China on Our Shelves: Catalogue of an Exhibition at the Library Company of Philadelphia, July to October 1984

Catalogue of an Exhibition of Books about China acquired by the Library Company of Phila. (LCP) mostly before & during the Heyday of the American China Trade, 1784-1840. Provides an intellectual base to a display of artifacts, although it does not include every volume of Chinese interest in the LCP s possession. Many of Philadelphia s China traders were members of the LCP, among them Robert Waln, Sr., Stephen Girard, Nathan Dunn, Charles Bancker, Thomas Cope & Mordecai Lewis. The first book on China printed in the U.S. was published in Phila., & the first book on China by an American was written by a Philadelphian. A preponderance of reprints of English works on the Orient were issued by Phila. publishers. Illustrations.