018], p. 146). The printing blocks for our book were carved in 1923 by "Mr. Yan, from Weinan, of the Family School of Filiality and Righteousness" æ å—åš æ°åç¾ å® å¡¾. There is a Preface by Xiang Chu 向楚 (1877-1961), who also collated the book. Jiang Yong's introduction is dated 1759 (Qianlong jimao). Yan's colophon is dated 1924. Fine copy.
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Manuscripts on paper

(many on pre-printed paper), generally 8vo, separated into eleven bundles of varying thicknesses. Several hundred sheets. [Taiwan]: ca. 1933-45. A set of pre- and wartime official documents from Tainan in southern Taiwan; this collection promises to shed light on Tainan during the period of Japanese rule. Until the end of the Second World War, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule, and these documents originate with the Japanese colonial authorities. The period covered by the documents is roughly 1943 to 1945 (but there are some from the 1930s). Tainan prefecture was a large administrative division that included not only the city of Tainan but also Chiayi and Yunlin. Judging largely by the wording on the pre-printed forms and stationery used, the collection contains documents from a number of agencies and semi-official civil organizations. They include (translations are tentative) the Association for Mutual Assistance for Civilians Evacuated Off the Island å å¤–ç–Žé–‹æ°‘å ±åŠ æœƒ; the Tainan Institution for Mercy and Grace è‡ºå—æ ˆæƒé™¢, a charitable trust; the Tainan Prefectural Branch of the Taiwanese Labor Brigade for the Protection of the Country 臺灣è åœ‹å‹¤å‹žåœ˜è‡ºå—å žæ" éƒ ; the Tainan Municipal Office è‡ºå—å ‚å½ æ‰€; the Tainan City Association for the Assistance of Society and Industry è‡ºå—å ‚ç¤¾æœƒäº‹æ¥åŠ 成會; the Tainan Prefecture Fisheries Association è‡ºå—å žæ° ç"¢æœƒ; the Tainan Prefecture Farmers' Association è‡ºå—å žè¾ æœƒ; the Tainan Harbor Fishery Guild 臺南æ 漁æ¥çµ„合; and the Matō Neighborhood Association 麻豆保ç" . The neighborhood associations of colonial Taiwan were surveillance organizations, aiding the police in controlling the native Han population and, during wartime, supporting mobilization efforts. Another organization centered on Matō town is also represented in this corpus. Many of the documents are primarily financial in content, with receipts containing reimbursements for various matters. One example records damage from a bomb that hit a dormitory in the Eirakuchō æ° æ ‚ç"º neighborhood of central Tainan and completely destroyed the house. The report on the damage was drawn up by the Tainan Prefecture Fisheries Association. Very good condition. The documents are quite legible; many are stamped with official seals by various bureaucrats along the chain of command (from agent to mayor). Occasional rust staining from paper clips and staples.